Conditions for issuing an RAZ exemption:

• The employment of non-EU ratings may not lead to the forced dismissal of employees to whom the Dutch wage and working conditions apply.
• An agreement must be reached between the applicant shipping company and Nautilus International regarding the applicable salary and employment conditions.

Shipping companies wishing to apply for a RAZ permit must therefore first ensure that an agreement concerning wage and working conditions has been reached:

• for Indonesian ratings, the shipping companies must apply the so-called ‘KPI-CBA’;
• for Filipino ratings the so-called ‘Dutch Amosup CBA’ or the ‘PSU CBA’ is applicable;
• for Ukrainian ratings the so-calles “CBA Ukrainian ratings Dutch flag’ is applicable;
• other nationalities use the Nautilus International TCCC agreement.
• for Filipino or Indonesian ratings employed on board a Marine Engineering Support Vessel (MESV), the arrangements agreed by Neptune apply. Please refer to the page International CBAs under the heading Neptune.

 If a shipping company does not hold an RAZ exemption while employing non-EU ratings, it subsequently does not meet the conditions of the CBA.

Nautilus International represents the employee in CBA matters. Nautilus International can demand compliance with the CBA by court of both the shipping company and the employer’s association of which the shipping company is registered as a member. Furthermore, if no RAZ licence is obtained, Nautilus International can demand the application of the Dutch CBA instead of the foreign CBA for non-EU ratings. Nautilus International can also implement a boycott. While this is not permitted in the Netherlands, this practice is unfortunately sometimes allowed in various foreign ports.

Costs of RAZ licences
Nautilus International receives a contribution to be paid by the shipping company for each position that is occupied by non-EU ratings. The amount of the annual contributions to Nautilus International per non-EU seafarer is currently as follows:

RAZ contribution € 152.50 plus RAZ fund formation €15.40

Shipping companies employing Philippine ratings will receive an invoice from the KVNR for a contribution of USD 10 per month per Philippine seafarer for the continuing operations of the Palompom Institute of Technology (PIT).

• Apply for a RAZ exemption now

Conditions for issuing an RTO licence

• The employment of non-EU officers may not lead to forced dismissal of employees to whom the Dutch wage and working conditions apply.
• An agreement must be reached between the applicant shipping company and Nautilus International regarding the applicable salary and employment conditions.

The so-called NEMEA CBA applies to shipping companies that are members of the employer’s association Netherlands Maritime Employers Association (NEMEA). Shipping companies that are not members of KVNR/NEMEA must take into account that they pay $ or € 100,- (depending on the currency of the CBA) above the wages as stated in the CBA of the officer. Shipping companies that are already members of the KVNR can become a member of NEMEA without additional costs.

Registration with the KVNR (boer@kvnr.nl)
If a shipping company does not have an RTO licence when employing non-EU officers, it subsequently does not meet the conditions of the CBA. Nautilus International represents the employee in CBA matters. Nautilus International can demand compliance with the CBA via the courts of the shipping company and the employer’s association of which the shipping company is registered as a member. Furthermore, if no RAZ licence is obtained, Nautilus International can demand the application of the Dutch CBA instead of the foreign CBA for non-EU seafarers. Nautilus International can also implement a boycott. While this is not permitted in the Netherlands, this practice is unfortunately sometimes allowed in various foreign ports.

Costs of RTO licences
Nautilus International receives a contribution to be paid by the shipping company for each position occupied by non-EU officers. The annual contribution to Nautilus International per non-EU officer is €75 per year.

• Apply for a RTO licence now

Before Kiwa can issue the Master’s certificate, one of the requirements that must be met is that the shipping company wanting to employ a foreign captain has an RTK licence. In contrast to the regulations concerning the employment of non-EU ratings and officers (the RAZ and RTO licences respectively), the RTK contains no provisions on (the level of) the pay and employment conditions of non-EU/EEA Masters. The RTK only applies to merchant shipping vessels, and therefore not to sea-going dredgers. There are separate regulations for this category of ship. More information on this subject can be obtained from the Dutch Association of Dredging Contractors (Vereniging van Waterbouwers).

A separate licence is issued for each non-EU/EEA captain. The licence states the name and address of the ship manager and the name, date of birth, nationality of the Master, and the period of validity of the foreign licence and the period of validity of the RTK license. The license is written in English. The RTK licence is issued on the basis of the Employment Regulations for Non-EU/EEA Masters (RTK).

The parties issuing the RTK have imposed a restriction on the number of nationalities that may serve as Masters. An RTK licence can be requested for, among others, the following nationalities: China, Philippines, India, Indonesia, Ukraine, and Russian Federation. This means that if a captain has the nationality of one of the 21 countries with which the Netherlands has concluded an agreement on recognition of navigation licences but the relevant nationality is not on the list, no RTK license will be issued for him/her and therefore no Dutch certificate of recognition. If a captain with an EU or EEA nationality is required to submit a certificate of recognition to Kiwa, no RTK license is required.

Conditions for issuing an RTK licence:

1. The ship manager does not employ a Dutch first officer(s) who, in his opinion, is eligible for promotion to Master.
2. The ship manager declares that there are no suitable Dutch Masters available in the Dutch labour market.
3. The employment of non-EU/EEA Masters on Dutch-flagged ships does not result in the ship manager being forced to dismiss Dutch Masters.
4. The ship's manager must apply sufficient recruitment efforts to employ Dutch Masters and Officers. This requirement does not apply to ship managers who registered their ships under the Dutch flag, and at the time of licence application, less than 2 years ago.

The recruitment activities are assessed as sufficient if the ship manager carries out the following three activities:

• offering internship places for Dutch maritime cadets;
• employing Dutch junior officers;
• offering Dutch officers a career path up to and including Master or chief engineer;

And also expands on at least one of the following three recruitment activities:

• participating in open days of nautical schools or other educational or professional exhibitions;
• positioning lateral entry personnel (‘career changers’) in or above their appropriate level;
• participating in promotional campaigns for the maritime profession.

The ship manager must cooperate with the annual surveys of the status of the Dutch shipping employment commissioned by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment. In addition to the licence itself, the cost of an RTK licence includes agreements on measures and activities to increase the inflow, and limit the outflow, of Dutch officers into the shipping industry.

In this context, Article 7 of the regulation states that a contribution will be made to the Maritime Education and Development Fund (O&O fund) per Master position (or for the number of Masters as agreed with the ship manager) per quarter. The amount of the contribution to the O&O fund is currently €125 per quarter per non-EU/EEA Master.

• Apply for a RTK licence now