The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, is not just a treaty. It’s also a money-spinner or, if you’re a fan of Aesop’s Fables, the goose that lays the golden eggs. Plenty of eggs were laid by the goose when the Convention was overhauled in 1995, spawning multi-million-dollar businesses that ranged from the publishing of STCW manuals to the manufacture of high-tech simulators. More eggs are coming.

Maritime training centres and allied enterprises can have a binge. To be adopted by the IMO Diplomatic Conference scheduled for 21st-25th June in Manila are new requirements and “guidelines” related to training in electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS), marine environment awareness, leadership and teamwork, security and piracy, liquefied gas tankers, navigation in polar waters, dynamic positioning systems and offshore support vessels (OSV). Also on the agenda are fresh rules for the training and certification of electro-technical officers and ratings.

All this will make life much more complicated for seafarers. Yet, they probably shouldn’t fret. If the STCW amendments will ultimately result in fewer human errors, which are said to be behind 80% of all maritime accidents, then they should be welcomed by everyone. On the other hand, we do not see in the old or upcoming STCW regime any provision that would lighten the financial burden on seafarers. There’s not a single line suggesting that shipowners should try to shoulder at least part of the costs of the new training to be required. Life is unfair.

It becomes more unfair when training requirements are forced on seafarers as in the case of the management level course (MLC) for deck and engine officers. There was a lot of hue and cry when Philippine authorities first announced in 2004 that the MLC would be mandatory. The protests led to a long hiatus. Just the same, the programme is being implemented today on a de facto basis with government clerks at the Professional Regulation Commission refusing to release the certificate of competency (COC) unless the ship officer first enroll in the MLC course.

When the controversy broke out, we contacted the IMO Public Information Services in London for clarification. No, said one official, the management level course isn’t required under the STCW Convention. That answer, though, was qualified pronto. The Convention only sets the minimum standards and the interpretation of individual STCW provisions is up to member states, which may exceed the minimum benchmarks. In Manila, businessmen are often involved in the interpretation. And there lies one problem. ~Barista Uno