22 December 2006
Our Ref.: FL-40229/1000007
AGENDA
Human Element in Shipping Committee
Meeting # 1
Wednesday 10th January 2007 (10:00 – 17:00)
INTERTANKO London Office
St Clare House
30-33 Minories
EC3N 1DD London
HEiSC Attendance List
Attendance List
Company / First Name / Last NameValles Steamship Co. Ltd / Mr. / David / Koo (tbc)
Brostrom Tankers SAS / Mr. / Patrick / Decavele
AET / Mr. / Amir / Azizan
Interorient Navigation Co. Ltd / Capt. / Steve / Hardy
ABS / Dr. / Christine / Tomlinson
INTERTANKO / Capt. / Howard / Snaith
INTERTANKO / Mr. / Fredrik / Larsson
INTERCARGO / Mr. / Roger / Holt
Apologies from:
Teekay Shipping (Canada) Ltd - Captain Graham Westgarth
OSG Shipmanagement Ltd. - Robert Johnston
1. INTERTANKO’s Anti-Trust/Competition law Compliance Statement
INTERTANKO’s policy is to be firmly committed to maintaining a fair and competitive environment in the world tanker trade, and to adhering to all applicable laws which regulate INTERTANKO’s and its members’ activities in these markets. These laws include the anti-trust/competition laws which theUnited States, the European Union and many nations of the world have adopted to preserve the free enterprise system, promote competition and protect the public from monopolistic and other restrictive trade practices. INTERTANKO’s activities will be conducted in compliance with its Anti-trust/Competition Law Guidelines.
2. Chairman´s Introduction.
The HEiSC Chairman Mr. Amir Azizan will welcome the participants and draw the Committees attention to the INTERTANKO anti-trust statement.
3. Review of the Committee Terms of Reference
The Committee are invited to review the Terms of Reference (ToR) for the HEiSC Committee. The Terms of Reference was approved by the INTERTANKO Council in November 2006, and are attached as Annex 1 to the agenda.
4. Proposed work items for the HEiSC.
A vast number of issues related to the HEiSC have been proposed since INTERTANKO decided to develop HEiSC. Also, there is a whole range of projects ongoing at present on this subject, both internal and external.
The Committee is invited to take note of various suggestions of issues to be considered and addressed by HEiSC as suggested by other various regional panels and Committees and, whilst taking note of the ToR´s, decide which issues should be on the Committees work program initially, and to what extent (if any) INTERTANKO should be involved, or if these issues may be better dealt with by other bodies.
4.1 Work undertaken by IMO.
Since many years IMO have been working on the role of the Human Element in a working group (WG) which meets intersessionally between the MSC and MEPC meetings. The IMO Human Element WG addresses issues pertaining to the Human Element and INTERTANKO have been participating in its work for many years. The IMO WG on Human Element may be considered as the appropriate channel for submissions to IMO on Human Element issues.
4.2 Access to Certificates online.
INTERTANKO have in the past suggested to the IMO´s FAL Committee to make ships certificates easy available for ships inspectors online via Q88. INTERTANKO have not yet been fully successful to convince IMO of the advantages, why it has not been endorsed by IMO.
A concern IMO has expressed is that Q88 is a commercial body, and as such IMO will not endorse such suggestions. None the less, progress with the work is continuing via IMO.
An IMOCorrespondence Group, co-ordinated by ICS,and consisting ofINTERTANKO, The Bahamas, Brazil, Liberia, the Netherlands, Norway, St. Kitts and Nevis,United Kingdom, BIMCO, IACS,and IFSMA have just submitted its final report to FAL 34 (Faciilitation Sub-Committee) of IMO. The correspondence group was issued with the following terms of reference:
· Identify which certificates might be appropriate for inclusion in online databases;
· Identify the steps leading to online access to certificates and documents required to be carried on board ships;
· Explain each step and determine the associated time frames;
· Comment on the reliability and security of databases on online access to information.”
