The U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center has cut expected processing times for merchant mariner credential applications to four months, effective immediately, down from eight months in June and the 8-to-12-month window set when operations resumed in May. The improvement follows the 2026 federal funding lapse, which suspended NMC operations and created a backlog of over 19,000 applications. Faster turnaround is attributed to expanded production, overtime, surge processing, and resource reallocation. Applications remain processed first-in, first-out, with exceptions only for documented national defense needs.

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