Global J. of Engng. Educ., Vol.I,
No.2 Printed in Australia |
Copyright 1997 UICEE
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in IMO Instruments* | |||
R. Cwilewicz J. Mindykowski
Poland |
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Academic maritime institutions belong to a specific category of tertiary insitution, and the problems which beset them in the provision of engineering education require a unique approach. Central to this matter is the obligation for such institutions to comply with two specific sets of regulations, one national and the other international, in the development of the curricula in their institutions. They must maintain at least a minimum university academic programme, determined nationally, for academic level institutions; and they must comply with the requirements of the IMO instruments, that is, international conventions and protocols ratified by their country. There are also a number of non-mandatory IMO instruments which should also be taken into account in the education and training of seafarers.
The necessity for such a dual character in this curricula is due to the fact that each graduate of the maritime academy should be properly trained as an officer seafarer at the operational and management levels of responsibility aboard the ship (thus obeying international regulations), at the same time that he must be prepared to fulfil the engineer’s role ashore. With this in mind, and as will be elucidated in this paper, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW’95) must be considered as the basic document for planning the curriculum content and education and training processes for maritime institutions [1-4].
THE SPECIFIC CHARACTER OF MARITIME ACADEMIES
Typically it can be said that the operation of maritime academies depends on their financial resources, international and national education standards and the changing needs of both domestic and international markets [3-5]. An institution’s financial resources are usually determined by the state budget of a given country and the level of co-operation between the academy and shipping companies [4]. National and international standards of education refer to minimum national requirements, for a given specialisation, determined by the appropriate government institution, eg Ministry of Education, and international requirements, in this case, determined primarily by the IMO. To guarantee educational standards, faculties of Maritime academies may be accredited internationally by, for instance, the European organisation FEANI, or specialised expert bodies such as the Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) UK, which accredits courses in electrical and electronics engineering faculties. Courses in Maritime academies should be accredited by the IMO as a priority however.
A final observation regarding the special character of maritime academies concerns the divergent roles for graduates; the majority of institutions prepare their graduates for roles as highly qualified crewmembers and also for operational posts in maritime industry companies. Graduates of the Gdynia Maritime Academy are considered to be specialists educated for work on ships and ashore. Their qualifications meet the present international requirements specified by the IMO Conference in the STCW’95 Convention. Graduates have:
· A BSc, MSc or diploma of vocational training.
· Seagoing service and workshop practice, and qualifications which entitle them to apply for the diploma of a Merchant Marine Officer.
· Professional practice and qualifications for operational posts in maritime industry companies [5].
Due to the career development model generally accepted for those engaged in maritime industry companies, an integrated system to meet international standards for maritime academies is usually established. This system may consists of three different levels, depending on the organisation of the maritime education for a given country: post secondary level ie a maritime college, educating future seamen; university level, corresponding to academic level and educating future officers with the degrees of BSc and MSc; and post university level, fulfilling the vital role of vocational training for all ranks of marine officers, carried out by the Officer Training Centre or other similar maritime institution [4][5].
The high technical complexity of ship equipment demands well-educated officers, and it is foreseen that the qualification requirements for ship crewmembers will continue to increase in the coming years. At the same time, the world shipping market experts are forecasting a lack of well-educated merchant marine officers in terms of the requirements agreed upon in the conventions and protocols developed by the IMO.
In short, the principal purpose of the instruments developed under the auspices of the United Nations’ International Maritime Organisation (IMO) is to develop regulations to enhance the safety of international shipping. Pollution prevention and liability and compensation for maritime claims are also included in the IMO’s list of responsibilities [6]. Some of its most important mandatory legal instruments, essentially international treaties, are SOLAS - International Convention for Safety of Life at Sea, MARPOL - International Convention for the Prevention of Ship Pollution, COLREGS - Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea, 1972, and STCW 1978 as amended in 1995 - International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers.
The STCW’78 Convention is the principal international treaty regulating seafarers’ training, certification and watchkeeping arrangements, and forms the basis of national standards worldwide [2].
