In short
Inside Russia a GIMS licence names a vessel type and an area of navigation: VV, VVP or MP.
It runs 10 years. Assessment is a theory paper plus a check afloat, three attempts at most.
Abroad nobody reads a Russian licence. Charter bases look for IYT, ISSA or RYA, sometimes an ICC.
The ICC is a statement of competence under UNECE Resolution No. 40, not a course. Russia never adopted it, so no Russian ICC exists.
The first skipper rung looks alike everywhere: 24 metres, 20 miles offshore, moderate conditions.
Theory can be closed on your own. Practice cannot: hours afloat and logged miles have no substitute.
Why a licence at all
A licence answers three separate questions, and that is where the confusion starts.
Legality first: in Russia you may not handle a small craft subject to state registration without one. Access to a boat is a different matter — a charter company in Croatia does not read Russian law, it must satisfy its underwriter. Hence international certificates.
The third question is competence. No document ever berthed a boat for anyone.
The GIMS licence and what it says
The licence is issued by the State Small Craft Inspectorate (GIMS) of the Russian EMERCOM. The candidate must be of age and hold a medical statement confirming there are no contraindications. Apply through the state services portal or a GIMS office.
In February 2026 the procedure was reissued under a new EMERCOM order, and assessment now happens wherever the applicant is registered. Check the current document list before applying — secondary legislation changes faster than articles about it.
Vessel types and areas of navigation
The licence covers a pairing of vessel type and area, not "a yacht". The types: motor, sailing, motor-sailing, hovercraft, special construction and personal watercraft. A licence for a motorboat gives you nothing on a sailing yacht.
The areas of navigation are the letters that puzzle everyone:
VV — inland waters outside the Inland Water Transport Code: lakes, reservoirs and rivers without organised traffic. Until 1 March 2022 it was marked VP; the old abbreviation still circulates.
VVP — inland waterways where traffic is organised under that Code: navigable rivers and canals with locks and control.
MP — the internal sea waters and territorial sea of the Russian Federation.
Sit at least one category and one area, and take the one you need: adding categories later is a separate assessment.
What the exam asks
The theory paper is built from topic blocks tied to what you declare; its size follows the number of blocks:
two blocks — 25 questions in 40 minutes, one mistake allowed;
three to six blocks — 30 questions in 40 minutes, two mistakes allowed;
all blocks — 35 questions in 45 minutes, three mistakes allowed.
Adding categories is a short paper of 10 to 15 questions. The bar is high: nearly clean work, not "half right".
The practical check happens afloat on a craft of the declared type: leaving and approaching a berth, slow-speed handling, anchor work, man overboard. A retake comes no sooner than seven days later, three attempts in all.
Validity and where it works
The licence is valid for 10 years from issue. It works in Russia; beyond the border it has no link to the international recognition system, and a charter base need not read it.
International certificates: IYT, ISSA, RYA
Three bodies cover most recreational yacht training, built alike: a ladder of rungs, each with a course, time afloat and an exam run by an accredited school.
IYT
International Yacht Training Worldwide. The ladder runs VHF radio operator, International Crew, International Flotilla Skipper, International Bareboat Skipper, then Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore and Ocean.
The rung that matters for chartering is International Bareboat Skipper: minimum age 16 and, by the end of the five-day course, 200 nautical miles and 10 days at sea. It covers a vessel up to 24 metres, up to 20 miles offshore, in fair conditions. IYT counts a day at sea as eight hours under way; anchor time is excluded.
ISSA
The International Sailing Schools Association. Its Inshore Skipper rung means the same: a yacht up to 24 metres, day and night, up to 20 miles offshore, moderate weather. Entry asks for age 16 or over, one cruise already sailed and a radio certificate; the course is about seven days.
Offshore Skipper wants real sea time: 28 days at sea as skipper or watch leader across at least two voyages and two sea areas, plus radio and first aid. Limits move out to 120 miles offshore and heavier weather. Schools quote around 800 miles — check against current ISSA rules.
RYA
The Royal Yachting Association, the British scheme with the longest history and best-known top end. The ladder runs Competent Crew, Day Skipper, Coastal Skipper, then the Yachtmaster Coastal, Offshore and Ocean examinations.
Day Skipper is the rough equivalent of Bareboat Skipper, but the door is narrower: the RYA expects 5 days on board, 100 miles and 4 night hours before the practical course, plus Day Skipper Shorebased theory.
