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About
STCW – History of STCW Implementation.
Background :
The International Convention
on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for
Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as amended, sets qualification standards
for masters, officers and watch personnel on seagoing merchant
ships. STCW was adopted in 1978 by conference at the
International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, and entered
into force in 1984. The Convention was significantly amended in
1995. The 133 current state-parties to the Convention represent
approximately 98 percent of the world’s merchant vessel
tonnage. The United States became a party in 1991. Over 90
percent of ships visiting U.S. waters are foreign-flag.
Approximately 350 large U.S. merchant ships that routinely visit
foreign ports, as well as thousands of smaller U.S. documented
commercial vessels that operate on ocean or near-coastal voyages,
are subject to STCW.
Limitations Discovered :
Between 1984 and 1992,
significant limitations to the 1978 Convention became apparent.
Many people felt that the Convention included vague requirements
that were left to the discretion of parties to the Convention.
Others felt that there were growing problems with: (a) a lack of
clear standards of competence, (b) no IMO oversight of
compliance, (c) limited port state control, and (d) inadequacies
that did not address modern shipboard functions. Meanwhile, the
U.S. deferred ratification efforts and worked for almost a decade
to effect necessary changes to our licensing regulations.
U.S. Proposal for Revision Accepted :
In December 1992, as details
of the grounding of the M/V AEGEAN SEA on rocks outside the
Spanish port of La Corunna were being reported, the IMO’S
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) agreed to a U.S. proposal to
conduct a comprehensive review of the 1978 Convention. In making
the proposal, the U. S. suggested that the review should
specifically consider criteria used for insuring fitness of
watchstanders and the role of the human element in maritime
casualties. During the ensuing discussions, some delegations
expressed agreement that the time had come for the organization
to concentrate on areas relating to people, training and
operational practices rather than on issues dealing with
improving ship construction and equipment standards.
Consequently, the MSC directed one of it’s subordinate
committees, the Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW)
Sub-Committee, to take the human element into account, and
further that the Sub-Committee should complete the revision by
1996.
Secretary-General Determines urgent
action required :
During the month immediately
following this meeting, the need for IMO to take urgent action
was highlighted by the grounding of the M/V BRAER in the Shetland
Islands on January 5, 1993. Significantly, this was only a month
after the December 3, 1992 M/V AEGEAN SEA incident. Two years
earlier, in 1990, 158 people had died as a result of a fire on
board the S/S SCANDINAVIAN STAR. The Secretary General of the IMO
considered these incidents, among others, to be indicative of the
serious nature of the problem and asked the MSC to consider
revising the STCW Convention as a matter of urgency. In his
statement to the committee’s 63rd session in May
1993, the Secretary General stated that he believed the 1996
deadline for revision of the STCW Convention was too distant. He
instead proposed that the work be completed in time for a
diplomatic conference to adopt the revisions in July 1995.
Revisions started in 1993 :
In 1993, the IMO embarked on
this comprehensive revision of STCW to establish the highest
practicable standards of competence to address the problem of
human error as the major cause of maritime casualties. A small
number of special consultants developed a document identifying
categories of behavioral conditions which, in their view, could
be improved to some degree with proper training and enhanced
shipboard practices and arrangements. After considering these
conditions in terms of the effects of the human element in marine
casualties, the consultants prepared a preliminary draft of
suggested amendments to the STCW Convention, including a number
of proposals directly addressing the human element. They also
included a proposal to develop a new STCW Code, which would
contain the technical details associated with provisions of the
Convention. The amendments were discussed and modified by the STW
Subcommittee over the following two years.
The most significant amendments concerned :
a) enhancement of port state control;
b) communication of information to IMO to allow for mutual oversight and consistency in application of standards,
c) quality standards systems (QSS), oversight of training, assessment, and certification procedures,
d) placement of responsibility on parties, including those issuing licenses, and flag states employing foreign nationals, to ensure seafarers meet objective standards of competence, and
e) rest period requirements for watchkeeping personnel.
Amendments adopted in 1995:
On July 7, 1995, a conference
of parties to the Convention, meeting at IMO headquarters in
London, adopted the package of amendments to STCW. The amendments
entered force on February 1, 1997. The Coast Guard subsequently
took steps necessary to implement the revised requirements,
ensuring that U.S. licenses and documents would be issued in
compliance with the 1995 Amendments.
Implementing
Regulations:
On March 26, 1996, the Coast
Guard published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in which
it proposed a number of changes it considered necessary to
implement the revised requirements to ensure that U.S. documents
and licenses would be issued in compliance with the 1995
Amendments. The comment period for this NPRM closed on July 24,
1996 and Coast Guard officials evaluated over 550 comments. In
addition four public meetings were held to obtain comments from
the public. An Interim Final Rule (IFR), incorporating the input
received from the NPRM and the public meetings, was published on
June 26, 1997.
