10 Medical Conditions that May Delay Your Merchant Marine Application

All Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC) applicants who are Officers or Mariners with a qualified rating are required to submit a Merchant Mariner Credential Medical Evaluation Report (CG-719K) along with their applications.

The form must be filled out in its entirety before submission. The National Maritime Center (NMC) explains that applicants who have certain medical issues should make sure that the doctor addresses the condition in accordance with NVIC 04-08. “Incomplete applications, missing signatures, or failure to address these medical issues will cause your application to be delayed or even rejected,” the NMC cautions.

10 Medical Conditions that Can Delay Applications

According to the NMC’s Wizard for Online Application, 10 conditions that cause application delays are:

1. cardiovascular conditions;
2. diabetes;
3. psychiatric disorders;
4. sleep disorders;
5. chronic use of impairing medications;
6. impaired hearing;
7. alcohol/drug abuse;
8. seizures;
9. vision requirements; and
10. pulmonary conditions.

For more information specific to medical conditions and how they might affect your credentials, click the Medical tab on the NMC website.

Additional Mistakes that Could Delay your Application

In an effort to prevent application delays, the NMC released a helpful publication, Common Errors Mariners Make When Submitting Form CG-719K.

The 10 most common mistakes on applicants' medical reports are:

1. leaving the medication section blank;
2. not providing a YES or NO response for each condition listed;
3. not providing complete details, including the date of diagnosis and the medical resolution for your conditions;
4. missing uncorrected vision;
5. uncorrected vision tests with corrective lenses;
6. leaving the field of vision section blank;
7. discrepancies with color vision testing, e.g., inappropriate color vision testing method, number of errors omitted or determination not indicated;
8. missing hearing section information (hearing must be marked as normal, abnormal or hearing aid required);
9. failing to provide a pulse rate or blood pressure stats; and
10. failing to provide a NORMAL or ABNORMAL response for each system/organ identified.

Supporting Documents for Medical Conditions

Certain medical conditions require documentation when submitting an MMC application. “Failure to provide supporting medical documentation for conditions can lead to significant delays in processing and evaluations,” explains the NMC.

To determine what types of documents are required for your particular condition, you and your doctor can use the NVIC 04-08 with Enclosures publication. In the third enclosure of the publication, the NMC provides a list of 201 medical conditions that are subject to further review, along with the types of documentation required for each.

The list is not exhaustive, however. “Any medical condition or physical impairment not otherwise specified in this enclosure which may cause significant functional impairment or sudden incapacitation, or which might otherwise compromise shipboard safety, including required response in an emergency situation, may be subject to further review,” the NMC says.

Finding the Information You Need

For questions regarding medical conditions, you can contact the NMC Medical Helpdesk at marinermedical@uscg.mil or call 1-888-IASKNMC.

For other articles of interest to mariners, peruse our topics on the My Vessel Logs blog.