Tag: International Maritime Organisation

From maritime training to HMS Ocean’s visit to London we’ve been keeping an eye on the industry’s most interesting stories. Here’s a selection of articles from the past week:

What language should be used in maritime training – As the maritime industry is international by trade, seafarers can interact, work and be trained in a multitude of languages. However, they are not. As Maritime Professional reports, in 1995 English was designated (by the International Maritime Organization) as the official language of mariners despite most mariners having a different mother tongue.  According to two lecturers from the Merchant Marine College, using just one language for maritime training is problematic. If trained in English there is the advantage of improving English proficiency of the trainees (at the expense of training outcomes) and if trained in their native tongue there is the advantage of improving training outcomes (at the expense of English language proficiency). With this in mind, the lecturers went and observed the benefits of bilingual maritime education training in China.  Although the research did not result in any empirical evidence, with which to base their conclusion, they believe the findings show that the overall effectiveness of bilingual training in maritime colleges offset the extra costs and burdens for instructors.

The Admiralty team has recently returned from Asia where our ECDIS experts presented the ‘Are you ready for the new ECDIS regulations?’ workshops.

Captain Paul Hailwood spoke to 85 delegates in Taipei who seemed well informed of the mandatory carriage of ECDIS and its requirements. However, feedback from the workshops suggested that Taiwanese shipping companies are still in the early stages of their transition to digital navigation, in comparison to their European counterparts. Many attendees were particularly interested in hearing about the cost effectiveness of implementing ECDIS on board; a key concern for the region’s maritime industry.

The first prize draw has just taken place, for our global training initiative. Qualified bridge officers from around the world entered to win a free place on a generic ECDIS training course, based on IMO Model Course 1.27 (Operational use of ECDIS), and 50 professional mariners will now be able to undertake comprehensive training at global maritime colleges.

In a poll of entrants, it emerged that bridge officers believe the most important benefit of digital navigation will be “improved maritime safety”. How can we not agree with this; comprehensive and early mariner training is vital if the industry is to achieve the full safety and efficiency benefits of digital navigation.

Mariners who answered our questions also recognise the need to complete ECDIS training to secure a job at sea with 86 per cent of respondents saying it’s vital or quite important. Training is a priority for mariners due to the mandatory carriage of ECDIS, which came into force 1st July 2012.

Ian Moncrieff CBE, Chief Executive, UKHO, explains why Admiralty has developed a series of training tools to help seagoers operate safely with ECDIS

If the maritime industry is to realise the full benefits of ECDIS, it is essential that bridge watchkeepers are properly trained to be confident and proficient in planning and conducting navigation with ENCs on ECDIS and back of bridge systems.

Think of something you use on a daily basis. Maybe it’s your toothbrush, the mobile phone which you use to keep in contact with friends and family, or even the food you eat every day. Now stop, and contemplate, do you know how it got into your hands? The answer is most likely by sea, as over 90% of all global trade is transported by ship.

Today marks the second annual Day of the Seafarer, a celebration of the 1.5 million seafarers across the globe which aims to raise awareness of the vital role they play in our global economy. The International Maritime Organization is calling the public to recognise the important role played by the global shipping industry.

From computer-based training to sustainable development, we’ve been keeping an eye on all the most interesting stories from the maritime industry. Here’s a selection of articles from the past week:

Computer-based training – Shipowners, technology companies and training providers are still uncertain about the level of computer-based training that will be permitted on board ships for learning about specific ECDIS equipment, Lloyd’s List reports. While training is imperative for those using ECDIS, many maritime training colleges do not provide type-specific training, therefore many manufacturers are creating their own CBT training. The IMO will discuss the validity of CBT when its Standards of Training and Watchkeeping sub-committee meets later this year.

From CO₂ emissions to The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee flotilla, we’ve been keeping an eye on all the most interesting stories from the maritime industry. Here’s a selection of articles from the past week:

The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Flotilla – During the largest flotilla in history, the BBC used a time lapse camera to film the Diamond Jubilee Thames River Pageant. You can watch every one of the 1,000 boats that took part sail past in under three minutes.

Admiralty has been travelling the world with its ‘Are you ready for the ECDIS regulations?’ workshops and feedback from attendees has been clear: crew training is one of the industry’s top priorities. This has been the feedback from every workshop that we have held so far; in Hamburg, Mumbai, Tokyo, Shanghai, Singapore and Connecticut.

It’s not surprising, as the mandatory carriage of ECDIS will fundamentally change the way that we navigate. Comprehensive and early mariner training is vital if the industry is to achieve the full safety and efficiency benefits of digital navigation.

From maritime mentoring to training standards legislation, we’ve been keeping an eye on all the most interesting stories from the maritime industry. Here’s a selection of articles from the past week:

Standards of training: During the IMO’s most recent meeting of the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) new working groups were set up to consider the standards of training in the maritime industry. Specific focus was put on the development of an e-navigation plan. The session, held at the IMO Headquarters, also aimed to highlight the contribution the shipping industry is making to ensure sustainable development of the global economy. More information on the committee session can be read on Safety 4 Sea here. 

Earlier this year we talked to UKHO’s Hugh Phillips about the problems identified by the International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB) whereby some, especially older, ECDIS were subject to software anomalies, which might result in some navigation data not displaying correctly.

The IHB developed and issued a check dataset in late 2011 to alert mariners to these problems and last month it issued a further circular advising that of about 500 responses received, only one third of ECDIS units tested functioned completely as expected.