Maritime Education On The Upswing

The pressures - political, financial and environmental -to ensure onboard personnel are skillfully trained at operating increasingly complex vessels is tremendous. Simply stated, vessel owners and operators must employ increasingly advanced training courses - both system- and vessel-specific - as well as general courses, in order to avoid costly accidents and litigation. In just the past few years, mariners have proven these courses work, as the amount of oil spilled into the sea has decreased dramatically. According to the USCG, in 1990, tankbarges moved 72 billion gallons of oil, spilling 992,000 gallons, or one-one millionth of a percent. However in 1997, tankbarges moved roughly the same amount of petroleum, 71.5 billion gallons, while spilling 166,000 gallons of oil, resulting in 83 percent less oil spilled. At a recent hearing held to explore the effectiveness of OPA 90, AWO President, Tom Allegretti, attributed this success in reducing oil spill numbers to several factors, including better design, maintenance, and operation of vessels; improved crew training and preparation; and comprehensive safety management systems. There are various theories as to what spearheaded the increased concern with maritime safety. There is no doubt, however, that the debate has grown due to a variety of incidents and concerns. And today, owners and operators of both shallow and deepdraft fleets are held to a higher operational standard. However, what is not debatable is that directly after the largest oil spill in U.S. history, Exxon Valdez, which heightened vast public attention to the otherwise incomprehensible maritime world, came the implementation of liability statues like OPA 90 that increased civil and criminal penalties for spilling oil. The act's provisions also mandated the use of operational enhancements, such as double hulls, tank overfill warning devices, and twin propeller tug boats, which make escorting and docking larger vessels safer. Inadvertently, these safety measures seem to have set the tone for the improvement of vessel operations by incorporating new technologies, revising past standards of training, introducing new courses, and revolutionizing training facilities. State-of -the-art simulation training facilities, like The Seamen's Church Institute, in Paducah, Ky., designed specifically to train inland waterways operators, were also accredited by Allegretti for contributing to improved safety. Recently, training centers and maritime education facilities have revised their programs in order to comply with new safety standards and STCW regulations. At the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA,) the class of 2002 will be instructed in additional firefighting, ARPA, and Global Marine Distress Safety System (GMDSS) courses not required before this year. The GMDSS was an important amendment of the STCW, and one the IMO was concerned with implementing into the operations of deep-sea and vessels over 300 tons. The STCW Convention for Seafarers was adopted in 1978, by the IMO, in order to establish basic requirements on training, certification, and watchkeeping, on a global level. However, it was the 1995 amendments that completely revised the conventions safety requirements by adopting a new STCW Code, to which many regulations have been transferred. Part A of the Code is mandatory and Part B is recommended. The purpose of dividing the regulations up this way is to make administration easier and to make the task of revising and updating them simpler. According to the IMO, there were complaints 1978 Convention- regulations used language that was too vague, and therefore, compliance standards were misinterpreted. So after 17 years the consensus was the regulations had to be updated in order to facilitate uniform practices among flag states. Now that the regulations have been revised, training centers have been scrambling to comply with the new requirements: intensifying elementary first aid and most medical requirements, offering new courses, proficiency in fast rescue (FRBs), and incorporating new safety practices into management. Hoping to keep up with all the sectors of the community, the RTM STAR Center, is in the midst of finalizing a partnership with Delgado Community College, a New Orleans Vocational School, making this the third training center for STAR. Eventually, the STAR Center at Delgado Community College is expected to evolve into a full mission simulator-based training center. Tom Johnson, Director of Training at STAR Center, headquartered in Dania Beach, Fla., says the maritime industry has been a laggard of simulation-based training compared to other transportation industries. The aviation industry for example, Johnson noted, has been using simulators as training instruments years before maritime institutions began incorporating them into their programs. Today STAR Center is home of the world's only 360-degree training bridge, from which officers can command the smallest tug to the largest super tanker. The center's scenes can mimic fog, rain, and snow, and the effects of winds, currents, channel banks and tug escorts. The trainee's performance is then judged through a video screen and a print-out that record the decisions made while encountering these copy-cat situations. As a result of the advantages simulator-based training can offer mariners, there seems to be an increasing need to adopt this type of training to other maritime operations. Recently, the Fourth International Conference on Engine Room Simulators (ICERS 4) Papers Committee accepted STAR Center's Director of Quality and Engineering, Dwight Hutchinson's Paper, "Engine Room Resource Management Using a Full Mission Simulator." Hutchinson will present his ideas during the ICERS 4 at the California Maritime Academy in Vallejo, Calif. June 28 through July 2 1999. At the seminar, he'll discuss the development and implementation of a one-week Engine-Room Resource Management course. The course was developed partly in response to a report published by the USCG and the National Traffic Safety Board (NTSB) that recommended this sort of training for all crew members of modern vessels. Engine Room Resource Management reportedly mirrors the concepts of the already popular Bridge Resource Management course, and applies it to the engine room. Unlike Bridge Resource Management though, which implements case studies and philosophies as training, Engine Room Resource Management will be simulator-based. The three-day Bridge Resource Management course is not a requirement for seafarers, but rather one of the many recommendations to date, for all watchkeeping officers, ratings, and as an overview for operational and managerial personnel ashore. Another introductory course this year, was the San Francisco Pilot's three-year training course, for Tractor Tugs' Capabilities and Utilization for Pilots, followed by a refresher two-day Bridge Resource Management Course for pilots, which included new material: units on stress, new technologies and recent accident studies. Capt. Victor Schisler, published author, and Fellow of the Nautical Institute introduced the tug's course offering mariners the opportunity to become familiar with the various tractor tugs available; the Voth Scneider, Azipoidal Drives and Combi-Tugs. The tug's course will be held four times a year, and will be divided into classroom and simulator-based sessions. Similar practices on safety management are also being implemented into the operations of commercial high-speed ferry lines. MarineSafety International's Newport Simulator Center (MSI) has been conducting courses for Fox Navigation, Bay Ferries and Bahamas Fast Ferries. MSI is offering five-day courses in High-Speed Craft (HSC) maneuvering and HSC Safety. The maneuvering course demonstrates the use of safety instruments for heavy traffic and reduced visibility, such as Radar and ARPA. It also covers material on Cockpit Resource Management (CRM) and uses Electronic Chart Display Information Systems (ECDIS.) Case studies, simulator exercises and recent fast-ferry models will be used as training tools for both courses. Early in June, MSI also conducted a special course for Bahamas Fast Ferries' officers, designed as a review of requirements required for a USCG 500-ton license. Officers operated a new 35-meter Cat in the Bahamas, and then followed on-board training in nearby New London. The riverboat casino industry also recently participated in a six-hour seminar with instructors from STAR Center to go over guidelines for sound safety practices. The Crowd Management training class reinforced the skills needed for practicing safe management and control of passengers during emergency situations. The instructors traveled to Davenport, Iowa, taught attendees how to control passenger traffic corridors, staircases and passageways; how to evacuate disabled persons, and reduce the possibility of panic. Among the attendees were the crews of President Casino, Davenport, Iowa, President Casino, St. Louis, Mo., and Mississippi Belle II Riverboat Casino, Clinton, Iowa. Although these new management courses are not requirements to comply with STCW regulations, it seems their concepts have induced a wave of new ideas and have grabbed the attention of industry players. Johnson feels the fundamental aspect of Bridge Resource Management, which birthed the advent of other safety recommended courses, is the opportunity to examine oneself as a mariner, and discover how one makes decisions. He emphasized, "the assumption is that you are human, and you are going to make mistakes."-Maria Medina