STCW Compliance 2010 Manila Amendments
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STCW, the Standards for
Training, Certification
and Watchkeeping, addresses
the minimum requirements
all seafarers must
meet before sailing
in international waters.
But as the maritime
industry grows and evolves,
these standards must be
amended and brought up to date.
In this video,
we'll tell you what
you need to know about the
2010 Manila Amendments,
and go over new
STCW requirements
in the following areas,
certificates and endorsements,
record keeping, shipboard
familiarization, crew
coordination, fitness
for duty, basic training,
and ongoing training
and assessment.
Finally, we'll tell you when
these new requirements are
being implemented,
and what you need
to do to remain STCW-compliant.
First, let's take a look at
the latest STCW guidelines
for certificates
and endorsements.
The Manila Amendments introduced
two new grades of able seafarer
deck and able seafarer
engine, as well as
new competence standards
and certification
for the positions of
electrotechnical officer
and electrotechnical rating.
By January, 2017, ILO
Able Seaman certificates
will no longer be valid.
To transition to new
certification grades,
seafarers must have a minimum
of 12 months relevant experience
at sea in the five
years before May, 2012,
and have completed all STCW
basic training requirements.
Whether it's an
engineer, whether it's
an able-bodied seaman,
whether it's a mate,
they know now that
at the very least
that person has
demonstrated competence
in the appropriate areas
for the position which
they will be filling.
New record keeping
regulations require
all prospective officers to
keep track of their training
through an onboard
training record book,
ensuring that records
are up to date
and available for scrutiny.
A new joining crew
member has to be
oriented to the vessel
he's walking onto.
And this orientation must
take place before assignment
to ship or duties.
Though the process
itself may vary,
the company's
training officers are
responsible for ensuring
that comprehensive training
records are always kept,
and that seafarers are fully
trained in all their
respective tasks.
The deck and engine
equipment of a ship
are technologically
different now as
compared to 20 or 30 years ago.
Along with new technology
come new requirements
in shipboard familiarization.
Training in the use of
computer-based navigation
information systems, usually
referred to as Electronic Chart
Display and Information
Systems, or ECDIS,
is now required for seafarers
at the operational level,
as well as the management level.
The IMO recommends a minimum
of 40 hours of generic ECDIS
training.
Seafarers must demonstrate
ECDIS proficiency
or under the latest guidelines
their certificate of competency
will not allow them
to serve aboard ships
outfitted with ECDIS equipment.
In the old days, you
had very large crews
because a lot of tasks simply
required a lot of people
to do them.
Now with electronics and
other design factors,
crew sizes have
gotten much smaller.
The people that are left have
to be much more highly trained.
Other training requirements
for dynamic positioning systems
and pollution prevention
equipment have also been added.
Personnel operating
tankers are now
divided into three categories,
oil, chemical, and gas,
with ship-specific
training for each.
Crew operating ships
in polar waters
are also given new
training guidance.
I think the revisions
that happened
with the STCW are driven
by technology and advances
actually within the industry
that are recognized standards
and practices.
Company and crew alike are
always on the lookout for ways
to improve crew coordination.
To facilitate this, all
deck and engine officers
must now undergo training
in leadership, teamwork,
and managerial skills.
Sailing a ship is the
ultimate team sport.
It takes more than
just a captain.
You have to have qualified
people at all levels.
It doesn't matter
who we are on a ship.
We all work together as a team.
By January, 2017, all
deck and engine officers
seeking STCW
certificates will be
required to meet minimum
competency requirements
in leadership and teamworking.
Additional training
is required for those
seeking titles of
chief mate and master,
or chief engineering officer.
The 2010 amendments don't only
raise competency standards,
they standardize the
international requirement
to be fit for duty, establishing
worldwide medical standards
for all mariners.
There's been a greater
scrutiny on the medical fitness
of seafarers.
And that's probably
the largest reason
that those medical
standards have changed.
Medical certificates
must be renewed no less
than every two years.
And the minimum eyesight
and hearing standards
have been raised.
For certification,
mariners will be
required to demonstrate
their fitness
for duty in a physical exam.
The thing about
working on a ship
is generally it's
seven days a week.
So in some jobs, you might be
able to work and push yourself
beyond your limits but you know
you get a day, a day or two
away.
You can catch up.
You can recover.
On a ship it's not like that.
These concerns for crew safety
have led to new minimum rest
requirements.
Mariners must now
get at least 10 hours
of rest for every 24 hour period
and at least 77 hours a week.
For every 10 hours of
rest, at least 6 of those
must be in one
uninterrupted period.
And when people get tired,
when they get fatigued,
they make mistakes.
They cause people to get hurt.
They get hurt themselves.
New requirements also stress the
importance of compensatory rest
periods if seafarers' normal
schedule is disturbed.
Musters and drills
must be conducted
in a manner that
minimizes fatigue
and the disturbance
of rest periods.
