Minimum in-service eyesight standards for seafarers are set internationally in Table A-I/9 of the STCW Code, and applied — sometimes with additional detail — by each national maritime authority.
What the standards typically cover
- Distance vision, with and without glasses or contact lenses
- Near and intermediate vision for reading charts, instruments and documents
- Colour vision, particularly for duties involving navigation lights and signals
- Visual fields and night vision
- Freedom from significant eye conditions
Different standards for different duties
Requirements differ between masters, deck officers and ratings with lookout duties, engineer officers and ratings, radio operators and other seafarers. Deck duties usually carry the most demanding distance-vision and colour-vision requirements.
SeafarerFit does not reproduce numerical thresholds here because they must be read in context and may be updated. See the official STCW text and your national authority’s guidance, and read our Vision Center for background.
Sources
- International Maritime Organization — STCW Code, Section A-I/9 and Table A-I/9 (opens in a new tab)
- ILO / IMO — Guidelines on the medical examinations of seafarers (2011) (opens in a new tab)
Links go to the original publishers. SeafarerFit is not affiliated with or endorsed by these organizations.