CAPT. ERIK FREBERG BLOM ON RAISING THE LEVEL OF COMPETENCY

It has been a year since first time we launched NTC-M 360 and the newsletter is still undergoing some changes. Changes we also hope that the Philippines are undergoing. The EMSA challenge is still here and findings have yet to be closed.I do hear disturbing news that cadets trying to take their board exams still are, direct or indirect, asked to “contribute” in different ways to pass the exams.  I might be naïve, but this was one of EMSA´s major findings and without being able to address this particular challenge, we will have a lot of challenges in the upcoming audit as well.

You might have read the “Open letter to all stakeholders of the Maritime Industry in the Philippines” in among other papers, The Philippine Star last August 11th.The letter sums up all the challenges the Philippine Maritime industry faces for the time being, and I read it as an appeal to all stakeholders to comply to what we know is right, but obviously have some difficulties to follow.

Imagine you are in an aircraft flying across the Pacific. Would you like use an airline where there is a big possibility that the Pilot has attended upgrading courses only by paying the enrollment fee, and not even attended the course? I would not, and likewise I would not like to be passenger on a cruise ship where the crew had received similar “training”.  It is our duty to make sure that the training we deliver is of such a standard that the international shipping community will trust us to provide it with seafarers with satisfactory competence and attitude. International shipping doesn't need another MV Rena or Costa Concordia.

To do our part with the young and aspiring cadets we have introduced WebCadet, an online and offline training record book for our NSA cadets worldwide. Webcadet is in line with the STCW Convention's requirements for documentation to obtain personal certificates worldwide and will be the shipboard record of service for the cadet.  When a cadet signs on a ship, this will be the start of a shipboard record of service. As the cadet receives training on board, he or she must answer related questions/tasks in Webcadet.  When all assignments related to a competence are answered, the competence becomes available for approval from the designated officer on-board, after which the dedicated assessor can conduct assessment.

The sum of the cadet’s records of service will eventually constitute the total sea time, which will be registered in the system. To avoid discrepancies in sea time, the ship period will be quality assured by the shipping companies.  All companies with NSA cadets on-board are using this program, I know we have some start up problems, and we consider this year as a trial year. We hope the start-up problems will be fewer or eliminated next year.  It is also good to know that MARINA and PAMI have shown interest in introducing this in the future as well.

From our review of the training record book (TRB) we have identified weaknesses in the cadets competence and in order to strengthen our cadets navigation capability NTC´s training department together with the Cadet program tailor made a new comprehensive weekend course for our cadets. We are introducing to our 2nd and 4th year cadets this year a (simulator) passage from Ushant – through the Canal to Hamburg. Kongsberg Maritime have provided us with all necessary electronic charts so both paper and electronic charts will be used.  It will be a 56-hour continuous passage with all elements from planning, execution, changes of watches, heavy traffic in fog etc. and we believe this will be a challenging and unforgettable experience for them.

Tailor made courses are NTC-M´s strength and trademark. I encourage you - our clients to challenge us in developing company specific courses for you so that together we can raise the level of competency on-board where needed.