Acceptable merchant navy deck officer education and training systems for Asia Pacific ship owners/managers

The international merchant shipping industry is suffering from the poor safety standards of vessels and a lack of well trained seafarers. As almost all of Australia's sea-based export and import trade is carried on international vessels, the standard of these vessels, and their crew, is of particular concern to the Australian people and the Australian Government. With the much quoted statistic of 80% of all shipping accidents being caused by human error, the training of seafarers, particularly deck officers, is a major concern for the international shipping industry. The Commonwealth Government recognises that the improvement of vessel safety requires the provision of adequate education and training for international seafarers. In 1994 the Government encouraged the Australian Maritime College to diversify its sources of funding with the object of attracting an increased flow of students from the Asia Pacific region (House of Representatives 1994, p. 62). ' The Australian Maritime College offers training for deck officer students through the Diploma of Applied Science (Shipmaster) and the Diploma of Applied Science (Nautical Science), and attracts a significant number of full-fee students from the Asia Pacific region. The majority of the international students are self-funded, with very little financial support from the shipowners/managers. The aim of this dissertation is to determine a deck officer education and training system which will encourage Asia Pacific shipowners/managers to enter into a contract with the Australian Maritime College to fund the training of their deck officer personnel. The dissertation seeks the opinions of shipowners/managers in relation to the acceptability of training models, the acceptability of delivery methods, the willingness to financially support training and the factors that affect the education, training and certification of the deck officer students. The study also investigates the characteristics of the international shipping industry to provide insights into factors that may constrain or encourage the implementation of a deck officer education and training systems. The research is focused through the following research questions: 1. Do the Asia Pacific shipowners/managers have difficulty obtaining adequately trained deck officers? 2. Do the Asia Pacific shipowners/managers wish to support deck officer training through an agreement with a maritime institution and/ or funding to deck officers? 3. What are the acceptable deck officer Certificates of Competency education and training systems for the shipowners/managers in the Asia Pacific region? 4. What are the desirable/undesirable delivery methods for the deck officer education and training program for the Asia Pacific shipowners/managers? 5. What do the shipowners/managers see as the major influences education and training of deck officers in the Asia Pacific region? on the The dissertation uses two descriptive research methods to collect data from shipping company personnel; face-to face interviews and a survey questionnaire. The results of the research indicate that the shipowners/managers are having some difficulty obtaining well-trained deck officers, with the deficit greater in the senior officer ranks than junior officer ranks. This suggests the training market in the Asia Pacific region is quite secure, as there is significant demand for well trained deck officers. The majority of shipowners/managers do not have, or want, a Certificate of Competency training agreement with a maritime training institution. Also, the shipowners/managers from the major shipping centres of Hong Kong and Singapore are of the opinion that an employer should contribute a relatively small amount, 0% to 20% (n=7), to the cost of a Second Mate student's training. The shipowners' I managers' most expected, most desired and best training system is the Sandwich, Diploma of Applied Science (Shipmaster), model. The Front-end, Diploma of Applied Science (Nautical Science), model is regarded as one of the least expected, least desired and worst training models. For the Second Mate course the most agreeable delivery methods involve practical training and official assessment by senior officers at sea and by simulation at a training institution. The use of a training institution to delivery lectures and tutorials was also supported. Distance education for Second Mate students is given marginal support; however, it is not supported for senior officers due to their at-sea workloads. The factors that strongly influence the education and training of Second Mate students are the Certificate of Competency government requirements, the International Maritime Organisation's requirements, the Quality Assurance of the shipowner/manager and increases in the regulation of shipping. In order to encourage contracts with Asia Pacific shipowners/managers the Australian Maritime College may need to be able to prove the financial benefit of a training contract to the shipowners/managers. The basis of this proof could be the alleviation of a shipping company's concern of port State control detaining a vessel due to incompetent officers, which costs money, and the non-compliance to Quality Assurance due to poorly trained officers, which may affect insurance. The Australian Maritime College could alleviate this concern by the provision of a company approved education and training system that ensures deck officers meet the requirements of port State control and comply to the company's Quality Assurance. Such a system may need to have the following elements: Quality Assurance to recognised international standards; ‚Äö the Sandwich model course structure; ‚Äö competency based curriculum which concentrates on the training and assessment of practical skills as well as underpinning knowledge; ‚Äö official assessment of deck officer students by on-board senior officers; ‚Äö extensive use of simulators in the training and assessment of students; ‚Äö distance education option for the Second Mate students. This system implies that the Australian Maritime College may wish to consider undertaking the following developments: ‚Äö obtain Quality Assurance to an international standard as a matter of urgency; develop a Competency Based Training curriculum that takes into account the requirements of Standards Training Certification and Watchkeeping 1995 and the Australian Vocational Education and Training sector; ‚Äö implement Competency Based Training education for the Australian Maritime College staff; ‚Äö develop a senior officer train-the-trainer and assessor course; ‚Äö develop an on-board deck officer assessment system which ensures all assessments are carried out validly, fairly and consistently to the satisfaction of the Australian Maritime College and the Australian Maritime Safety Authority; ‚Äö investigate the development of distance education learning packages for Second Mate students; ‚Äö develop constructive relationships with shipping companies and shipowner organisations in the Asia Pacific region.