The National Maritime Center (NMC) reopened on Monday and is implementing measures to address increased levels of application inventory.

· Merchant Mariner Credentials (MMC) and Medical Certifications (national endorsements only) set to expire in December 2018, January 2019, or February 2019 remain valid until May 31, 2019. (See Update 3 – Mitigation Efforts Due to Lapse in Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations and Partial Government Shutdown.)

· Additional Information (AI) letters, Qualified Assessor (QA) letters, Designated Examiner (DE) letters, Proctor Approval letters, Approval to Test (ATT) letters, and mariner training completion certificates set to expire in December 2018, January 2019, or February 2019 remain valid until April 30, 2019. (See Update 3 – Mitigation Efforts Due to Lapse in Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations and Partial Government Shutdown.)

· Mariners seeking to operate on STCW endorsements that expired on or after Dec. 1, 2018, may request continued service STCW dispensations via e-mail at [email protected]. (For application details, see STCW Mitigation Efforts Due to Lapse in Fiscal Year 2019 Appropriations and Partial Government Shutdown.)

· All RECs will be fully operational and open to the public by Wednesday, Jan. 30, 2019.

· The scheduling system for REC examinations, application drop off, and other credentialing business will be active beginning Thursday, Jan. 31, 2019.

The NMC is working to minimize the negative impact to the maritime industry and will publish additional information regarding furlough recovery operations as needed. For updates, please monitor the NMC website. If you have questions, contact the NMC Customer Service Center by e-mailing [email protected] or by calling 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662).

David Krapf has been editor of WorkBoat, the nation’s leading trade magazine for the inland and coastal waterways industry, since 1999. He is responsible for overseeing the editorial direction of the publication. Krapf has been in the publishing industry since 1987, beginning as a reporter and editor with daily and weekly newspapers in the Houston area. He also was the editor of a transportation industry daily in New Orleans before joining WorkBoat as a contributing editor in 1992. He has been covering the transportation industry since 1989, and has a degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Oswego, and also studied journalism at the University of Houston.