Posted: September 15, 2015
The official countdown to the 2015 Irish Maritime Forum has begun with only 11 days until the event will take place at the NMCI on September 25th. Join the discussion- have your say.
We, the National Maritime College of Ireland, are delighted to announce that we are the official organisers for this year’s Irish Maritime Forum which is set to take place on September 25th at the NMCI. To date we have had a great response to the upcoming event with Copius Resources, Irish Mainport Holdings Ltd., Ardmore Shipping Services Ireland Ltd., the Irish Ports Authority, the Port of Cork and NMCI Services sponsoring elements of the event.
So, why attend?
The Maritime Industry Forum is a great opportunity for maritime professionals to gain an insight into the current industry obstacles and future industry plans within the broad maritime sector. Not only will key industry leaders speak about the current issues they face but they will look at how they can be overcome by working together. Individual attendees will have an opportunity to question the key industry leaders on their plans and how they approach obstacles they are faced with.
The Forum will also highlight key areas where synergies need to be developed in order to put the Ireland at the forefront of the Maritime Sector worldwide.
The event which will be formally opened by Minister Simon Coveney will begin with an overview of the Maritime Industry by Fergal O’Brien (IBEC) and Liam Lacey (Director of the IMDO). Following on from giving an overview of both the economy and the maritime sector Jonathan Healy will MC a Maritime Skills Panel Discussion with Conor Mowlds, Cormac Gebreurs, Rory McGuire, Captain Dave Elliott and Captain Kevin Allen. The panel will discuss the need for skilled personnel within the maritime sector. With representatives from the Port Sector, Research & Innovation sector, the NMCI and the recruitment sector this panel should give a good overview of the needs of the sector in terms of training and recruitment.
Following on from the Panel Discussion the Forum will lead on to the “Port Sector” where Captain Paul O’Regan, Harbour Master for the Port of Cork, will present “Irish Ports – Gateways for sustainable Logistic growth…or potential bottlenecks”. This will then be followed by Captain Kevin Richardson, AFNI, will discuss “The Critical Role of Harbour Master in a successful Port Business”. Captain Harry McClenahan, Navigation Services Manager with CIL, will be discussing how we can work together “To deliver Berth to Berth e-navigation services” while Jane O’Keeffe, Logistics & Supply Chain course coordinator at the NMCI, will examine the “Issues facing the extended maritime sector in respect of impacts of, and adaptation to climate change”.
The Offshore & Renewable Sector (Sponsored by Irish Mainport Holdings Ltd.) will see Prof. Conchúr Ó Brádaigh examine the prospects for “Marine Renewable Energy” which Tommy Furey from Infomar will look at “Mapping our Maritime Future” which will lead into the Marine Tourism & Leisure Sector where Dr.Connie Kelleher discuss the numerous shipwrecks sites on Irish Coast. Dave Ward from CIL will then talk about the “”Great Lighthouses of Ireland” and how they aid in the navigation of the Irish Coast. The category will then be closed off by Dr.Amaya Vega where she will speak about the “Atlantic Action Plan”.
The day will end on a high note with an interactive piece by Aidan Mulcahy of M3TV Productions who will showcase “Lighting up the Lusitania” to the conference attendees.
For further details check out www.irishmaritimeforum.ie and for bookings click here https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/irish-maritime-forum-2015-tickets-18113269276
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Posted: July 23, 2015
We, SEFtec NMCI Offshore, are delighted to announce that we are now offering STCW Refresher Training
Proposed Course Date : August 17th, 2015
Please be advised that we will be updating our website in the coming days to make online bookings possible for delegates and once this is available we will send you a mail shot with a direct link to the booking system.
In conforming to the provisions of STCW Convention Regulation 1/14, and section A-1/14, of the STCW Code, companies must ensure that seafarers assigned to any of their ships have received refresher and updating training as required by the convention. Courses to be completed will include;
- PST (Personal Survival Techniques)
- CPSC (Proficiency in Survival Crafts & Rescue Boats other than Fast Rescue Boats)
- Fire Fighting & Fire Prevention
- Advanced Fire Fighting
- Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boats
All of the above courses will be offered at the National Maritime College of Ireland through SEFtec NMCI Offshore.
