#2026-392France updates maritime professional certificates for small vessels and coastal fishing
AI-generated summary for informational purposes only. Not legal advice. See the original source for the authoritative text.
The decree updates which maritime professional certificates allow people to work as captain, deckhand, or radio operator on certain small commercial, pleasure, fishing, and marine farming vessels. The practical effect is mainly administrative. Maritime employers, training providers, and certificate holders should check whether the listed certificates still match the vessel type, power limit, navigation area, passenger limit, and radio duties they plan to operate under.
AI-generated summary. May contain errors. Refer to official sources for legal decisions.
Key Changes
- Updates the table of certificates that allow work on small motor and sailing vessels under specific length, power, distance, and passenger limits.
- Clarifies that certain certificate holders may work on coastal fishing vessels under 400 kW, including vessels authorized for specified navigation categories and distances from land.
- Revises the role of the restricted radio operator certificate for radio communications on vessels operating under GMDSS sea area A1.
Obligations
What this law requires
Operators of motor vessels under 12 metres, navigating less than 2 nautical miles from the point of departure, carrying no passengers, and with propulsion power strictly below 250 kW must ensure that any person serving as captain or deckhand holds a certificate listed in Table IX for that privilege, such as the restricted small-vessel operating aptitude certificate or the small-vessel operating aptitude certificate.
Operators of motor vessels under 12 metres, navigating cumulatively less than 6 nautical miles from the point of departure and less than 2 nautical miles from a shelter, carrying no more than 12 passengers, and with propulsion power strictly below 250 kW must ensure that any person serving as captain or deckhand holds a certificate listed in Table IX for that privilege, such as the small-vessel operating aptitude certificate or the sailing small-vessel operating aptitude certificate where applicable.
Operators of sailing vessels under 12 metres, conducting daytime navigation less than 6 nautical miles from a shelter and carrying no more than 12 passengers, must ensure that any person serving as captain or deckhand holds a certificate listed in Table IX for that sailing-vessel privilege.
Holders of the restricted small-vessel operating aptitude certificate performing activities under Article D. 921-67 or the fifth paragraph of Article D. 922-30 of the Rural and Maritime Fishing Code may exercise their privileges only on vessels under 12 metres navigating less than 6 nautical miles from the point of departure.
For departures and arrivals of sailing competitions, navigation up to 6 nautical miles from a shelter under the Table IX sailing privilege is limited to persons accredited by the organising structure, and the competition must be organised by a structure affiliated with the French Sailing Federation, listed on the FFV calendar, and declared to the competent authorities as a nautical event.