Effective Dates:
The provisions of the
Convention not tied to individual mariner certification became
effective when the IFR was published. However, provision was made
for certain new requirements to be introduced over a longer
period of time. Full implementation is required by
February 1, 2002. For issuance of licenses and
documents, the effective dates of the new requirements will be
according to transitional guidance published by the STW
Subcommittee. Mariners already holding licenses have the option
to renew those licenses in accordance with the old rules of the
1978 Convention during the period ending on February 1, 2002.
Mariners entering training programs after August 1, 1998 are
required to meet the competency standards of the new 1995
Amendments. For persons seeking original licenses, the Coast
Guard anticipates that most new training requirements will be
incorporated into courses approved by the Coast Guard, or by
equivalent courses. To ensure that the competency objectives of
the 1995 amendments are met, parties must implement quality
assurance programs, with IMO reviewing each parties’
national program. Again, this represents a fundamental change in
thinking for the international community. It will be mandatory
that the "pulse" of the new system be checked on a
recurring basis to ensure its "good health."
Fundamental
Objectives, PTP:
One of the fundamental
objectives of the Convention is to establish standards of
competence for the performance of tasks and to have assessments
as to whether an individual meets each competence level. In
addition, the 1995 Amendments establish minimum rest periods for
watchkeeping personnel, and require that all mariners receive
vessel familiarity and basic safety training. This renewed focus
on the human element should reduce the instances in which human
error leads to a maritime casualty or a pollution incident. To
this end, the Convention is based in part on the principle that
proper training, coupled with effective application of quality
management principles and use of proper procedures, will promote
shipboard practices which prevent human error or detect errors at
a point when adverse consequences can be averted. This approach
is consistent with the Coast Guard’s Prevention Through
People initiative.
Human Element issues addressed by the 1995 amendments to STCW
Multinational Crews:
The 1995 Amendments take into
account the increasing use of multinational crews. Therefore, the
responsibility for competency of crews, which once fell only on
flag state administrations, is now spread over all parties that
issue certificates. Under the new rules, the party issuing the
original certificate must comply with the requirements of the
Convention, and the flag state may issue a separate
"recognition" certificate only after confirming that
the original certificate was issued in accordance with the
Convention. Rules currently in effect for U.S. citizens serving
on U.S. vessels are not affected by this recognition process.
U.S. mariners serving on foreign flag vessels, however, would be affected.
Port State Control:
The 1995 Amendments
strengthen the port state control provisions of the STCW
Convention by expanding the grounds on which a foreign ship may
be detained, and allowing port state control officers to look
beyond merchant mariner’s certificates and conduct direct
assessments of the competence of merchant mariners.
Rest Periods:
To address the problem of
crew fatigue, the STCW Amendments will require that every person
assigned duty as an officer in charge of a watch or as a rating
forming part of a watch shall receive a minimum of 10 hours of
rest in any 24 hour period. These 10 hours of rest may be divided
into two parts as long as one segment is at least 6 hours long,
with strictly limited exceptions.
Training Requirements:
The Amendments require that
seafarers be provided with "familiarization training"
and "basic safety training" which includes basic fire
fighting, elementary first aid, personal survival techniques, and
personal safety and social responsibility. This training is
intended to ensure that seafarers are aware of the hazards of
working on a vessel and can respond appropriately in an emergency.
ARPA / GMDSS:
The Amendments require
training on use of Automatic Radar Plotting Aids (ARPA) and
Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) for deck officers
serving on vessels equipped with those systems. In cases where a
vessel is not fitted with those systems, the license and STCW
endorsement would state that limitation.
Bridge Teamwork Procedures :
The Amendments require that
the master and deck officers have a thorough understanding of
bridge teamwork procedures. In the U.S., this is understood to be
an ability to apply principles of bridge resource management.
Examinations and Demonstrations of Skills:
The revised technical
regulations specify minimum standards of competence for the range
of certificates to be issued under STCW. The standards are
presented in tables with four columns: a) ‘competence’
or ability to be established; b) area of ‘knowledge,
understanding and proficiency’ within each competence; c)
‘methods of demonstrating competence’, and d)
‘criteria for evaluating competence.’ The Amendments
also promote the use of simulators as one of the recognized means
for demonstrating competence. The Coast Guard is developing
standards and procedures and performance measures for use by
designated examiners to evaluate competence in various areas.
Quality Standards
System:
STCW, as amended, will
require all training and assessment activities to be
"continuously monitored through a quality standards system
to ensure achievement of defined objectives, including those
concerning the qualifications and experience of instructors and
assessors." The 1995 amendments require those responsible
for instruction and assessment of the competence of seafarers to
be qualified for the type and level of training or assessment
involved. Persons performing these roles are expected to have
received guidance in instructional techniques and assessment
methods. The Coast Guard has drafted policy guidance for use in
qualifying and managing training and assessment personnel.
RO-RO Passenger Ships:
The 1995 Amendments included
new regulations (V/2) on training and qualification for masters,
officers, ratings and other personnel on RO-RO passenger vessels.
These regulations were developed by the IMO as a matter of
urgency following the sinking of the ferry ESTONIA. A subsequent
set of amendments in 1997 adds similar regulations (V/3) on
personnel serving on passenger ships other than RO-RO passenger
ships. Regulations currently being developed would incorporate
STCW Regulation V/3 into the U.S. licensing system to meet the
requirements of the 1997 Amendments. This proposed rule would
only apply to U.S. passenger ships to which SOLAS certificates
are issued, that is, those on international voyages.
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