Rhine patent
A Rhine patent according to the international regulation on ship personnel on the Rhine entitles the holder to operate certain watercraft on the Rhine. The four Rhine patents are:
- Large patent: Authorization to drive all vehicles
- Small patent: Authorization to drive vehicles less than 35 meters in length that are not tugs, push boats or passenger ships (approval for more than twelve passengers) and do not move any coupled vehicles
- Sports patent : Authorization to drive a sports vehicle less than 25 meters in length
- Official patent: Authorization to drive government vehicles and fire boats
Appropriate knowledge must be proven for the sections of the Rhine, which are subject to mandatory routes, from the Iffezheim lock (km 335.92) to the Spyck ferry (km 857.40). The Rhine patent is limited accordingly in its validity.
To drive vehicles less than 15 meters in length that are not tugs, push boats or passenger ships, a certificate of competence corresponding to the national regulations of one of the contracting parties to the underlying revised Rhine Shipping Act (the states bordering the Rhine and Belgium ) is sufficient . The driving of ferries, of exclusively muscle-powered vehicles and of those less than 15 meters in length and less than 3.68 kW of drive power of the machine is based exclusively on national law .
Skipper certificates recognized as equivalent by the Central Commission for Navigation on the Rhine replace a Rhine patent. This applies to both shipmaster's certificates from the contracting states and from third countries. Equivalence includes vehicle type and size as well as route information. A route certificate can also be obtained with proof of further route knowledge.
Acquisition of the Rhine patent
A prerequisite for the granting of a Rhine patent is the completion of the 21st year, in the case of the sports patent the 18th year of life, for large and small patent the possession of a radiotelephone certificate. Applicants must be physically and mentally fit as well as character and technically capable of driving a corresponding vehicle and a crew. The suitability is to be proven by a medical certificate from an officially recognized doctor, the character suitability by an extract from the criminal record and the professional competence by successfully passing the required theoretical and practical test. In doing so, holders of qualifications that are partially recognized as equivalent can be waived corresponding parts of the examination.
Immediately after successfully completing the examination for a Rhine patent, a provisional Rhine patent is issued, which is valid in conjunction with a personal document until the final patent card is received, but for a maximum of three months. The original document is a photo ID in the so-called credit card format ( ID-1 format ).
At the end of the 50th, 55th, 60th and 65th year of life, a new certificate of fitness must be presented, thereafter annually. This also applies to the holder of a ship's master's certificate recognized as equivalent.
Web links
- Ordinance on ship personnel on the Rhine (PDF; 4.3 MB)