Watchkeeping - Essay Example

? Introduction The Maritime industry is a capital intensive industry where billions of dollars have been pumped in over the years, for creating its enormous infrastructure of floating assets. It therefore became imperative that man do everything in his might to ensure that, not only do these assets generate revenue sufficient to recover the investments made, but also reap in profits over a longer time frame to sustain the industry. Based on gross estimates, earth is two-thirds water and one-third land. Isolated from the land mass, the Maritime industry thrives on this vast expanse of water constituting the sea. Driven by the vagaries of nature and the hostility of the sea to cause enormous destruction to any entity coming its way, the seafarers across nations identified protection of its men and machines/equipments/installations against the challenges posed by the sea as the single most important factor, and got together on a common platform to thrash out the modus operandi to confront it. Spokespersons of the industry were unanimous in addressing the core issue of the matter, which was to ensure that an effective watch is maintained on all the seagoing ships by qualified and fit personnel under all circumstances. With a single pointed focus, the pressing need of an internationally acceptable body, which could lay the road map for outlining the guidelines for protecting its valuable assets was consensually agreed upon.The International Convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (Abbr: STCW) thus came into being on July 7, 1978 and its Standards were adopted for implementation on April 28, 1984 under the auspices of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) – an established nodal agency for monitoring compliance and implementation by `Parties to the Convention‘; two major revisions of the Standards have since been undertaken in 1995 and 2010 respectively . It became binding on all its members to comply to its stipulations, in which Part `A‘ measures are `Mandatory.‘ `Recommendations‘ for guidance purposes constitute its Part `B‘ regulations, however with sustained implementation efforts by its members being urged upon. STCW Standards comprise of eight chapters. Chapter I deals with General Provisions; Chapters II & III are `Marine Vessel‘- specific, while Chapters IV, V & VI deal with the Radio Communications, Specialised Manpower Training and Certification aspects. This article is aimed at examining the relevance of the last and concluding Chapter VIII , dealing exclusively with ``Watchkeeping‘‘! Watchkeeping Roles and STCW Regulations ILO (International Labour Organisation) Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) Rules are the premise on which a large number of STCW Regulations have been drawn up. Drafted in tune with the MLC 2006 Rules in general, Standards pertaining to Watchkeeping are driven by the age old adage: ``Prudence is the better part of valour‘‘.The Maritime industry can ill afford the luxury of lack of vigilance on the part of its seafarers to be the reason for suffering losses; hence, a prudent Watchkeeping role is deemed pertinent by STCW. There had been several inconsistencies fuelled earlier by a diverse range of interpretations driven by outdated provisions on the Watchkeeping front preceding the advent of STCW, which caused administrative and operational problems. These issues needed immediate redressal. Enunciation of a slew of curative measures then became imminent. Seafarer is a sensitive biological animal too. Cut off from civilisation while on the high seas and working to the rigorous demands of the marine industry in multiple capacities, he is exposed to its occupational hazards, stresses and strains, and thereby to the dangers posed by `fatigue‘, both physically and mentally. There is therefore a lot of emphasis laid on `Rest‘ and to address this issue, STCW brought out the first lot of Amendments under Section A-VIII. It has specified a `Period of Rest’under its mandatory Regulation A-VIII/1, which stipulates that: A minimum 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period has to be assured; and 77 hours rest in any 7-day period Hours of Rest should be divided into no more than two periods, one of which shall be at least 6 hours duration, and the intervals between consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours. Appropriate exception clauses, taking into account the guidance clauses vide B-VIII/1 regarding prevention of fatigue, have also been incorporated to take care of exigent situations, to protect the interest of both, the seafarer as well as the master of the ship. Except for emergencies and other operational exigencies, the above stipulations apply even for mandatory firefighting, safety and other lifeboat drills, however with the caveat of minimum disturbance to rest periods. There is a renewed emphasis on ease of accessibility to, and clarity of `Watch Schedules‘, established on a standardized format for ease of comprehension in the working language(s) of the ship, apart from use of English. The focus here is on undistorted and clear communication, lack of which could prove catastrophic. A provision has been made for awarding compensatory rest period, in the event of a seafarer being summoned for a call-out to work in his normal period of rest. Monitoring and verification of compliance with the laid down provisions, by logging of the information pertaining to records of daily hours of rest in a standardized format in the working language(s) of the ship and in English, has been foreseen to enforce transparency of administration. Issue of rest records endorsed by a master or a person authorized by the master and by the seafarers, has been made mandatory to protect the latter’s interest. It has however been made explicit that the overriding right of the master to require a seafarer to perform any hours of work necessary for the immediate safety of the ship, persons on board or cargo, or for the purpose of giving assistance to other ships or persons in distress stands unquestionable, in which case he shall reserve the right to suspend the schedule of hours of rest until the normal situation has been restored. It shall then be the duty of the master to ensure that seafarers who performed work in a scheduled rest period are compensated appropriately with an adequate period of rest. Incorporation of this long pending provision has reinforced the need for proper recordkeeping of ``periods of rest“ so that unbiased evalution of rest records can lead to improvement of the overall administration, particularly in times of crises. Man made disasters attributable to human fatigue can be thoroughly researched into, during their root cause analysis for working out futuristic foolproof remedial solutions. Watchkeeping per se is a simple word implying ``Keeping a watch!