The ‘ramifications’ of training
In the run-up to the STCW Conference in Manila this June, India has proposed that there be mandatory space for training berths provided on all new ships. This will be one of the more heated issues to be discussed. Additional space to accommodate trainee cadets (which might become mandatory) is seemingly attractive, in light of the IMO’s current “Go to Sea” campaign. But there are, as is so often the case, ramifications. Continue reading
Weaving a web of education
In his New Year’s message, inaugurating 2010 as the Year of the Seafarer, Admiral Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), identified three goals for the year: Continue reading
Shocked and ashamed by training ‘deficiencies’
Experience has taught us that most casualties are cause by a human agency. It is possible that we need to train seafarers to handle different tasks in a different way. The use of lifesaving equipment is one example. Continue reading
Keep the comments coming
Whilst this blogging game is pretty new to me, I have been delighted to see the growing number of comments that have come from serving Masters and seafarers and welcome further response in addition to the comments we have already received.
One of our objectives is to encourage discussion of maritime safety and training of seafarers, and the best way to do this is to communicate with all of you on a daily basis. To enhance training advocacy, we need your input. Keep it coming! Continue reading
Webinar round-up
Despite a couple of minor technical glitches, the CapitalLink webinar produced a lively debate on Tuesday.
One question asked about how bankers and other stakeholders could engage with senior sea staff, and discussed what one caller referred to as “the invisible aspects of shipping.” Continue reading
Forecasting the Future
It’s my great pleasure to host a webinar for CapitalLink this afternoon on the Future of the Shipping industry. Continue reading
What price experience?
After several thousand years of training seafarers, one would think that mankind had some sort of a system in mind. Surprisingly, there is no formal training-at-sea system. Continue reading
Never forget the crew
In his message to the world’s seafarers, dedicating the year 2010 as the “Year of the Seafarer,” Efthimios Mitropoulos, Secretary-General of the IMO, points out that it is the crew of each ship that makes world trade possible, and that 1.5m seafarers serve the daily needs of more than 6.5 billion human beings. Continue reading