THE 1995 AMENDMENTS TO STCW’78 AND THEIR IMPORTANCE FOR MARITIME ACADEMIC
Three particular concerns about the STCW’78 Convention were identified and have been addressed by the 1995 amendments [7]:
· The STCW’78 Convention does not contain precise standards of competence in terms of the abilities needed to perform shipboard functions safely and effectively; it only stipulates minimum knowledge requirements for the issue of certificates. Moreover, evidence that candidates have absorbed the required knowledge is currently left to be determined to the satisfaction of the administration. Because the provisions of this convention have been open to differing interpretations, they have failed to establish a uniform minimum level of competence internationally.
· Neither the process by which countries have ratified the convention, nor the provisions of the Convention itself, are sufficient guarantees to ensure that STCW requirements are implemented worldwide or sufficiently enforced. Consequently there has been a loss of confidence in the reliability of STCW certificates issued by certain governments as an indication of seafarers’ competence.
· The STCW’78 Convention was written in terms of the organisation of conventional shipboard work, that is, on a traditional division between the deck and engine departments, thus failing to accommodate modern developments in training and shipboard organisation. This has proved to be too restrictive, limiting the potential career development of seafarers and preventing any safety-enhancing redistribution of workload on board during intensive working periods. In short, the 1978 Convention lacked the flexibility to meet the industry’s anticipated needs in the 21st Century.
In response to the need to establish standard certification requirements for both navigational and engine departments etc, abilities are specified in Standards of Competence and grouped under the following seven functions [1][2]:
· Navigation (N).
· Cargo handling and stowage (CHS).
· Controlling the operation of the ship and care for persons on board (COSCPB).
· Marine engineering (ME).
· Electrical, electronic and control engineering (EECE).
· Maintenance and repair (MR).
· Radiocommunication (R).
These functions are considered for the following levels of responsibility:
· Management level - the level of responsibility associated with:
- serving as master, chief mate, chief engineer officer or second engineer officer on board a seagoing ship;
- ensuring that all functions within the designated area of responsibility are properly performed.
· Operational level - the level of responsibility associated with:
- serving as officer in charge of a navigational or engineering watch or as designated duty engineer for periodically unmanned machinery spaces or as radio operator on board a seagoing ship;
- maintaining direct control over the performance of all functions within the designated area of responsibility in accordance with proper procedures and under the direction of an individual serving in the management level for that area of responsibility.
· Support level - the level of responsibility associated with performing assigned tasks, duties or responsibilities on board a seagoing ship under the direction of an individual serving in the operational or management level.
The functions ME, EECE, MR and COSCPB are required for officers in charge of an engineering watch; and the functions N, CHS, COSCPB and R are necessary for officers in charge of a navigational watch.
Certain IMO resolutions and circulars, which presently provide guidance on maritime training, certification and watchkeeping matters, have been incorporated in the STCW Code, either in part A as mandatory measures or in part B as guidance. They will therefore be revoked as the amended Code takes effect. Future requirements and recommendations on training, certification or watchkeeping matters will be prepared as amendments to the Code [7][8].
Supervisory role of the Maritime Safety Committee
The STCW’95 Conference not only agreed to introduce much higher standards of training and certification, it also agreed that parties to the convention would be required to submit details to the IMO of the fulfilment of their obligations under the convention. This important change means that the IMO has some authority over individual parties for the first time. Under Chapter I, regulation I/7, parties will be required to provide detailed information to IMO concerning administrative measures taken to ensure compliance with the Convention, education and training courses, certification procedures and other factors relevant to implementation [6]. Evaluation information from maritime education and training institutions should contain [9]:
- student admission;
- course development and examination system;
- staffing policies, industry links, R&D;
- student feedback.
Some interactions in terms of the evaluation process are shown in Figure 1 [9].
Figure 1: Quality standard in the evaluation process: links and interactions (MET - Maritime education and training).
SEAFARERS’ ENGINEERING EDUCATION IN THE wake OF THE AMENDED STCW’78 CONVENTION
Amendments to the STCW’78 Convention adopted by the STCW 1995 Conference created new requirements for shipowners, maritime administrations and academies. Innovative concepts of marine education, a shift from a knowledge-based to a competency-based training, and the need for constant professional updating and recertification have brought maritime training institutions out from under the shadows of the maritime administration and industry; now they must assume an equal partnership rather than simply reacting to the others’ demands. Maritime institutions must implement their course syllabi effectively according to IMO Model Courses; they must improve standards of teaching staff, facilities and equipment.