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Posted:
The key to maintaining a safe shipping environment and keeping our oceans clean lies in all seafarers across the world observing high standards of competence and professionalism in the duties they perform on-board. The international Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers 1978, as amended in 1995 and again in 2010, sets those standards, governs the award of certificates and controls watch keeping arrangements . Its provisions not only apply to seafarers, but also to ship-owners, training establishments and national maritime administrations.
New Legislative Requirements
In conforming to the provisions of STCW Convention Regulation 1/14, and section A-1/14, of the STCW Code, companies must ensure that seafarers assigned to any of their ships have received refresher and updating training as required by the convention.
If a member of your team is serving on board a ship and is qualified in any of the following, they must, as of the 1st of January 2017, have documentary evidence of either having completed the training course or updated their training within the last 5 years.
The 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW Code introduced new requirements for seafarers to hold the following certificates of proficiency:
- Personal Survival Techniques (STCW Table A-VI/1-1)
- Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (STCW Table A-VI/1-2)
- Proficiency in Survival Craft and Rescue Boats Other Than Fast Rescue Boats (STCW Table A-VI/2-1)
- Proficiency in Fast Rescue Boats (STCW Table A-VI/2-2)
- Advanced Fire Fighting (STCW Table A-VI/3)
Seafarers required to hold any of the certificates of proficiency listed above shall, every five years, provide evidence of having maintained the required standard of competence to undertake the tasks, duties and responsibilities.
Seafarers validating their CoC or CoP after 1st January 2017 will be required to submit documentary evidence of having completed such training.
Deadlines to meet
The 2010-amended STCW Convention came into force on 1 January 2012. However, there is a five year transitional period, until 1 January 2017, to allow for a phased in implementation of the provisions. After January 2017, all seafarers are required to meet STCW 2010 standards. The three important dates to remember are:
1 January 2012
The STCW Convention comes into force for all countries party to the convention. From 1 January 2012 onwards, requirements for the new minimum rest hours and a record of hours of work must be complied with. For a period of five years, until 1 February 2017, on a national basis the different revised regulations contained in the 2010-amended convention will be phased in. During this five year transitional period, a party may continue to issue certificates of competency in accordance with its previous practices, however from 1 July 2013 new seafarers-training and competence should comply with the 2010-amended STCW Convention.
1 January 2014
After 1 January 2014 seafarers will have to be trained in security in compliance with the new provisions.
1 January 2017
The implementation period ends. From February 2017 onwards all seafarers on active service must comply with all the 2010-amended STCW requirements and be in possession of a valid STCW certificate covering the functions performed on-board. Administrations will also issue and recognise and endorse certificates in accordance with the STCW provisions prior to 2010 for those commencing training prior to 1 July 2013.
Basic safety training for officers:
Officers serving on any type of ship who are designated with safety and pollution prevention responsibilities in the operation of the ship need basic safety training. Such training must cover personal survival techniques, basic fire prevention and fire fighting, elementary first aid, and personal and social responsibilities. This requirement applies to practically all officers serving on merchant ships. Cadets assigned with these duties also need to complete basic safety training before going to sea. Basic safety training should be documented as having taken place within five years of the officers being assigned to safety and pollution prevention duties. You need to complete an approved training course or provide evidence that you have achieved the required standards of competence within the previous five years (by participating in drills and exercises, for example, or assessment by a qualified assessor). It is advisable that you do hold some form of documentary evidence to show that you have achieved competence in these functions within the previous five years (this may be in the form of record of drills or letters from a training centre).
New requirements of the amended 2010 STCW
All ships must have a qualified security officer delegated by the company and master of the ship, who is responsible for ensuring that the other crew are familiarised and trained in security matters for that vessel. The revised convention has introduced bridge resource management and engine resource management requirements for senior officers and leadership and management skills within their certificate. Companies should be responsible for providing training in these areas where seafarers do not have appropriate training. Where the company requires to carry an electro-technical officer they should comply with the new competency requirements under A-III/6.
General requirements for ratings
Ratings fall under three general categories; those forming part of a watch (deck or engine), those who are not assigned watch-keeping duties, and those undergoing training. As a rating you are required to meet minimum standards of medical fitness, minimum age (if designated with watch-keeping duties), competence (if designated with watch-keeping duties), and seagoing service time (if designated with watch keeping duties). Ratings who are not assigned watch-keeping duties or those still undergoing training are not required to hold watch-keeping certificates. All other certification requirements for ratings depend on the functions performed on board.
