qualifying seatime to 21 months represents a lost ‘experience’ opportunity. The qualifying sea time for Class 2 CoC should therefore remain at 24 months.
- The proposed MO3 appears to be ‘generic’ in its composition in that it covers the requirements of both
Deck and Engineer Officers. I believe a separate Marine Order specifically for Engineer Officers should be created to cover issues such as Trades, Workshop experience, and Steam/Motor qualifications. None of these issues have any relevance to the requirements for Deck Officers. The proposed MO3 appears to have been primarily written for Deck Officers with the Engineer Officer ‘specifics’ having been omitted...”
RTO-lecturer Tim Clarke’s submission included:- “
....There has been no involvement from the Marine Engineering profession and Marine Engineer Professional Trainers. There has been significant input from shipowners IR experts and the MUA who know little of the requirements of marine engineering and the true meaning of a Certificate of Competency. Ask any one of them what to do if the lights in their office goes out and they were in the middle of the ocean...”
Retired Engineer Ian Jones’ submission included:- “....Having spent the best part of 43 years in the maritime industry plus a 5 year apprenticeship which involved trade day and night school for the Toolmaking Technician Certificate that I completed successfully.
In between
that 5 years I transferred my apprenticeship to an approved engineering workplace for recognition of the heavy fitting required for Marine Engineering. I also undertook correspondence schooling for Part A Second Engineers Certificate which I completed. I joined a company as a junior engineer firstly on coastal trading then joined another company on overseas trade and aquired the necessary seatime to get my Second Class Certificate. Having the time to get the necessary experiences and knowledge in the industry is an essential requirement. The myriad of systems in a ship, big or small and correct operating procedures, how to handle emergencies are aquired over time by experience and a lot of investigational work by yourself. With all the new protocols and paperwork these days that is required it is not any easier. The sacrifices I and my family had to make to gain this experience and learning was large.
I followed on and completed Part A First Class and after
the necessary seatime successfully sat exams and orals for my First Class Motor Certificate Foreign Going. Yes it was nerve wracking but it was an achievement for which I and my family was proud off. I certainly wouldn’t like my Certificate being downgraded to a smaller rated vessel because that was were I chose to work after my overseas experience. But it dissappoints greatly that the standards are being reduced by your current proposals and it is certainly going to affect a lot of other people currently in the industry...”
Saj Manik’s submission included:- “
....According to the change- an Engineer having Higher Qualification working on a small Vessel can revalidate his Certificate only to a Lower Category …its like canceling a Doctor’s Certificate & issuing him a “Nursing Certificate” only because he is working in a Medical centre rather than in a Hospital.!! How Crazy is that!!...”
Dean Oxwell’s submission included:- “
....The proposed amendments will dilute the hard earned qualifications I currently hold.
After extensive self education, trade studies, extra curricular trade studies, marine engineering studies to Advanced Diploma level and years of sea time to achieve both a motor/steam Watchkeepers Certificate and a Class 1 Engineer Certificate of Competency, the ship owner can have complete confidence that they are employing someone who is suitably trained, qualified and educated and able to execute their duties and maintain the ship owners assets and commercial credibility, ultimately enhancing their bottom line.
As Chief Engineer on a specialist construction vessel, quite often working in environmentally sensitive areas, I need to have complete confidence in the engineer officers working with me. Not only must my fellow engineer officers expedite their work efficiently, they must also have a complete grasp of the laws, rules and regulations that have been put in place to avoid environmental impacts and disaster.
We work 12 hour shifts 24 hours per day and when I am at rest I need to know that the ship is in safe hands. If I cannot do this then I am not going to sleep. Fatigue will become a factor of my working life and the safety of the ship, the crew, non marine crew and the environment are compromised. This has been the case when working with crews from countries with less rigorous standards than Australia.
Moreover, the question should be “How will the proposed amendments affect Australia?”.
One only needs to look at the raft of shipping disasters occurring on our shores and around the world that have had serious environmental impacts. The training standards and level of competence of the people involved in the vast majority of these cases can be called into question.
On Watch March 2012 page 12
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