Fatigue has the same
effect on the brain
essentially as alcohol.
And that is your
cognitive functions
tend to decrease the
more fatigued you become.
Speaking of alcohol, a
maximum blood alcohol content
of no more than 0.05
percent is now enforced.
Different flag states that
issue STCW certification
can increase that and make it
more stringent, but not less.
Once again, with fewer
people on board the vessel,
there's really no
room for anyone
who is not at the
peak of sobriety.
Need to be alert, awake,
aware of what's going on,
because you may
be the only person
on the ship who is able to
see at any given point what's
going on.
All mariners must complete basic
training requirements comprised
of survival training,
basic firefighting,
elementary first aid,
and personal safety
and social responsibility.
But several additional
requirements
have recently been
introduced, including
marine environmental awareness
and security Awareness.
Security is something
now that ships' crews
need to be aware of.
They need to have
policies and procedures.
They need to follow
ISPS [INAUDIBLE].
One of the common security
issues that's been in the media
is piracy.
What we're training people
to do is not necessarily
to fight, much more
to be aware, be
able to make timely notification
of suspicious behavior,
and recognize what
doesn't look right.
Notify the proper authorities.
Notify the company.
Beginning January,
2014, all seafarers
must complete at least
one of three levels
of approved security training.
Level 1, designated
security awareness training,
applies to all seafarers.
Level 2 applies to mariners
with designated security
duties on board.
Level 3 is the highest
level of security training
a seafarer can receive, and is
required for the ship security
officer on board.
But all this safety training
isn't just a one-time thing.
For consistent results,
we need ongoing training
and assessment.
Any training courses that
affect the safety and survival
of the crew now
require refresher
training every five-year cycle.
That means all mariners
must successfully
complete refresher
training every five years
in basic firefighting
and personal survival.
Additionally, seafarers
required to hold
certificates in survival
craft and rescue boats,
fast rescue boat, and
advanced firefighting
must receive this
refresher training
in order to sail in compliance.
It can be done through formal
shoreside school training.
It can be done perhaps
by onboard assessment.
There are a number
of ways that that's
going to be addressed
in the future with newer
technologies like e-learning.
Indeed, there are many exciting
21st century opportunities
in the ongoing training
and assessment of mariners.
The latest updates to STCW
provide important guidance
in approved e-learning,
distance learning, and simulator
training for mariners worldwide.
Many training schools now offer
new and exciting opportunities
for STCW-approved Computer-Based
Training programs or CPTs.
Now more than
ever, seafarers can
show they meet basic training
and assessment requirements
from the comfort
of their own homes.
So you know about all the
latest changes to STCW.
But when do these new
rules go into effect?
Let's talk about important
dates for implementation
and what you need to do
to remain STCW-compliant.
The IMO began instituting
these new rules back in 2012,
thus beginning a five-year
period to transition
to these updated requirements.
Starting in 2014, new
security training requirements
go into effect.
By January, 2017,
all seafarers must
meet the latest requirements.
STCW is the law.
Seafarers who aren't in
full compliance by 2017
won't have the necessary
certificates to sail
in international waters.
And that's just the beginning.
That vessel could be
detained by a port state.
In other cases, vessels might
be denied access to a port
if they do not have the
appropriate level of training,
so the consequences to a vessel
operator can be very severe.
Always remember it's the
company's responsibility
to make sure that all mariners
are certified according
to the latest amendments.
Check with maritime training
academies in your area
for a list of approved
STCW training courses
to ensure your employees
remain STCW-compliant.
Let's recap 10
important new additions
in the Manila Amendments that
we learned in this video.
STCW now offers new
certification grades
of able seafarer deck
and able seafarer engine,
and new certification
requirements
for electrotechnical officer
and electrotechnical rating.
Ships are required to keep an
onboard training record book.
Seafarers on ships outfitted
with applicable technology
must demonstrate familiarity
with ECDIS, dynamic positioning
systems, and pollution
prevention equipment;
and follow new guidance
standards for operating tankers
and ships in polar waters.
New training requirements
for leadership, teamwork,
and managerial skills aim to
improve shipboard communication
and coordination.
Tougher fitness for
duty requirements
establish minimum vision
and hearing standards,
and a maximum two-year
medical certificate.
To be fit for duty, seafarers
must meet minimum standards
for rest and blood alcohol
level requirements.
Additional training requirements
include marine environment
awareness and security
awareness courses;
and mandatory refresher
training every five years
for many STCW certifications.
Finally, in today's
rapidly advancing world,
new opportunities for distance
learning and e-learning
are continually emerging.
I think when you
look at this process,
it's like getting
your driver's license.
Going through the
STCW process actually
is your license to be on
that boat and to do your job.
Don't put your safety at risk.
Make sure you and
the rest of your crew
are in full compliance with
STCW and the Manila Amendments,
and together, we can work to
achieve a safer and better
maritime workplace for all.