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SES Onboard – a source for competence development
SES Onboard is not only a new tool for competence building within Maritime Safety, Environment and Security, it is also a part of a new concept where a trade publication is used as a tool for continuous monitoring of external developments within shipping companies’ internal competence development programmes for onboard and shore-based staff.
 Photo: DNV
Environmental challenges
within shipping
Jan-Olof Grönhult, DNV’s maritime marketing manager in Sweden, has worked within the maritime field of technical operations, project management for conversions and newbuildings and consultancy for the maritime industry all his professional life. His vision with DNV’s contribution to SES Onboard is to provide up-to-date knowledge to the maritime cluster in Scandinavian Shipping Gazette’s home market. By doing so, he is hoping to create an interest for individuals to develop their shipping activities further, either by striving for a given standard or by applying given standards, for example the DNV Rules.
“Our overall objective is to safeguard life, property and the environment”, says Jan-Olof Grönhult.
Kidnappings pose
serious security problem 
Ship security is a fickle affair. Owners and operators struggle to find a sensible middle way between safety and operational expediency without compromising vessel security. By and large, ship security is not a major problem to the shipping industry, except for periodical piracy and kidnappings in certain areas of the world. A worldwide structure is set out in the International Ships and Port (ISPS) Code (see box). However, the code is simply a framework for consistency of security measures among the 162 members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Only if further countries implement the ISPS Code the network is in place to improve ships and port security. |
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Paperwork – a safety hazard
Many seafarers today are frustrated by the increasing paperwork in the wake of all new regulations. It is not only the increased work load, most people heading for a life at sea do it because they see other qualities in the professional life of a mariner than filling in forms and sending reports on the request of authorities ashore.
The increased paperwork load dumped on today’s ship teams is a problem for recruitment, to keep mariners at sea and an increasing safety hazard, the latter also acknowledged by the Maritime Safety Committee of the International Maritime Organization, IMO.
 Photo: Meriturva
Versatile plant for safety training
In Finland a decree on Maritime Safety Training was passed in 1997, which also marked the starting point for the Meriturva Survival Training Centre. Indeed two of Meriturva’s three present units, the Fire Training Unit in Upinniemi and the Ship Simulation Unit in Espoo, already existed before that as a remainder of Helsinki school of navigation, which was closed down in 1988. Today Meriturva operates under the authority of the National Board of Education.
Fatigue – a safety issue onboard
The work on a ship’s bridge onboard a merchant vessel implies working irregular hours and night work. Often the intervals of the watches are interrupted by for instance mooring, loading and discharging. Recent studies by the Swedish Nautical Institute imply that the situation is aggravated by an increasing amount of administrative work, typically related to new legislation and regulating systems such as ISM and ISPS. This kind of work reduces the amount of time available for rest and sleep between the bridge watches.
 Honduras-flagged “Allora” with its five-detention history since 2004 should be one of the losers when Paris MOU changes its inspection regime. Here pictured in Simrishamn earlier this year.
Photo: Johan Mårtensson
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2006