Ratings assigned watch-keeping duties
Ratings forming part of a watch (deck or engine) need to be specifically certified for this function. If you are part of a navigational watch, you need to hold a certificate known as ‘rating forming part of a navigational watch’ certificate. On the other hand, if you are part of an engineering watch, you will need to hold a certificate known as ‘rating forming part of an engineering watch’ certificate. To obtain these certificates you need to show that you are competent in the functions. You can find the complete version of these in the STCW Convention under section A-II/4 for deck personnel and A-III/4 for engine personnel. Seafarers who have the appropriate competencies to become able seafarer deck or able seafarer engine under the new provisions II/5 and III/5 must first have become proficient watch keepers. However if you served for a period of not less than one year as a rating in the relevant capacity before the convention came into force for the administration issuing your certificate then you may be considered to meet the competence requirements and will be certified accordingly, without needing to undergo any further training. The above may also apply to integrated ratings under the new provisions of VII/2.4.
Ratings forming part of a navigational watch
You should meet the competence requirements stated below. These do not apply to ratings on ships of below 500 gross tonnages. You must be able to:
1. Steer the ship and comply with helm orders issued in English (covers the use of magnetic and gyro compasses, helm orders, change over from automatic pilot to hand steering device and vice-versa).
2. Keep a proper look-out by sight and hearing (covers the responsibilities of a look-out including reporting the approximate bearing of a sound signal, light or other object in degrees or points).
3. Contribute to monitoring and controlling a safe watch (covers shipboard terms and definitions, use of internal communication and alarm systems, have the ability to understand orders and to communicate with the officer of the watch in matters relevant to watch-keeping duties, be familiar with the procedures for the relief, maintenance and hand-over of a watch, the information required to maintain a safe watch and basic environmental protection procedures).
4. Operate emergency equipment and apply emergency procedures (covers knowledge of emergency duties and alarm signals, knowledge of pyrotechnic distress signals, satellite EPIRB’s and SARTS, avoidance of false distress alerts and action to be taken in the event of accidental activation).
Ratings forming part of engineering watch
If you are part of an engineering watch you should meet the competence requirements stated below. The requirements are the same as for STCW-95. They do not apply to ratings on ships of below 750kW in propulsion power.
You need to be able to:
1. Carry out a watch routine appropriate to the duties of a rating forming part of an engine room watch, and communicate effectively in matters related to watch-keeping duties (covers terms used in machinery spaces and the names of machinery and equipment, engine-room watch-keeping procedures, safe working practices in engine-room operations, basic environmental protection procedures, use of internal communications systems, engine room alarm systems, and ability to distinguish between the various alarms with special reference to fire extinguishing gas alarms).
2. Keep a boiler watch and maintain the correct water level and steam pressure (covers safe operation of boilers).
3. Operate emergency equipment and apply emergency procedures (covers knowledge of emergency duties, escape routes from machinery spaces, familiarity with the location and the use of fire fighting equipment in machinery areas).
Ratings’ duties on joining any ship
All ratings need to complete a period of ship-specific familiarisation training, including security before being assigned any shipboard functions. There is no certificate awarded for this, but a record should be kept of it in the ship’s official logbook. This requirement applies to any member of the crew, including hotel staff in passenger ships.
Basic safety training for ratings
Ratings serving on any type of ship who are designated with safety, security and pollution prevention responsibilities in the operation of the ship need basic safety training. This covers personal survival techniques, basic fire prevention and fire fighting, elementary first aid, and personal and social responsibilities. This requirement applies to practically all ratings serving on merchant ships as well as to ratings undergoing training. Basic safety training should be documented as having taken place within five years of a rating’s being assigned to safety and pollution prevention duties.
You need to complete an approved training course or provide evidence that you have attained the required standards of competence within the previous five years (by participating in drills and exercises, for example, or assessment by a qualified assessor). There is no requirement for seafarers to hold an official certificate of basic training, but it is advisable that you possess some form of documentary evidence to show that you have attained competence in these functions within the previous five years (record of drills or letters from a training centre).
Click here ( STCW Guide ) to view the full guide produced by the IMO.
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Posted: June 24, 2015
Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Minister
for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation with Rory McGuire, Flagship’s European Partner (2013)
Who are Flagship Management?
