No reason to over-react on seamen certification

The Malaysian Shipowners' Association has welcomed the initiatives of the Marine Department for securing the memorandum of undertaking with several more countries to pave the way for mutual recognition of the certificates by the respective national administrations.

 
Chairman of the Association, Dato' Hj Mohd Ali Hj Yasin said the extended list of countries with which Malaysia has signed the MOU has taken the pressure off the shipowners on fears of detention of vessels that were crewed by seafarers in not meeting the full requirements of STCW'95.

 
At a meeting with shipowners last week, the Marine Department disclosed that 11 more countries had been added to the initial list four countries that had signed the MOU.

 
The countries with which Malaysia has concluded the MOU are Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Mynmar, Singapore, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, S Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Vietnam.

 
Ali, who is the managing director of Malaysia International Shipping Corporation Bhd, commended the Marine Department for its untiring efforts in attempting to defuse problem posed over the CORs.

 
Ali allayed fears of disruption to the trade as a result of detention of vessels which were manned by seafarers without the full STCW'95 certification.

 
He said MASA, which had been in close contact with the Marine Department, including a meeting held earlier this month following the circular issued by the Marine Department on June 29 notifying the shipping community on the deadline for certificate of recognition, would continue with its efforts to ensure the MOUs are signed with other countries that supplied seafarers to Malaysian ships.

 
"The issue before us is a global one and there is no reason to over-react as if it is peculiar to Malaysia," he said.

 
Meanwhile, in a circular issued to its members the International Shipping Federation has informed that lack of full STCW'95 certifictaion should not in itself prove grounds for detention.

 
The London-based ISF points out that the relevant regulations only provide for detention where lack of certification poses a danger to persons, property or the environment.

 
"However, there is no obligation on the port state control officer to detain the ship due to lack of necessary documentation if there is not other reason to believe that the seafarers concerned are not competent in accordance with STCW standards," the ISF advises.

 
In the absence of flag state recognition endorsements, ships should not usually be detained if seafarers hold a valid STCW certificate issued by the original labour supply country, and documentary evidence of having applied for flag state recognition endorsement.

 
ISF secretary general Chris Horrocks said ships whose seafarers lack shortly-to-be-required paperwork due to flag state bureaucracy should not automatically be detained.

 
STCW 95 will be effectively policed from August 1 2002, after the expiry of a six-month grace period after the February 1 implementation date.

 
Horrocks argued that despite the best efforts of all concerned, a significant number of seafarers who have made the necessary applications for STCW certificates will not have the documents by July 31.

 
"The most pressing problem appears to be continuing delays regarding the issue of the new flag state recognition endorsements," he said. 

 
"By all accounts, this is not a local or regional problem but a global one."

 
About 200,000 flag state recognition endorsements were required to be issued by more than 100 flag states and the process has proved far more complicated than expected, maintained Mr Horrocks.

  
"The first priority is of course for flag states to issue the required documentation to seafarers as soon as possible.

  
"But the second priority must be to avoid delaying ships which are properly manned with competent crew but have run up against a logjam in the certificate endorsement process."

  
Horrocks called for "continuing flexibility and pragmatism" on the part of port state control officers after July 31. 

  
He stressed that the request was not open-ended, but hoped that it would be treated sympathetically, as unproductive detentionds were in no-ones's interest.