“ But, in the context of the Shipping and Offshore industry, it has a multi-dimensional significance. STCW Code has fragmented the Watchkeeping function into four principal domains of activities: The first domain concerns Certification: Part 1 deals with the qualifications of the Officers in charge of the navigational and engineering watch, in accordance with Chapters II or III (or Chapter VII) being commensurate with the jobs and responsibilities tasked to them. The certification parameter under focus is evaluation of functional professional competency with respect to the task assigned. The second area of activity is with respect to the safe passage of the marine vessel that requires a voyage plan be prepared before the commencement of each voyage. Matters relating to voyage safety, in particular, acquire prominence with the emphasis on planning in advance, to do away with the known elements of surprise like - route, weather etc., when the vessel sets out on high seas. The third domain Part 3, elaborates in detail, the principles to be applied in maintaining watch at sea. Part 3-1 concerns the navigational watch. Special emphasis is placed on the lookout responsibilities. The associated guidance in section B-VIII /3-1 suggests the importance of understanding the principles of Bridge Resource Management in continuously evaluating the need for adjusting watch arrangements. STCW has suggested the enforcement of the mandatory use of Bridge and Engine Room Resource Management (BRM) principles and the use of Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) in the second important lot of Amendments covered under Section A-VIII/2, under the caption of Watchkeeping arrangements and principles, largely applicable for Navigational Safety at sea, at anchor, and in port. Related to deck and engine room Watchkeeping, these guidelines are directed at all personnel, deployed at all levels of management and operations and vested with logistic support responsibilities. Section A-VIII/2, Part 3-1 deals with application of the BRM principles in conjunction with ECDIS, in the formulation, execution and monitoring of a detailed passage plan for a preplanned voyage, based on optimum utilization of all the available resources of personnel and equipment, keeping issues like navigation safety; ship handling and maneuvering; shallow water, bank and interaction effects; potential hazards and emergency situations in mind. Engine Room Resource management envisages providing the leadership to build engineering organisation for developing cohesive working teams for Watchkeeping, despite multicultural diversity - for establishing well laid out procedures to troubleshoot problems with situational awareness; promoting group decision making by ensuring proper communications, by giving due weightage to fatigue and circadian rhythm, stress and other distractions. Part 3-2 concerns the engineering watch. Part 3-3 focuses on the radio watch responsibilities. The last and fourth domain concerns Watch keeping in ports. Yet another crucial issue which has been troubling the maritime industry for a while is alcohol abuse and its detrimental after-effects. Effective administration for drug and alcohol abuse prevention is covered under the new Regulation VIII/1.2. Under the ambit of Section A-VIII/1, STCW has specified the following permissible limits of alcohol concentration for masters, officers and other seafarers while performing designated safety, security and marine environmental duties: Not > 0.05% blood alcohol level (BAC), or 0.25 mg / lit alcohol in the breath, or a quantity of alcohol leading to such alcohol concentration. Punitive measures incorporated for preventing alcohol abuse, it is hoped, would bring sanity to the seafarer community in desisting from drinking while at work, particularly when manning key positions and designated duties of importance. Watchkeeping arrangements with appropriate and effective watch or watches are now extended to take into account, requirements for security related functions. Watches henceforth shall be guided by the following stipulations: Appropriate location-specific arrangements shall be ensured for the watchkeeping personnel. The ergonomic relevance is on focus here. Deployment of watchkeeping personnel shall be based on their qualifications and fitness levels. Limitations or deficiencies shall be suitably factored in, before actual deployment. The focus here is in task-specific competencies. Comprehension of individual role, team role and individual and collective responsibilities of the watchkeeping personnel shall be ensured. The onus is on absolute role clarity without any element of vagueness. The most effective use of resources in respect of personnel, equipments and installations and dissemination of information shall form the core responsibilities of the master, chief engineer officer and officer in charge of watch duties in discharging the `watch‘ function efficiently. Optimisation of resource allocations and information sharing are the key issues addressed. Watchkeeping personnel shall be familiarised with the functions and operation of the installations / equipments. The emphasis here is on self-help in the event of intervention needed to troubleshoot problems on installations / equipments. Watchkeeping personnel shall be equipped adequately to comprehend, handle and process information to provide