In the amendments to the mandatory part of the Code, part A, there is considerable material for the construction or modification of curricula; amongst other things, this material specifies the minimum standard of competence and appropriate functions for all levels of responsibility and departments. Tables in part A of the Code present competences, range of knowledge, understanding and proficiency, methods for demonstrating competences and also criteria for evaluating competences [1] (Figures 2 and 3).
Worthy of note are the relatively large range of competences that have been introduced (indicated only by key words in the first column of the STCW Code A); and the necessarily strong link made between theoretical and practical knowledge because the criteria for evaluating competences are oriented towards safety and effectiveness of ship operation. Also worthy of note are the various possibilities of examination and assessment of competences. Further details about the programme will emerge as curricula are developed for the engineering and electrical engineering faculties of Maritime Academies. The Model Training Courses (special programmes for different ship departments) recommended by the IMO may be very helpful for this aim [1][7][8].
Simulators used for training or assessing competence are required to comply with provisions contained in Section A-I/12 of the STCW Code, which is especially devoted to the use of simulators [1]. The issues of compliance were considered and successfully resolved in many world maritime training institutions, including the Gdynia Maritime Academy, for the educational needs of engine room officers [10].
Reasons for the use of simulators in the education of engine room officers
The education of an engine room officer is an extremely expensive process due to the extensive range of theoretical and practical knowledge that must be acquired in order to practise the profession. A number of diverse reasons, including a sought after reduction in the associated costs of education, have seen both the introduction of various kinds of simulators into the training cycle of engine room officers, and changes to the basic curriculum at the Gdynia Maritime Academy [11].
Such significant changes are justified by more than cost reduction alone; other factors which have demanded an evolution in the educational process include the particularly rapid ongoing development in technical innovations which are immediately implemented on ships, combined with limits to the duration of a student’s education, as well as the need to comply with the requirements of STCW’95. The present process of education for engine room officers occurs in two phases (Figure 4):
From the moment of acceptance into a course, and throughout a student’s entire education in the Gdynia Maritime Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, the Faculty uses all possible means at its disposal to ensure the development of an officer with the ability to operate present machines and ship devices, and the capacity to understand and adapt to future innovations [12].
The basic training of an engine room officer follows six principal stages. In the first instance, and before studies commence, the candidate student is familiarised with the engine room and particular mechanisms. Teaching then proceeds to professional subject laboratories in which students learn the characteristics of particular machinery and devices such as pumps, air compressors, fans, refrigerating systems, air conditioning systems, auxiliary engines and the main engine. Stage three introduces the students to simulators, allowing them to become familiar with the operation of particular installations during activation, ordinary motion and deactivation. Presently there is the opportunity to conduct training on the following installations:
Continuing the use of simulators, the fourth stage allows students to become familiar with the operation of the main engine during activation, ballasting, manoeuvres and deactivation (Figure 5). Next the student is familiarised with the motion of the whole engineroom, all the installations and the main engine, again through simulation.
The sixth stage has students first training in a laboratory and then in the engine room of a training ship, preparing for the motion, activation, ballasting and deactivation of particular mechanisms, installations and the main engine, as well as the engine room motion in different modes of operation. At the end of training, students operate the engine room of a training ship during a short voyage.
It was possible to introduce stages 3 to 5 into the training cycle through the introduction of the engine room simulator into the training process. Observations so far indicate that training on the simulators produces graduates who are more quickly and better able to operate particular mechanisms, the main engine and the entire engine room, at the same time that they acquire a full appreciation of the processes involved. And of course the consequences of mistakes are negligible.
Modification of the curriculum to satisfy the requirements of IMO-STCW 78/95 has also allowed the Faculty to reduce the total number of course hours from 4600 to 4350 without in fact decreasing the quality of knowledge imparted to students. The introduction of training on the simulators reduced the amount of time necessary for training in laboratories with particular mechanisms, including the main engine and diesel generator, with an advantage to the Academy in the reduction of maintenance costs - in terms of use and repair - of these machines. It has been estimated that training costs have been reduced by 10%.
At the same time, a consequence of the introduction of simulators into the training process has been an improvement in the quality of education. Until now, the operation of machines and devices has been manual, that is, via switches etc. Now, as well as learning manual operation, students learn how to operate this machinery with computers as it is now done in the most modern engine rooms.
