At a recently held forum on 'Seafarer Competence', organised by DNV SeaSkill in Mumbai, the DNV Maritime team stressed on the effects and role of the human element in maritime causalities and the need-of-the-hour to address this issue.
The 'Seafarer Competence through effective MET Forum’, held in Mumbai on 17th Feb 2010, organised by the Competence Management Certification arm of DNV, DNV SeaSkill, received an overwhelming response with participation from the elite maritime fraternity, including senior ship owners, ship managers and maritime institutes from a clutch of high profile companies in India.
“There is a significant uptake of Competence Management Services in the maritime marketplace today, and through this forum DNV SeaSkill endeavors to continue to build awareness and gain acceptance of the concept of competence management within the maritime industry,” says DNV SeaSkill Manager (India & Sri Lanka), Capt. Vernon Sequeria, who facilitated this forum for the first time in Mumbai to cater to the needs of the local maritime fraternity.
He goes on to say that, "To enable ship owners and ship managers establish a strong foothold in the maritime industry - more so during the depressed market coupled with economic uncertainties - without having to face the consequences of ship detention at ports, it is important that they choose to focus on addressing the challenges of maintaining staff competence (the human element) through Competence Management Systems.
Ensuring people fit for purpose
The forum started off with an introductory session deliberated by Mr. Amit Ray, Head of DNV SeaSkill, Asia, who gave the participants a gist of the various interactive sessions lined up at the forum and pointed out that, "The very essence of this 'Seafarer Competence Forum’ is to exchange new ideas and experiences and to essentially learn from each other.”
Furthermore, Amit Ray also facilitated a session titled, ‘Competence Management: Facilitation and Certification with TOTS and SIGTTO compliance’, wherein he underlined the importance of seafarer competence saying that, “Competence Management is not a destination but it is a continuous journey towards improvement and success,” adding, “Shipping companies need to have a structured approach to identify competence and training needs, by incorporating a more proactive approach rather than reactive one.”
A comprehensive 360 degree approach
The first session of the forum was addressed by DNV India’s SIO Production Manager, Amit Mital, who deliberated on ‘Port State Control (PSC) - challenges and the way forward’; essentially looking at the effects of the ‘human element’ in PSC related issues. Amit Mital points out, “The main focus of this session is to help ship managers and owners to appropriately deal with Port State Control (PSC) inspections and ensure PSC compliance, through improved on board competence.”
Corroborating to Mr. Mital’s views, Amit Ray said that, “The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (or STCW), as amended, necessitates training and assessment activities to be continuously monitored through a quality standards system. This mandatory requirement by STCW ensures achievement of defined objectives, including those concerning the qualifications and experience of instructors and assessors on board a ship.”
Effective exchange of knowledge and experiences
Half way through the forum, participants were divided into groups, wherein each group consisted of a blend of ship owners, ship managers and senior officers from the maritime institutes. The groups were told to give their insight and viewpoints on significant elements of concerns such as Training effectiveness, STCW, improvement in PSC performance, etc.
The individual group presentation brought to light various challenges that the shipping companies face today and significant ideas and way forward was also the main highlight of this brainstorming session.
Maritime Labour Convention (MLC)
The last session at the forum, titled 'MLC Compliance: A Challenge and way forward', featured a presentation by Manager, DNV Academy (India), Mr. N. Venkateswaran, who deliberated on the background and goals of MLC 2006 and also cited 'The International Labour Organisation's (ILO)’ adoption of the MLC.
Venkateswaran pointed out, "As per the mandatory requirements put down by MLC, all ships above 500 tons GRT, engaged in international trade will be required to carry a certificate of compliance valid for five years. Hence, this consequently triggers the need for shipowners to develop and implement measures to ensure ongoing compliance between inspections."
Furthermore, Venkateswaran discussed on DNV's aim to provide a voluntary certification service for shipowners, to facilitate their entry into force and compliance with the Convention.
“All-in-all the forum received an encouraging response, aptly reaching out to the decision makers from the Maritime fraternity”, says Vernon, who wrapped up the event with a vote of thanks to the participants. Looking at the overwhelming response received at this event in Mumbai, DNV SeaSkill has scheduled a similar event in Kolkata in April 2010.