Flagship Maritime Consultants Ltd, trading as Flagship Management, provides specialist recruitment, staffing and executive search services to the maritime, energy and offshore industries. From its base in Kinvara, Co. Galway, the company provides services covering markets in Ireland, the EU, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The company works across many sectors of the industry including the oil and energy majors, leading ship owners, leading shipyards, classification societies, maritime regulatory agencies and maritime finance and insurance services. Flagship Ireland is one of the principal suppliers of senior management for major shipbuilding projects in China and South Korea.
Flagship has established itself overcoming many competitive challenges. It was a new entrant into a highly competitive and established market with numerous competitors spread across Europe. The Flagship model had already proven itself in the US, Canada and South America, and was now to target two of the largest maritime marketplaces: Europe and the Asia Pacific. In order to claim market share we are focusing on our competitive advantages that are difficult for our competitors to replicate:
- We focus on employing staff with extensive experience in the maritime industry adding skills and knowledge that our competitors cannot offer. Our staff are ex-‐naval architects, master mariners, chief engineers and bunker traders amongst others.
- In addition to their expertise, our staff offers a more mature profile in an industry dominated by a very young and very transient workforce.
- Everything is in the ‘Cloud’. Our cloud-‐based infrastructure allows our personnel to work remotely in real-‐time just as if they were still in the office. Our office phone numbers follow us wherever we go, allowing an “always-‐ on” service for our clients.
- Our service offering: in addition to the above, our services follow a six-‐point process that provides a structural approach for both ourselves and our clients. By following this process we have an industry leading retention rate of professionals placed with our clients.
Our knowledge, our network, working for our clients and candidates
We are professional recruiters with real maritime know-‐how. Our experience matters. We have worked in the industry and are vested in it and consequently our clients benefit from an intuitive knowledge of the positions they are trying to fill. Our candidates can expect dedicated support throughout the recruitment process from submission to the first day on the new job and beyond. Check out our website: www.flagshipmgt.com
Want further information on Flagship? Open this PDF : Flagship Management Profile
A CV IS NOT YOUR LIFE STORY: it’s the exciting advert for your life story coming soon to an interview room near you.
Your Maritime CV: 3 simple ways to make your CV a LOT better!
Every week we’re reading hundreds of CV’s and, for any given job advertised, you can bet company HR departments are also reviewing hundreds of CV’s and they have a lot less time to review them than our team. Some career advisors will tell you ‘you need to make your CV stand out!’ You might also feel that fancy formatting and plenty of colour with ‘cool’ infographics is the way to go. In our opinion the following is much more productive:
1. Standard formatting: Personal details, Employment (most recent to oldest), Education (Always include from-to dates, type of degree/dip/cert and University/Educational Institute), Skills (IT, personnel, HSEQ training, short courses, languages, etc) and Interests.
If the HR manager has 100 CV’s to review, 6 annual performance management interviews, a union dispute, and any amount of payroll, pension or new employee inductions to carry out that day then they are not going to appreciate having to work through your infographics, diagrams and colourful pictures to find out if you’re actually qualified to do the job, particularly if you’re number 99 and they’ve already found 5 guys they can call to interview. It’s a lot easier for them to find your information if it presented in a similar format to most of the CV’s they’ll see.
2. It’s not what you’ve done, it’s how well you have done it! It’s ok to include brief information on the roles and responsibilities of each position you’ve had in the past, but it is extremely important to highlight your achievements in each role. What additional value were you to each employer? How did you improve processes or procedures? Did you make your employer more efficient? Did you save costs or earn extra revenue for your company? Did you have excellent annual performance appraisals? Did you give to your employer more than just the standard requirements of the job.
If you’re a bunker trader or marine business developer you must highlight your performance against target. If you’re a HSEQ manager you must highlight processes, incident-free records, etc. If you’re a tech super, highlight solutions that saved your employer time/money in downtime maybe in drydock. At the very least you should be able to say that your annual performance reviews were excellent.
3. Keep it short. Too many guys were speak to believe that they cannot possibly fit their experience into anything less than 8 pages! We have argued this point with guys with CV’s that are over 20 pages long! A CV IS NOT YOUR LIFE STORY: it’s the exciting advert for your life story coming soon to an interview room near you. It should be 2 pages, max 3. Most employers are only going to be interested in what you’ve been doing over the past 5 years, provide detail on your last 2 to 3 positions and list out everything else.
Good luck in your job search!
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