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The chairman of the Malaysian
Shipowners Association said the shipping
industry that is facing vast and rapid changes
in the operating and trading regimes must take
measures to respond in a coherent and
coordinated manner.
“The shipping industry is now witnessing and is
at the centre of one of the most profound
changes that the industry has seen in 100 years
of its recent history,” said, Ir Nordin Mat
Yusoff.
He said the shipping industry has never been
faced with so many new rules, regulations and
conventions as it has been now.
“New rules and regulations now affect almost the
whole spectrum of the industry, ranging from
manning & crewing, safety and standards,
security, ship operations and ship management as
well ship design and construction,” he said at a
dinner last Friday (1 December 2006) on occasion
of the 30th anniversary of the Malaysian
Shipowners Association (MASA).
The new rules include those issued or mandated
by the International Maritime Organisation,
International Labour Organisation,
Classification Societies, P&I Clubs, the
European Union and the US.
The raft of new rules is no doubt important in a
rapidly changing and dynamic environment that is
also re-shaping the trading world that we have
been traditionally used to.
He said more new rules are on the way.
“Along with the raft of new rules, the dynamics
of geo-politics, globalization &
liberalization/deregulation, the emergence of
electronic commerce, greater global
competitiveness and changing key functionalities
of transportation are some of the challenges
that impact on shipping that need to respond to
in a coherent and coordinated manner. The
challenges ahead are indeed many,” he stressed.
One of the responses that we need to take and
that is overwhelming important is quality
shipping.
The days of rust-bucket ships, brass-plate
shipping companies and signing-on and off
seafarers along the waterfronts are all over. We
need to ensure that the shipping industry is
able to move on to a new plane that emphasizes
on quality ships and quality shipping.
Quality shipping means that ships are built and
classed to internationally-accepted standards
and that are in compliance, ships that are
managed and operated under responsible
registries, ships that are owned/managed by
companies that are responsible & transparent,
and not the least, ships are crewed by properly
and well trained seafarers.
An important component of promoting quality
shipping is therefore paying attention to human
resource development, in particular further
measures to enhance the skill levels of
seafarers, both in the light of the changing
shipping environment as well as to soaring
demand for trained seamen.
“I think the shipping industry, and maritime
training providers and education institutions
need to take a re-look at some aspects of the
training syllabus. In particular I think there
are scope for wider application of electronic
system and standards in training of our seamen,”
he said.
Nordin said the adoption of
electronic-controlled simulators in enhancing
and broadening the skill levels of officers is
one area that should be seriously looked into by
the relevant authorities.
“Simulator training not only shortens the
learning curve of officers to advance in their
careers, such as in securing the master’s
certificate but also offers considerable
opportunity to broaden and deepen their skills
for shipboard application on bridge control and
management. Specific piloting or bridge control
skills are needed, like in emergencies, and this
can be simulated to gauge response level of
officers. These conditions cannot be gauged in
real life and the experience gained from
simulator training can be life-saving,” he
added. |
