The following press release was issued by the National Maritime Center on March 17.
Since Wednesday, March 5, 2025, the U.S. Coast Guard’s online public access portal, Homeport, has been unavailable due to technical issues with no estimated time to repair. Listed below are the primary credentialing services that have been interrupted by this system downtime:
Merchant Mariner Application Status: To check on the status of an application for a merchant mariner credential or medical certificate, please contact the National Maritime Center (NMC) at 1-888-427-5662, e-mail, or via Live Chat. NMC customer service agents are available Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.-5:30 p.m. EST. The NMC experiences its busiest times around midday. To avoid longer wait times, we recommend calling early in the morning when phone lines are less busy or using our Live Chat service, which will connect you with our support team during normal hours. Additionally, our Chatbot can assist with many inquiries, providing immediate answers without the need to wait for a representative.
Merchant Mariner Credential Verification: To verify the authenticity of a merchant mariner credential, please e-mail. To aid in providing a faster response, please indicate ‘Credential Verification’ in the subject line of your e-mail along with mariner name(s) and mariner reference number(s) in the body of the e-mail. Note, processing times at the NMC will vary based on e-mail volume.
Mariner Training and Assessment Data (MTAD): Course curricula and course certificate modification requests should be sent to e-mail. Please note, to prevent delays in mariner applications, course and program completions should be documented through the issuance of completion certificates. Completion certificate format and content should match that approved by the NMC during the approval process. For questions related to mariner training and assessment, please contact the NMC at 206-815-6893.
We will provide updates to the status of these services as they are reestablished. Thank you for your patience.
Sincerely,
Bradley W. Clare
Captain, U.S. Coast Guard
Commanding Officer