The report includes the group’s findings regarding:
· Certificates appropriate for inclusion in online databases (See Appendix 1 of the report)
· Steps leading to online access to certificates and documents required to be carried on board ships
· What information should be provided online?
· What form should the database take?
· Should the database have other functions?
· How would the database function?
· Who would be responsible for providing, maintaining and updating the information in the database?
· How to ensure accuracy of information?
· Who would have access to the information?
· What Further steps may be required
· The reliability and security of databases on online access to information
4.3 UK MCA.
The UK MCA has over the past years been very active on the Human Element, both by producing information booklets and by doing researches in the area.
They recently published a new booklet called “Leading for safety” which has been made available free of charge on their website, as well as a tool for ships to evaluate how they manage the Human Element onboard ships. The tool is called HEAT-S and is attached to the agenda.
4.1 ALERT!
This is a Nautical Institute Project, sponsored by Lloyd’s Register, initiated to improve the awareness of the human element in the maritime industry.
The purpose of this forum is to establish a common database for, and to promote debate on, all maritime related human element research, focussing attention on areas of weakness that may lead to new research projects while offering a vehicle for distributing and applying the results. The project seeks to represent the views of all sectors of the maritime industry, i.e from mariners, engineers, naval architects, port operators, regulators, insurers etc. The project recently (October 2006) secured funds for another 3 years.
4.2 Seafarer Morale.
The issue of seafarer morale with particular emphasis on shore leave has been brought up as an issue by the North American Panel (NAP). It is anticipated that lack of shore-leave has a negative impact to the ships crews.
4.3 US Transport Working Identification Card requirements.
The Committee have been invited by the NAP to review this issue from the Human Element side.
4.4 US VISA Requirements.
The Committee have been invited by the NAP to review this issue from the Human Element side.
4.5 Senior Officers excessive workload.
The NAP has brought up the issue of Senior Officers overwhelming workload, and in particular the workload associated with documentation.
4.6 Retention of Officers.
The issue of retention of Officers in companies have become a major issue, which is linked to the Human Element. This issue are partly dealt with by the Vetting Committees WG on TMSA benchmarking.
4.7 Reasons for losing qualified seafarers.
This particular issue will be one of the major issues for the industry in the future, and there is an urgent need to address this difficulty in order to retain the professionalism onboard the ships.
4.8 Management / Shoreside Personnel Training.
Calls for excessive training for the companies management, both onboard as well as in the shore management has been raised. The Committee is invited to evaluate the need and eventual possibilities for such training. The Committee is invited to note that that this issue is already partly addressed in the scope of the Inter Industry Group (IIG WG) which reported its findings to the MSC 82 in 2006.
4.9 TMSA Training.
The NAP has invited HEiSC to consider if further training for understanding the TMSA would be beneficial for the industry.
4.10 Lloyds list article 27 December 2006 regarding STCW.
The Committee is invited to take note and discuss the following article in Lloyds List. The article as such is very interesting as it captures a whole range of ideas and concerns from a variety of industry stakeholders. However we believe there are some concerns in the proposals and that standards may be eroded.
QUOTED FROM LLOYDS LIST
The European Union is pushing for rule changes that would allow ratings to undertake many tasks traditionally reserved for officers. The plan, which has been strongly condemned by shipping unions, seemingly opens the door for “alternative certification”. Ratings would then be able to take on such functions as operational navigation and cargo handling and stowage. Some 27 countries — the existing 25 members together with Romania and Bulgaria, who join on January 1 have tabled the proposal at the International Maritime Organization.
The document is also signed by the European Commission, which has observer status. It forms part of the review the working of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping convention. However, Lloyd’s List has learnt that, despite having signed the document, Britain openly shares some reservations with the maritime unions.
The crux of the issue is item “5.9” of the document, headed “alternative certification”.
It states: “At present the existence of dual purpose officers and general purpose ratings allows for horizontal flexibility in the manning of ships and the way the work is organized on board. “However, there is also a need to consider the possibility of vertical flexibility, where specialist and other functions can be more evenly distributed among the crew. “Therefore the relevant provisions of the STCW convention and code should be examined in order to asses the need for adapting the pertinent provisions.”
