VFB #116 - 修改版的STCW明年生效 2011.03.01

In a bid to push the safety of Filipino seafarers, the Labor Department has started efforts for the early implementation of the amendments to the Standards of Training, Certification,and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention and the STCW Code. The DOLE said the "Manila Amendments" seek to sustain Filipino seafarers' competitiveness and employability in the global seafaring industry.

Baldoz said the Maritime Training Council (MTC) is conducting a thorough review of national maritime regulations and issuances to ensure compliance with the amendments.

"The evaluation is being done in coordination with DOLE partners both in the government and private the private sector," she said in an article on the Labor Department's website.

The Manila Amendments are called such since they were adopted during the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Diplomatic Conference which the Philippines hosted from June 21 to 25 last year.

Highlighting the Manila Amendments are:
•    Improved measures to prevent fraudulent practices associated with certificates of competency and strengthened evaluation process of monitoring the parties' compliance with the Convention;
•    Revised requirements on hours of work and rest and new requirements for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse, as well as updated standards relating to medical fitness standards for seafarers;
•    New requirements for marine environment awareness training and training in leadership and teamwork;
•    New certification requirements for able seafarers;
•    New requirements relating to training in modern technology, such as electronic charts and information systems (ECDIS);
•    New training and certification requirements for electro-technical officers;
•    Updating of competence requirements for personnel serving on board all types of tankers, including new requirements for personnel serving on liquefied gas tankers;
•    New requirements for security training, as well as provisions to ensure that seafarers are properly trained to cope if their ship comes under attack by pirates;
•    Introduction of modern training methodology including distance learning and web-based learning;
•    New training guidance for personnel serving on board ships operating in polar waters; and
•    New training guidance for personnel operating Dynamic Positioning Systems.

Baldoz said the MTC will also conduct extensive and comprehensive information dissemination this year to all sectors of the Philippine maritime industry on the implications of the said amendments.
The MTC has vowed to implement the amendments prior to its entry into force on o1 January 2012 and its full enforcement in January 2017.

The Manila Amendments have been adopted to ensure that the necessary global standards will be in place to train and certify seafarers to operate any modern, technologically-advanced ships.
The Philippines remains be the top provider of sea-based workers to the world.

Figures from the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) show 25 percent of the country's total annual worker deployment are sea-based workers.

Source: GMA News

Filipino seamen, especially Ilonggos, are urged to fill the global shortage of qualified seafarers.Stein Eriksen, President of the Philippine-Norway Business Council said there is a bigger opportunity for qualified Filipino seafarers as the world’s shipping industry is facing a looming global shortage.

He said over 90 percent of goods transported worldwide are on board vessels of any kind and the demand continues to increase every year. The task of transporting these goods is undertaken by an estimated 1.3 million seafarers currently sailing across the seas.

“Imagine the world without shipping and seafarers,” Eriksen said, even as he emphasized that there is a current shortage of 50,000 qualified seafarers worldwide and this number is expected to double by 2015. Eriksen noted that that the Philippines is the leading supplier of seafarers.Of the estimated 1.3 million seafarers in the world, Filipinos account for more than 350,000. There are also approximately 20,000 Filipinos on board Norwegian-owned ships.
Along with other representatives of the 16 member companies comprising the Norwegian Shipowners Association (NSA), Eriksen was tendered dinner by the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University (JBLFMU), Asia’s first maritime university based here.  

During the dinner, Eriksen and his confreres underlined the “increased pressure to get qualified seafarers” with the global financial crisis gradually easing off. He pointed out that even during the period when some 30 percent of total vessels worldwide were not sailing, there was a shortage of from 27,000 to 30,000 qualified maritime officers.
Also, Eriksen pointed out that the biggest shipping organization of cargo owners in the world, the Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), in a survey undertaken in 2010, also indicated an “increased shortage of seafarers in the next years until 2015, even as in the next three years, up to 8,000 ships to be built, opening job opportunities for some 80,000 seafarers.

He said of the estimated 1.3 million seafarers, 350,000 are Filipinos and of this number, around 5,000 to 6,000 are active sailing officers. However, he added that there is a need to increase the number of officers in the next years.
Eriksen, who is also managing director of the Norwegian Training Center in Manila, challenged Philippine maritime schools to raise its academic standards for its graduates to be highly qualified in the international shipping industry.
 

He noted that there are 95 maritime schools taking in some 60,000 to 65,000 students but only 5,000 of these maritime students who enroll annually are qualified to work in international ships and become officers.
“There are many seafarers. What the industry needs are qualified seafarers,” Eriksen stressed.
To address this problem, the JBLFMU has a strict screening policy regarding students enrolling in maritime courses.
“We have increased the passing rate for enrollees to 70%,” said Dr. Mary Lou Lacson Arcelo, JBLFMU chairperson.

Source: Manila Bulletin