All talk and no action
Posted on | March 17, 2010 | 4 Comments
A great deal has been said, at the seemingly numberless conferences on (a) piracy, and (b) the Year of the Seafarer, that (c) there is a shortage of qualified seafarers; (d) that “criminalisation” of the seafarer is a growing problem; that (e) better training is needed; and that (f) we of the shipping community must do something about these problems.
We never seem to get to the “what” that needs to be done. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Improve the quality of crew accommodations aboard ship;
2. Provide broadband access to seafarers (aboard ship);
3. Develop and provide advanced training and continued education programmes, available via the internet, at a nominal cost;
4. Revise existing conventions, such as Loadline, ILO and even SOLAS, to provide a seafarers’ quality dimension.
We speak, also, of the need for higher levels of quality, and of the “human element.” Getting to that higher level of quality has a lot to do with the fact that the lowest possible cost of labour aboard ship is an important factor in making a profit. As long as the cheapest possible labour cost, the smallest and sparest accommodation, and other factors mentioned above, remain a critical element of operating cost, it is easy to see why higher levels of quality and training continue to elude us.
One well-known example is the continued inclusion of crew accommodations in the overall gross tonnage of a ship, thus providing an incentive to reduce the size of such accommodations to the greatest possible extent.
Efforts have been made over the years to eliminate this factor, which contributes to higher port dues and charges based upon a vessel’s GRT. Since cargo space cannot be profitably reduced, the tonnage allocable to the crew is the only place that cuts can be made. Strange, isn’t it, that this little problem never gets mentioned at the much-touted and self-congratulatory conferences and beanfeasts that mark the passage of each shipping calendar year!
It is also strange, at least to me, that something as obvious as ongoing training does not play a bigger part in the STCW Convention and the ISM Code. Both conventions deal with quality, and in both conventions, as well as elsewhere, the seafarer — yes, in this “Year of the Seafarer” — should be singled out for relevant and meaningful treatment.
However, yet another symposium on piracy (about which nothing is being done, either) is ever so much easier.
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4 Responses to “All talk and no action”
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March 22nd, 2010 @ 3:29 am
[...] Clay Maitland: All talk and no action » [...]
March 22nd, 2010 @ 4:04 am
I agree completely with the need for internet aboard ships but broadband speeds? That’s a wish I’m not going to hold my breath for.
March 25th, 2010 @ 3:27 am
I have been there and done that. This is a excellent article and hope somebody listen to you.
April 15th, 2010 @ 9:14 am
Frank,
Internet is now vital for seafarers.
a low bandwidth alternative is required.
Daryl