Record of Practical Experience and Sea Service (ROPES) Book
The national Record of Practical Experience and Sea Service (ROPES) system utilises books which record tasks you have completed in addition to sea service. These books have a similar section to the Record of Service (ROS) books for recording sea service. The key difference is that the ROPES books contain a number of structured, onboard tasks for the book holder to complete. These tasks must be supervised and signed off by the master, engineer or a competent supervisor. They must also complete the supervisor's contact details section of the book. A similar person must sign off your sea service entries in the book. People who partially complete a ROPES book may apply for a partial or prorata reduction of sea service requirements.
There are ROPES books available for certificates of competency as:
When using a ROPES book, you must record sea service in the basic unit of a day. A standard day is defined as a minimum of seven and a half hours service. Part days are calculated by a marine examiner.
More information is available about recording qualifying sea service.
Sea service accumulated prior to the purchase of a ROPES book may also be accepted towards the issue of a marine licence. Where some of your sea service is recorded in a ROS book (or another method, for example statutory declaration) the sea service should be recorded in days.
Notes for guidance of candidates details the amount of sea service required for each type of marine licence.
The ROPES system is not a competency-based assessment and does not replace the need for people to complete the required marine training with a Maritime Safety Queensland authorised registered training organisation. Further information is available on competency-based training and workplace-based task books.
If you complete a ROPES book you will qualify for up to a 50 per cent remission in the qualifying sea service requirements relative to the licence level, with a sliding scale of remission for a book that is not 100 per cent complete.
By formally recording sea service you are making a factual account of the actual service you have completed. For example if you are working as a deckhand on a commercial vessel only operating in partially smooth waters, the duties are recorded as ‘D’ and the area of operation is recorded as 'PS'. Falsifying sea service is an offence.
Applying for a ROPES book
Application for a ROPES book must be done in person. You should contact a Maritime Safety Queensland regional office as you may need to make an appointment.
What you will need:
Maritime Safety Queensland may not issue a marine licence if the required minimum standard of vision and medical fitness are not met. We strongly recommend that you undertake at least eyesight testing before purchasing a ROPES book or commencing marine training with a Maritime Safety Queensland authorised registered training organisation (PDF, 27 KB).
