2022 Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC) on STCW

From 1st September, the Paris and Tokyo MoUs will begin their joint 2022 Concentrated Inspection Campaign (CIC), which this year focuses on STCW. Running until 30th November, this campaign will see Port State Control Officers paying increased attention to seafarer certification, manning and hours of work and rest.

 Below we’ve highlighted three areas where vessel operators may find themselves exposed to the risk of observation or detention and how we are helping reduce these risks.   

Role-specific certification

As one area of focus for this year’s CIC is certification, crew with roles such as Environmental Officer or Safety Officer will be under additional scrutiny during inspections.

 Steven Gosling, our Global Manager for Courses & Certification, sees this as a potential risk for some ship operators, saying, “Certification that is role-specific rather than rank-specific is where many companies may find themselves deficient. For a role such as Safety Officer, inspectors will request evidence that the person fulfilling that role has completed the relevant familiarisation and training to be able to carry out their responsibilities.”

Follow the links below to learn more about our specific certified courses for these roles.

Cruise and hotel staff certification

With the welcome return to business-as-near-usual for the cruise sector, cruise lines are undertaking massive recruitment drives to attract new talent from around the world.

An inspection of a cruise ship will see the certification of the deck, engine and hotel department under the spotlight. Hotel personnel and concession staff must hold STCW Security Awareness certification as part of the minimum training requirements, therefore, it is critical that cruise lines can evidence that all hotel staff have completed the required course. Additionally, cruise lines need to show evidence of STCW Crowd Management training having been conducted, and a digital training record can support this.  

Our Certified STCW Security Awareness and STCW Crowd Management courses are available for purchase, on-demand, by companies or individuals in our web shop. Additional flag-approved STCW titles are available for those with Designated Security Duties and / or responsibility for Crisis Management and Human Behaviour.

Communication

The 2022 CIC questionnaire includes an item asking, “Can the seafarers on board the vessel communicate effectively with each other in the working language of the vessel?”. Port State Control Officers expect to hear the crew speaking in the language specified in the SMS and may evaluate the crew’s communication skills.

Catherine Logie, Direct to Consumer Services Director at Ocean Technologies Group, is pleased to see the CIC focus on communication skills, saying, “Effective communication in an emergency can make the difference between averting an accident or creating confusion, as this is a key requirement of the STCW Convention, it’s no surprise that the CIC is focussing on this area. Where the working language of the vessel is English, we can help verify levels of language competence fleet-wide through testing using the ICS Marlins Test of English for Seafarers. If language levels are below the required standard, we can help improve English language skills through our range of Maritime English e-learning options which are accessible on board and can help bridge any gaps faster. ”

Learn more about Marlins English Language Tests and training here:

How Ocean Technologies Group are helping

As an entirely distance learning route to training and certification, our solutions provide a fast and reliable path to seafarer training and certification that enable teams to upskill, verify competency, and certificate individuals rapidly.

Our certified courses also significantly reduce costs and environmental impact by eliminating the need to travel to a training or testing centre.

Final thoughts

A digital crew management solution, such as OTG’s Compas, provides a simple and efficient way to check that crew hold relevant, up-to-date certification.

Awareness of and preparedness for the 2022 CIC will help any crew perform better inspections. Our customers using Ocean Learning Platform can utilise Company Bulletins or Rapid E-learning to build their awareness campaign, distribute it across their fleet, and monitor engagement.