[pelaut] Admiralty's take on ECDIS training

Admiralty's take on ECDIS training
(June 3 2012)

Ian Moncrieff CBE, CEO, UKHO and Admiralty, has explained the importance of ECDIS training."Training of bridge watchkeepers to give then them full confidence and proficiency in planning and conducting navigation with ENCs in an ECDIS and back of bridge systems is a critical success factor if the maritime community is to realise the full benefits of ECDIS.

However, we share the concern that we have heard from the shipping community that there is still a shortage of ECDIS-trained deck officers and a lot of people to be trained over a relatively short time."There is currently a wide variation in quality and delivery of ECDIS training courses globally. We have heard that there is a lack of clarity and understanding around training in some quarters and, we have sought to play our part in improving this situation," he said.He went on to explain Admiralty's role in ECDIS training.

 First, to highlight the need for comprehensive ECDIS training, Admiralty launched a worldwide promotion that will enable 100 mariners to receive a generic ECDIS training course. Qualified bridge officers working on international trading ships can enter the promotion online.

"While there is no definitive figure for the number of mariners who require training, estimates suggest between 140,000 and 200,000 mariners will need to be trained in the next six years," he said. "While our offering is modest in terms of these numbers, we hope that it will raise awareness of the significant challenge facing the industry.

"Second, in addition to this, and reaching out to many areas globally, Admiralty has also been running a series of global digital integration workshops, developed in conjunction with Capt Paul Hailwood, master mariner and an expert on ECDIS. Free to attend, the workshops help shipping managers plan effectively using a clearly explained step by step guide and templates to cover all the areas and requirements of the IMO ECDIS mandate.Capt Hailwood explained, "Many companies underestimate how long the transition to digital navigation will take.

To avoid problems, shipping companies need definitive answers about the integration process to enable them to fully understand what ECDIS compliance requires and prepare effectively."Feedback we've had is that the sessions help attendees feel more confident about the challenges of installing and operating ECDIS. It's encouraging to see that some audience members are well advanced in the process, but many are still at planning stage," he said.Asked about their priorities following the session, all attendees said the same thing, by a significant majority - crew training.

The next workshop will be taking place in Germany at SMM Hamburg, 4th-7th September 2012.Third, and recognising that seafarers will need to be trained to meet the STCW requirements for operating with ECDIS and therefore the IMO model course that qualifies this, as well as ECDIS type specific acquaints, Admiralty has produced a 'Practical Guide to Navigating with ENCs', which supplements this training.

This comprises a new Nautical Publication (NP231) computer-based training media, and a train the trainer package. This guide is focused on those new to ECDIS and ENCs, explains the terminology in seafarer's language and is illustrated with screenshots, top tips and hints on getting the most from ECDIS and ENCs, cautionary tales and settings, etc.

====== fm tanker operator =======

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