As well as basic training, the Academy undertakes postgraduate training courses to encourage and enable graduates to obtain the highest officer rank - that of chief engineer - and to acquire specialist qualifications. These courses are mainly held on simulators. On the engine room simulator, for example, participants experience the workings of the main engine under different emergency situations, as well as how the crew behave under stress. Such simulated situations range from minor defects to serious breakdown of the main engine or its particular mechanisms. Future engineers, through these simulated experiences, are able to learn appropriate responses and necessary routines to master these situations and to resolve the stressed behaviour of the crew.
The diagnostic simulator of a ship’s main engine allows training in the strategy for repairs to an operating engine, based upon routine measured parameters of engine motion. The chief engineer makes decisions concerning the terms of repairs or surveys of particular machines and devices, including the main engine, during the normal operation of an engine. The diagnostic simulator aims to instruct the officer to arrange the order and schedule of repairs and surveys to the best advantage of the technical state of the whole engine room.
The simulator of the cargo operations of a LNG ship allows training in all typical cargo operations of a gas tanker - cooling tanks, unloading gas from a ship, loading a ship etc (Figure 6). With the increasing quantity of cargo carried on gas tankers of LNG and LPG types, and the unusual conditions of loading/unloading and carriage (chiefly low temperatures), it is necessary for crew of these tankers to undertake special training. The Faculty’s simulator allows officers of such tankers to acquire the necessary skills to carry out cargo operations and also to supervise the cargo.
One of the most important factors determining the educational process in maritime academies is the influence of the IMO legislative activity. Its revised STCW Convention represents a very significant step forward, necessitating an improvement in curricula and encouraging the introduction of new didactic tools, among others, simulators. The introduction of simulators into the education of engine room officers has had a number of significant positive consequences:
Moreover, it should be stressed that all information concerning maritime education and training institutions will be used by the IMO, through the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), with advice where necessary from experts, to decide whether or not the certificates issued by Governments should be accepted [1][7]. A significant measure to fulfil the new, higher standards is improvement of existing education and training programmes and didactic tools according to IMO Model Courses guidance. The Parties to the Convention have, in effect, agreed to surrender part of their authority as nations in order to improve the total quality of seafarers around the world.
1. IMO-STCW’95 International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers 1978, amended in 1995. London (1996).
2. Walczak, A. and Mindykowski, J., Novelisation of the STCW Convention. Shipbuilding and maritime economy, 4, 6-7 (1995) (in Polish).
3. Mindykowski J., Key role of IMO instruments in maritime electrical and mechanical engineering education. Proc. of the IMECE’97 Conference, Shanghai, 20-23 (1997).
4. Mindykowski J., New forms of academia industry collaboration on the basis of maritime training institutions experiences. Proc. of the 1st Asia-Pacific Forum on Engineering and Technology Education, Melbourne, 123-127 (1997).
5. Lisowski, J., Merchant Marine Academy in Gdynia - organisation and activity programme. Polish Maritime Review, 6, 18-19 (1994).
6. O’Neil, W.A., World Maritime Day 1995, IMO’s achievements and challenges. IMO NEWS, 3, I-XVIII (1995).
7. International Shipping Federation (ISF) - The Revised STCW Convention: a guide for the shipping industry on the 1995 amendments to the IMO International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers. London (1995).
8. Draft report of the First Intersessional Working Group (ISWG) on the outcome of the 1995 STCW and STCW-F conferences, IMO document STW28/J/7, London (1996).
9. STCW Implementation Seminar Workshops, Training and Assessment Group, Case Study 2, Education and training materials concerning IMO seminar on implementation the STCW 78/95 convention. Gdynia (1996).
10. Cwilewicz R., The use of simulators in the education of engine room officers at the Gdynia Maritime Academy. Proc. of the 1st Asia - Pacific Forum on Engineering and Technology Education. Melbourne, 180-184 (1997).
11. Kluj, S., The role and mission of the engine room simulator. Proc. of the 3rd East-West Cong. on Engng. Educ., Gdynia, Poland (1996).
12. Program nauczania, Wydzial Mechaniczny, Wyzsza Szkola Morska w Gdyni (1997).
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