appropriate responses to information from each station/installation/equipment. It shall be impressed upon the watchkeeping personnel that information sharing from stations/installations/equipments would be part of their responsibilities and would be deemed essential and appropriate. Regardless of the situation, watchkeeping personnel shall be required to maintain an exchange of appropriate communication. It shall be the duty of the watchkeeping personnel to notify and keep the master/chief engineer officer/officer in charge of watch duties, duly appraised, of safety concerns, if any. Actions to be taken in the interest of safety should be reported, unhesistatingly, even in moments of doubt. There is considerable emphasis in the last four points above, on training of the Watchkeeping personnel on the need, importance and the art of information sharing based upon a thorough knowledge and awareness of the work environment in which duties are assigned to them, in particular, for issues relating to safety, virtually making them like ``Jacks of all trades“. Certification of the personnel in consonance with the job status held by them, implying their suitability for the tasks and responsibilities assigned, follows thereafter. This assumes even a higher significance in the context of obsolescence of equipments and installations having necessitated innovations, in tune with advancements made in technology in the recent years. Sufficient emphasis has been laid on effective communication as an essential tool and a determining attribute for assessing Watchkeeping performance. Conclusion It is only apt that the Watchkeeping function of the Maritime industry is featured at the fag end of the STCW Regulations. In a way, it summarises the sum and substance of all that has been said in the earlier chapters. Great emphasis has been laid on the important vigilance role of ``Watchkeeping“ in `Seafaring‘, and its success to a large extent would depend on the diligent compliance of all the provisions made in the Chapters before it. Needless to mention therefore, that though each STCW Chapter is issue-specific, but they are largely inter-dependent and all Chapters complement each other effectively; thus, appraising Chapter VIII in conjunction with all other Chapters, rather than in isolation, makes more sense. The importance of a medically fit, mentally agile, technically competent, professionally trained and technologically up-to-date seafarer to do full justice to his job, has more than adequately been highlighted by the STCW Regulations. He has been further rendered proficient on the jobs and tasks assigned, by providing him with additional mandatory inputs on common `safety‘ and `security‘ related issues, coupled with specialised task-specific advanced technological inputs and soft skills. Medical fitness standards are dealt with in Chapter I/9; Chapter VI/6 mandates the minimum requirements for security-related `awareness‘ and `familiarisation‘ training and instruction for all seafarers, with or without security duties, which are validated appropriately through `Certificates of Competency or Proficiency‘ based upon positions held. Chapter VI/1, 2 &3 cover the Basic Safety training needs, encompassing social responsibilities like environmental pollution awareness and fatigue; Survival & Rescue Techniques, and advanced firefighting needs, including in- service experience drill and onboard training, with a 5-year professional competency renewal clause. The au courant need for periodic exposure to Refresher and Updating Training has also been foreseen in Chapter I/14. Specialised emphasis on navigational technological advances therefore finds mention in Chapter II and on celestial navigation guidance vide B-11/1. ECDIS training as an essential prerequisite for safe and effective marine navigation is highlighted vide A –II /1 and A- II/3; and, Chapter I/12 and B – I/12 focussing on the use of simulators for fulfilling the requirements of training and assessment in its operational use; security duties on board ship as defined by the SOLAS (Safety of Life At Sea) Convention and ISPS ((International Ship and Port facility Security code), and GMDSS mode of Radio Operator communication system finding extensive coverage, is just but a modest peripheral assessment of the effectiveness of the STCW Regulations. Like the proverbial icing on the cake, the `Watchkeeping‘ domain of Chapter VIII thus turns out to be the biggest beneficiary of the entire STCW exercise, to afford `Seafaring‘ the tag of a really safe and secure profession of the Maritime industry, grace a the Chapters forerunning it! References 1. (Placeholder1) (Bridge Resource Management, 2008): Retrieved from. http://adriamare.net/Training (AdriaMare Consulto, 2008) /courses/bridge-resource- management/ 2. (Placeholder2) (Nazha, 2010) Comprehensive Review of the STCW Convention: Retrieved from http://www.tc.gc.ca/media/images/marinesafety/Comprehensive_review_of_STCW- Slide_Presentation-English.pdf 3. (Placeholder3) Commentary on Chapter VIII: Watchkeeping. Retrieved from http://www.navit.fo/stcw_konventiontekstur/s-handbk12.htm 4. (Placeholder4) (Weigel, 2009) (Weigel, Digital Ship, 2009)Electronic Charts and the Law: Operations, Accidents and Liability. Retrieved from http://www.thedigitalship.com/powerpoints/usa09/alan%20weigel,%20blank%20rome.pdf 5. (Placeholder5) (International Maritime Organisation)International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). Retrieved from http://www.imo.org/about/conventions/listofconventions/pages/international-convention-on- standards-of-training,-certification-and-watchkeeping-for-seafarers-(stcw).aspx 6. (Placeholder6) (The Nautical Institute, Australian Capital Territory; NSW,SA,Victoria, 2001, 2001) Nautical Institute STCW up-date December 2008. Retrieved from http://www.nisea.org/stcw.htm 7. (Placeholder7) (Yachting) Notes on Reading STCW 95. Retrieved from http://www.ybi1.com/stcw.htm 8. (Placeholder8) (IBS Maritime Training Center, 2011) STCW 2010 Amendments: What you need to know. Retrieved from http://www.safety4sea.com/bloggers.php?id=1&article_id=16 Read More