Editor’s note: The following is part of an occasional series. The LOG recently submitted STCW questions to Bill Eglinton, director of training at the Paul Hall Center in Piney Point, Md. Eglinton for years has been a regular member of U.S. delegations participating in international forums about mariner training and certification. His answers follow.STCW is the acronym for an international maritime treaty signed in 1978 and amended in 1995. It stands for Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping.
What do you see as the biggest benefits of the amended STCW convention?
This is an excellent question, as many people have asked, “Why are we doing this?” Looking at the big picture, 162 maritime nations signed on to this international convention on training. For the first time, practically every seafarer in the world has to meet certain training requirements such as Basic Safety Training and Shipboard Familiarization, just to name two.
It was a known fact that the vast majority of seafarers from developing countries were sailing with little or no knowledge of basic fire fighting, first aid, water survival, etc. The newly amended convention requires that there be documentary evidence of this training or the vessel can be detained in ports around the world.
For the school, probably the biggest hurdle we faced was developing a system to document this required training and also to track it. Ever since the Paul Hall Center opened in 1967, all records were maintained in filing cabinets in the admissions office. We decided to develop an electronic database and enter every single record into it. From this database we then produced in 1997 a training record book (TRB) into which we could record all the training a member had received at the Paul Hall Center and elsewhere. This was a major accomplishment both for the school and the membership, and continues to be the “backbone” of our documentation system.
The buildup to the STCW-95 deadline of Feb. 1, 2002 lasted for years and received a lot of attention throughout the industry. By comparison, the deadline itself came and went without much fanfare. What happened?
There was a five-year transition period given to all countries to “get their act together” before the amended 1995 STCW Convention came into full force.
This five-year period was to allow schools to develop the new STCW courses, develop a system to record and track this training and then to get their mariners into the schools. The deadline came last year (Feb. 1, 2002) and there were no outbursts to mark its arrival! We had done our homework and the membership was fully prepared when the deadline came. However, this was not the case with many other countries.
A year ago, perhaps the biggest STCW story involved the IMO asking for what amounted to an unofficial extension of the deadline for certain STCW certificates. Generally, what was the response of the signatory nations? Also, when the extension elapsed after six months, was there a noticeable change in enforcement?
STCW was developed by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), which is headquartered in London. As the Feb. 1, 2002 deadline approached, several countries explained that they were not going to be fully prepared by that date due to various problems such as processing of paperwork, documenting training and having enough courses to get everyone trained.
The IMO was sympathetic to their dilemma but could not legally change the implementation date.
What IMO decided to do was to send a request to all maritime administrations worldwide asking that everyone inspecting a vessel for meeting the training requirements of STCW please record that there were noncompliances found but to not detain the vessel(s) until a “grace period” of six months had passed. In effect, many countries were given six additional months to come up to speed. All indications were that this additional amount of time allowed most of the fleets of the world to come into compliance, since no major disruptions to shipping took place.
Although the Paul Hall Center always has emphasized hands-on training, the school obviously had to make some adjustments to accommodate training that complies with the revised STCW convention. What have been some of the biggest changes at the school that stemmed from STCW? Are any more adjustments planned, or is everything basically in place?
This question is a good one. For years our industry has known that the system for certifying seafarers wasn’t the greatest. All Coast Guard exams were multiple-choice questions on how a particular piece of equipment or system was built, the theory of how it operated and basically how to fix it. Some people have experienced trouble with passing these tests due to poor reading skills or “brain freeze” when taking an exam.
Now along comes STCW, which says people must be trained and assessed in order to receive certification allowing them to do a particular job aboard a vessel. This means that you learn the particular subject and then demonstrate that you have acquired the skills to successfully do the job. For years our membership has been saying, “Don’t ask me a bunch of multiple-choice questions about a piece of equipment. Hand it to me and I will show you how it works!” Well, we got our wish!
Now, instead of taking a 50-question test to become a qualified electrician or seven multiple-choice exams to become a third mate or third assistant engineer, you must demonstrate the skill to hold that endorsement or license. Makes sense to me.
The Paul Hall Center has always believed in hands-on training and, therefore, these new requirements caused few problems for us. Our membership is used to having to demonstrate (be assessed) a particular skill in order to pass our courses. Many other “schools” that offered courses to become an AB or oiler by sitting in front of a computer and going over hundreds and hundreds of questions and answers in order to pass a Coast Guard exam are no longer in operation. Only those schools having real programs that train and assess people for shipboard skills are still around.
The Paul Hall Center has Coast Guard-approved programs for meeting most of the STCW requirements for sailing in a particular position in the unlicensed ranks. Some of the engineering programs are still in development and should be finalized in the next several months. However, these remaining programs do not affect Seafarers who currently are sailing, but rather only future QMEDs.
Just as it has always been, the Paul Hall Center will continue to upgrade programs with new information or equipment to keep pace with changes in the industry.
What should Seafarers know about renewals?
Any watchstander, licensed or unlicensed, must renew their STCW certificate every five years. The U.S. Coast Guard will issue a new certificate if the mariner has renewed his Basic Safety Training. Basic Safety Training can be renewed by either taking a Coast Guard-approved BST course again or, if you have already taken this course, you can renew it by simply producing one year of deep-sea sea time obtained after being issued the certificate. The reasoning behind this is that if you have been sailing for the past five years, you have participated in shipboard drills and exercises dealing with basic safety situations. The Paul Hall Center will put a new sticker in your TRB to indicate that you have renewed BST. Non-watchstanding members need only show the admissions office the one year of discharges.
Do Seafarers still need a TRB?
Yes! The TRB is still extremely important for capturing all new training you receive and for showing documentary evidence of having taken the mandatory training for shipping purposes. Unless you hear otherwise from the union or the Paul Hall Center, continue to have all your training entered into your TRB.
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