Encyclopedia · Area 02
STCW certification, training oversight, MLC 2006, fatigue and the people who make rules work.
The STCW review does not yet make the proposed requirements binding, but it is an opportunity to improve training, independent evaluation and certification.
From the difference between a CoC and a CoP to the certificate verification system and quality control of issue at flag State level.
Seafarers' working conditions, repatriation and complaint procedures are part of a shipping company's operational and reputational risk.
Signing an administrative undertaking between two maritime authorities to recognise certificates of competency is only a first step. Recognition under Regulation I/10 of the STCW Convention is effective and legally sound only with online verification of authenticity and continuous assessment of the issuing State's quality system.
Approving maritime training institutions does not end with an administrative review of syllabi and a check of the premises. Effective public oversight needs performance-based assessment of competence, audits of instructors' qualifications, validation of simulator scenarios and follow-up of the correction of non-conformities.
Formal compliance with hours of work and rest records does not protect a seafarer from loss of alertness. Sound safety management means linking the STCW and MLC 2006 standards with IMO's comprehensive fatigue guidelines and a just reporting culture in shipping companies.
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