The proposals have been considered by the maritime skills task force of the International Transport Workers’ Federation. A strong majority of both officer and rating unions are said to have taken a political position against the move. Officers’ union Nautilus UK, formerly Numast, has claimed that STCW could be “hijacked” by shipowners seeking to reduce crewing levels. It fears that the rules will be diluted in response to the shortage of skilled seafarers.
Nautilus UK general secretary Brian Orrell said: “The proposals clearly present the potential for a diminution of the officer profession by enabling ratings to function as watch keepers without the full certification of officers.”
Other effects could include a reduction in opportunities for junior officers, and less investment in cadet training. In a surprise development last week, a spokesman for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency told Lloyd’s List: “The United Kingdom does not agree with this particular phraseology and has sympathy with the union’s position.
“This particular paragraph is being read by the union as meaning that a partly trained rating could keep a navigational watch of some description. “Although the UK and Nautilus would not take this position, this is indeed the position of some of our European colleagues, including the Netherlands.”
The spokesman argued that Britain had signed up primarily to facilitate discussion. The IMO review of STCW starts next month and is due for completion by 2008, and the EU paper is just one of many that will be considered as part of the review process.
Other issues that may be considered, according to Nautilus UK, are working time rules, certificate fraud, medical fitness standards, mandatory alcohol limits, electrical engineering and electronics training requirements and the qualifications of yacht crews.
UNQUOTE
The Committee is invited to review and comment on the article as appropriate.
5. Tanker Officer Training Scheme – TOTS
One aspect of work being undertaken by a working group within the Vetting Committee isthe production of a Tanker Officer Training Scheme (TOTS) as an alternative approach to the existing Officer Matrix Requirements, currently required by several oil companies.
Within the Officer Matrix working group INTERTANKO had solicited all of its 300 vetting contacts within the INTERTANKO membership and also requested feedback, via the Weekly NEWS from members regarding the problems facing them today. A substantial review of the problems encountered by members was undertaken at the Committee’s recent meeting in London on 3 October 2006.
In addition it also reviewed a summary of the existing oil company officer matrix requirements and collated pool data information of officers’ experience (covering 222 tankers and 4617 officers).
After duediscussion the Committee agreed that:
· Tanker owners are increasingly finding themselves subject to “time in rank” requirements which are competing and contradictory for the industry overalland, if applied by all charterers, cannot be complied with if we are to maintain the operation of all tankers.
· Current compliance levels create difficulties and restrictions in promoting officers.
· Manning companies are unable to benefit from time in rank in the company.
· There is a growing shortage of experienced officers.
· Difficulties in maintaining manning levels will not disappear and an alternative approach is required.
· Existing base criteria are different in each case and compound the problems of compliance.
· Officers are being flown to vessels to satisfy current compliance requirements; this practice diminishes the combined officer matrix levels of the vessels they are removed from.
TOTS
As a further consequence, the Committee recognised the shortfall in (a) competence and (b) regulations to support operational excellence, and proposed that INTERTANKOseek to establish a "Tanker Officers Training Scheme" (for Oil and Chemical) which,when complied with,will ensure tanker officers are experienced and competent.
To achieve this aim the Vetting Committee is in the process of establishinga working group to oversee and review such a taskunder the auspices of the Vetting Committee but coordinated with the INTERTANKO Human Element Committee.
This concept was endorsed by Council and the TOTS working group is consequently started on this work with the aim of completion by August 2007.
Although work is its early stages the general concept is taking form as follows:
1. Standards for TOTS to be written using the “competence based methodology” which is used in STCW and widely throughout industry in general.
2. The main section of the standards to contain the functions for all eight ranks addressed. These functions outline what tasks and knowledge are suggested to be necessary to satisfactorily perform in a particular rank.
3. The standards to be produced after consultation within the industry and to represent by default the best practice operational training standard for officers serving onboard OIL/CHEM ships.