30 | Seaways | August 2019 Read Seaways online at http://www.nautinst.org/seaways
INTERNATIONAL FORUM ON SEAFARERS EDUCATION TRAINING AND CREWING (ETC)
Î I was fortunate to be able to travel to Odessa
to attend the ETC Forum in June, to represent
the President, Capt Nick Nash FNI CMMar. This
well-attended and very well organised event is
a major part of the Ukraine maritime calendar,
which attracts attendance from as far afield as
Hong Kong, western Europe and Scandinavia
as well as the local region. These events benefit
greatly from this sort of cosmopolitan make-
up and it brings diversity of views conditioned
by local events and practices. All of this sparks
debate, stimulates thought and makes the
event lively and very worthwhile.
There were more than 200 attendees, of
whom quite a number were cadets and staff
from the Maritime University. Attendance was
close to 100% over the two days of the event
and interest and involvement were high. Good
to see.
After the opening ceremony on day one,
the first session looked at ship management
and maritime human resources, followed by
seafarer competence and the human element,
and finally maritime education, training and
certification. Day two started with a look at
the latest technological developments for
shipping and maritime education and training
(MET), then modern crew management. The
conference finished with a choice of three
round table discussions: criminalisation of
seafarers, blended learning and the future of
simulation training and seafarers’ continuing
professional development (CPD).
I delivered the President’s video on day one
and believe it went down well, particularly
among the cadets. Later, I shared a panel
discussion with Cleo Doumbia-Henry of World
Maritime University WMU, Oral Edogan of Piri
Reis University, Boyan Mednikarov of Nikolai
Vaptsarov Naval Academy and Arjen Minjes
of Harlingen Maritime Academy. Some of the
questions considered are discussed below.
Maritime education for the
digital era
Professor Edogan said that while ’new maths’
were being proposed to students, the industry
was more desirous of ‘old maths’. By contrast,
Cleo Doumbia-Henry felt that we should be
focusing on the prospect of autonomous
shipping. I stated that The Nautical Institute’s
concern was the promotion of high standards
of knowledge, qualification and competence,
and that the education being given at all levels
had to realistically fit the seafarer for the ships
of today.
Leadership training and maritime
resource management
There was an opportunity here to highlight
an example of leadership in action in the
President’s video, which I had just shown,
and to discuss the definition and types of
leadership. This also gave me a chance to
mention mentoring and the NI publications
on leadership and bridge team management
and to discuss whether leaders can ever be
‘made’. While brief, this discussion was clearly
going somewhere, with marked differences
of approach between the academics and the
mariners.Future comprehensive review of
STCW convention and STCW code
There was little dissent from the position
that 2010 amendments to STCW were only a
stopgap and that a complete overhaul was
more than due. However, we had heard earlier
in the day that IMO had delayed any ‘piecemeal’
work on STCW and the most likely scenario was
a complete re-work in 2021. There was universal
agreement that STCW is only a minimum
standard and has to be routinely exceeded.Do officers need a degree for
certification?
Again, there was a marked difference between
the academics and the mariners on whether
a degree was necessary for the certification of
officers. I made the point that while it is normal
in some countries to leave college with a degree
and an STCW ticket, this was certainly not so
everywhere, and in particular not in a large
number of countries with the oldest and most
established seafaring tradition. I briefly outlined
the availability of degree courses in the UK for
those wishing to aim for a specific target within
the industry, or to change career path, but not
for seagoing service. I talked of the prestige
afforded in the past by the Extra Master’s
Certificate and how in a sense we may be said
to be going back to the future with the new
Chartered Master Mariner qualification offered
through the HCMM and facilitated by the NI.
This sparked some interest and seemed to strike
a chord with the rector of the Odessa Maritime
Academy who is himself a Chartered Engineer
and FIMarEST.
My first trip to sea was to the Black Sea – not
Odessa but the port of Poti, in Georgia. That was
as a cadet on an ore carrier and I have waited
more than 50 years to make the return to the
Black Sea, but this time to a city full of surprises.
My wife now wishes she had accompanied me
on this visit too – I have talked so much about
Odessa and the warmth of the welcome and the
great organisation by the local NI branch and in
particular Professor Vladimir Torskiy FNI.
On the first evening of the forum we
experienced first class hospitality in a relaxed
atmosphere for dinner at a beach club. Amazing
talent was shown by the cadets from the
Maritime University, who provided the stage
show, ranging from tango dancing to singingand gymnastics. This evening gave us a chance
to get to know each other better and it is
always good to get a chance to speak to others
involved in this industry. It was good to be able
to meet other NI members and to find interest
in such NI initiatives as the Chartered Master
Mariner scheme and the Young Members
Council.
A major part of our strength as an
international institute is in the diversity of
our membership and the contribution of
knowledge and experience each part brings.
This is especially true here in Ukraine where
we have one of the most vigorous and
accomplished branches. Very well organised
and led, they contribute hugely to the overall
aims and objectives of the institute.
A high point for me was the dinner in a
typical Ukranian restaurant with the branch
committee. During the dinner I had the pleasure
and honour to present Capt Alex Sagaydak FNI
with a Certificate of Appreciation for his work
with the NI IMO committee.
All who attended will take away different
points and memories from the forum. For me
the stand-out comment of the whole forum was
the answer by a young cadet who, when asked
by one of the moderators why he wanted to
go to sea, answered: ‘Because it is a very highly
regarded profession and would give me a high
standing and respect in society.’ How nice to
hear that.
Captain Duncan McKelvie FNI
Vice President, The Nautical InstituteConferences