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Committee On Standards For Training And Watchkeeping News

29 Apr 2013

IMO's STW 44 Committee to Consider ISM Code Amendment

The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) Sub-Committee on Standards of Training & Watchkeeping (STW 44) agenda items. The meeting is held from 29 April to 3 May 2013 in London and BIMCO’s Marine Department will be present. The Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping aims through the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), to set the standards of competence for seafarers internationally. The sub-committee assists with uniform interpretation of the STCW and develops other guidance for the Convention. For maritime training institutes worldwide, STW develops and maintains a series of model courses which provide suggested syllabi, course timetables and learning objectives.

15 Nov 2012

IMO PaperSmart Meeting Restructures Sub-Committees

The IMO Council, meeting for its 109th session in London has endorsed, in principle, a restructuring of IMO's Sub-Committees. The Council meeting was the first “PaperSmart” meeting for the Organization, and was considered a success by delegates. Delegates were invited to make the meeting "paperless" (PaperSmart), to reduce costs and make IMO meetings "environment friendly". Delegates were asked to come to the meeting with their own laptops, tablet computers, etc., together with their own Internet cables to connect to wired access points in the main meeting room. An enhanced wireless facility (Wifi) was provided for improved wireless access to the IMO documents site (IMODOCS) and to the Internet. The restructuring is part of a review and reform process initiated by Secretary-General Mr.

08 May 2012

IMO's Latest STCW Meeting

The IMO’s Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping held its 43rd Session at IMO Headquarters on Monday 30 April through Friday 4 May 2012 under the Chairmanship of Rear Admiral Peter Brady (Jamaica) who elected to step down on completion of the meeting. Mr Bradley Groves (Australia) was chosen as his successor whilst Mrs Mayte Medina (USA) was elected as the on-going Vice-Chairman.

20 Dec 2011

The eNav Strategy and its Implications

Air traffic controllers plot the positions of aircraft on a wall-mounted display, circa 1950. Will control of ships at sea evolve as did air traffic control?

Virtually everyone is, by now, familiar with the concept of electronic navigation, also called eNavigation or eNav. The problem is that the term means different things to different people. Historically, it started with radio beacons. Radar, loran, and GPS have been added over time. Now we have AIS and electronic charting. Most mariners view this as an increasingly sophisticated set of tools installed on the ship to improve the ability to avoid collisions, groundings, and related casualties. That is only part of the story.

18 Jun 2009

ECDIS, BNWAS Mandatory under SOLAS

Amendments to SOLAS regulation V/19, to make mandatory the carriage of Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems (ECDIS) and Bridge Navigational Watch Alarm Systems (BNWAS), under SOLAS chapter V, Safety of Navigation, were adopted, with an expected entry into force date of 1 January 2011. The requirements will be mandatory for new ships and phased-in for existing ships. •    Amendments to the title of Chapter VI to read, Carriage of Cargoes “and Oil Fuels” and to Regulation VI/5-1 on Material safety data sheets (MSDS) to require  MSDS to be provided for ships carrying oil or oil fuel, prior to the loading of such oil as cargo in bulk or bunkering of oil fuel. The MSC also approved Recommendations for material safety data sheets (MSDS) for MARPOL Annex I type cargoes and oil fuels.

27 May 2009

IMO Safety Committee, Piracy on Agenda

IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) is meeting at the Organization's London Headquarters for its 86th session from 27 May to 5 June. The packed agenda includes discussion on piracy and armed robbery against ships off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden, the implementation of the Long-Range Identification and Tracking (LRIT) system, the development of goal-based standards for new ship construction and the adoption of amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS). The MSC will review the latest statistics on piracy and armed robbery against ships, in particular in relation to the situation off the coast of Somalia and in the Gulf of Aden…

04 Feb 2008

SCC Meeting

The Shipping Coordinating Committee, sponsored by the US Department of State, will meet in Washington, DC on February 19 to prepare for the upcoming session of the IMO Sub-Committee on Standards for Training and Watchkeeping. Topics on the agenda include safe manning levels of ships and unlawful practices associated with certificates of competency. 73 Fed. Reg. 6547 (HK Law).

25 Jan 2002

Six-Month Grace Period For STCW 95 Compliance

IMO has issued advice to port state control officers that, for a period of six months after the February 1, 2002 implementation deadline for the revised Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW 95), ships whose officers do not hold STCW 95 certificates or flag state endorsements need not be detained. The move comes in recognition of the fact that many seafarers have not yet been able to obtain the necessary certification required by the convention and that Parties to the convention have had difficulties in concluding the arrangements required to process reciprocal recognition endorsements.

10 Jan 2005

Satcom for Tsunami Relief Through IMO

IMO's efforts to assist in the wider United Nations campaign to bring relief and reconstruction to the regions devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami received a major boost today (10 January 2005) when the International Mobile Satellite Organization (IMSO) announced that, in co-operation with Inmarsat, it will make available up to 1000 digital land-mobile satellite communication terminals, free of charge, to the Secretary-General of IMO, for long term disaster response and relief purposes in the south Asia region. The terminals are to be supported with a programme of basic user training to enable them to be brought into use as quickly and effectively as possible, and IMSO also hopes to negotiate a package of subsidised airtime to ease the early use of the terminals.