An RYA Yachtmaster is an examination with an independent examiner, not a course. Yachtmaster Coastal calls for 30 days at sea, 800 miles, 2 days as skipper and 12 night hours — or 12 days and 400 miles with a Coastal Skipper completion certificate. Offshore wants 50 days, 2500 miles, 5 days as skipper and five passages over 60 miles, two overnight and two in command. Half the qualifying time must be tidal, all within ten years.
The ICC is a statement, not a course
The International Certificate of Competence — in full, the International Certificate for Operators of Pleasure Craft — comes from Resolution No. 40 of the UN Economic Commission for Europe. Not a syllabus but a document by which one government assures another that the holder meets the level it describes. Valid five years.
National authorities issue it to their own nationals and residents. Around two dozen UNECE member states plus South Africa have accepted Resolution No. 40; Russia is not among them, so no Russian national ICC exists. It comes instead through bodies with delegated authority: the RYA issues a UK ICC to nationals of countries that have not accepted the resolution, and to nationals of countries that have only if they live in the UK. IYT works on similar lines, and Bareboat Skipper and above carry an ICC endorsement without a separate test. Rules and lists are revised — confirm with the issuing body.
What a charter base actually asks
Usually three things.
First, a skipper certificate, at least at Bareboat Skipper, Day Skipper or Inshore Skipper level. A bare ICC no longer satisfies many European operators and their underwriters: IYT itself notes that bases want proof you can handle the yacht, which it does not supply.
Second, a radio operator's certificate — not everywhere, but often.
Third, your experience in words: a sailing CV. How many miles, in which waters, on what boats, in what roles, how recently. It comes out of your logbook — the one part you cannot assemble the week before the holiday.
Some countries add local requirements, such as a second qualified person aboard. Conditions vary by country and company — ask the base, before you book.
How to prepare
Theory you can close on your own. The material is the same everywhere: collision regulations, lights and shapes, sound signals, navigation, IALA marks, tides, meteorology, boat systems, safety and communications. The schemes differ in emphasis and phrasing, not in physics.
Practice you cannot. Stern-to berthing in a cross wind, man overboard under sail, a night approach to an unfamiliar marina — that comes only through the hands. Without miles the next rung stays shut.
Frequently asked questions
Is a Russian GIMS licence recognised abroad?
As a rule, no: it has no link to Resolution No. 40 and no place in the lists charter companies work from. The odd base will take one with a sailing CV, but that is decided case by case.
What is the difference between IYT and RYA?
Entry level and philosophy. The RYA has a long ladder and firm mileage thresholds, and its Yachtmaster is sat with an independent examiner, not the school. IYT is more modular, faster and commoner in Mediterranean schools. At the first skipper level a base treats the two much the same.
Which yacht licence should I get for a first charter?
Look at the water. Sailing only in Russia — a GIMS licence with the right area. Chartering abroad — any first skipper certificate: IYT Bareboat Skipper, ISSA Inshore Skipper or RYA Day Skipper. Many hold both; they answer different questions.
How long is a GIMS licence valid?
Ten years from issue. An ICC lasts five; Yachtmaster certificates do not expire, though the qualifying sea time must fall within the last ten years.
What do VP, VVP and MP mean?
VV, formerly VP, is inland water without organised traffic; VVP the inland waterways governed by the Inland Water Transport Code; MP Russia's internal sea waters and territorial sea.
Can I prepare for the theory on my own?
Yes, and most people do: the question pool is finite and the logic single. The practical side, no — an examiner afloat can tell within ten minutes how often you have really come alongside.
What next
Theory goes down best in small portions. In the app that is the Learning section: the COLREGs in plain language, the catalogue of lights and shapes, lessons on manoeuvres. Test yourself in the exams — GIMS, 60 questions in 45 minutes; COLREGs, 30 in 25; IYT Bareboat theory, 40 in 40 — plus short quizzes. Night situations go into the lights trainer, and Progress ranks weak topics by share of mistakes. Short guides: "Tests and exams", "The lights trainer", "3D lessons", "Progress and weak topics".
Start counting miles from your first passage — that cannot be reconstructed later. The record is covered in "The yacht logbook: how to keep it and what to record", the thresholds in "Sea miles for a certificate: how many and how to get them", the screens in "Recording a passage" and "My boats".
To be straight about the limits: the app closes theory, drilling and the mileage record. It issues no certificate and replaces no hours afloat — school and sea do that.