Ukrainian Seafarers' Training & Certification System

Ukrainian Seafarers' Training & Certification System About ITCS [about_uk.htm] | Legal Base | Leadership | Training Centres | The State Registe | Contacts Birth of the System Through the time passed since Ukraine proclaimed its independence under certain reasons, both objective and subjective, the traditional points of view at the ships operation, their supply and personnel training have undergone essential changes. The number of vessels flying Ukrainian flag reduced drastically, the gigantic shipping companies of the past have gone. Most of our seafarers were forced to search for employment with foreign ships and, due to good professional education and training, found the demand for their heads and hands there. During the early and middle 1990 the structure of training inertially remained practically the same as it was in the ex-USSR, but, naturally, bore the same bunch of the problems typical for the country in general. However, with each passing year the situation both within the borders of the State and beyond them continued to change deeper and deeper and previous approach appeared to be unacceptable and the matters demanded reviewing. In February 1998 the Agency for Seafarers' Training & Certification Control was established in Odessa and headed by Prof. V.K. Golubev, Odessa State Maritime Academy. In December 1999 the Agency was renamed as the State Enterprise for Seafarers Registration and Assessment. This structure under both names actively dealt with laying foundation under new system and developing a new approach to the seafarers' qualification assessment and compiled a regulating base for training, certification and keeping the record of seafarers' document and their validity verification. The time showed, that the body to control and organize work of such a complicated system had to reside in the State capital city where all the organs of power are located. According to the Resolution adopted by the Chamber of Ministers of Ukraine ? 83 dated January 31, 2001 in July 2001 the Inspection for Training and Certification of Seafarers was established with residence in Kiev. Adm. A. A. Shipzov was appointed as the Head of the Inspection. His successor since March 2002 is Capt. I. V. Tikhonov, Master Mariner. The Inspection Regional Branch Offices, providing for the work of permanent State Assessment Commissions are located in Odessa, Izmail, Mariupol, and Sevastopol. System Improvement Being located at the State capital city with the direct access to and control by the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine, working in constant close cooperation with the relevant departments of the Ministry of Transport and other Ministries within the Government, the Inspection succeeded to carry on a significant work to improve existing national system of seafarers' training and assessment. Marine Documents Unification First of all, the problem was placed and, running a little ahead, it was solved successfully, to bring the marine documents of national issue to full conformity with the existing international standards and national requirements, organize their issue, supply to Harbour Master Offices and issue them to seafarers. Ukraine is the International Maritime Organization Member State and, as such, is also a Signatory Party under the essential international documents concerning the safety of shipping matters adopted within the IMO framework, including the STCW International Convention On Standards of Training and Certification and Watch Keeping by Seafarers 1978, amended 1995. During the passed years international requirements have undergone substantial changes. The STCW amendments included new approaches to seafarers' training and specific requirements to the marine documents. The documents which had been issued previously varied in format and contents, especially those for ratings personnel which caused misunderstanding and claims from the part of Port Authorities in ports where the ships with Ukrainian seafarers called. This problem has been solved in two stages. Since the 1st of October 2001 the ports of Ukraine were provided with the blank Endorsements the the Ship Officers Certificates of Competence and began to issue them, and since 2002 the ports started the process of issuing documents of a new format and mass exchange of the previously issued documents for unified documents of new format. The order of completion and exchange of the Marine Documents is determined in the Provisional Guidelines approved by the Inspection and agreed with the State Department of Marine and River Transport of Ukraine. The format of the new Marine documents and Endorsement to them, the contents of the guidelines have been discussed and agreed with the most reputable experts in maritime sphere: Harbour Masters, the IMO competent officials, experts of Kiev National Academy of the Water Transport, State Assessment Commission experts, experts from other Government bodies. During processing new documents the propositions and comments of the Harbour Masters, inspectors of the Passport Departments in the Harbour Master Offices and experts of the State Assessment Commissions are taken into considerations to insert relevant amendments into Guidelines, as and when required. Thus, the Marine Documents are subject to processing and improvements in realistic practical conditions with their further introduction in updated format into the Regulation on Titles for Ship Officers. The new Marine Documents are not only unified, but also rather substantially protected - they possess about two dozens degrees of protection, including holographic elements and special protecting film. State Registry of Marine Document The normal compulsory procedure of the documents exchange includes the validity verification of the previously issued Marine Documents carried on by the State Registry of Marine Documents and in the relevant departments within the Harbour Masters Offices. The State Registry of Marine Documents is now a developing and upgrading structure. Now within the Registry and automatized system of unified state registry of marine documents of Ukrainian issue is being created. This system is aimed to provide smooth cooperation between the Registry, State Assessment Commissions and Harbour Master Offices and will allow to keep electronic record of all the documents issued to the seafarers on the modern level, to carry on prompt validity verification and to eradicate completely the chance for fraudulent documents to appear. The measures, so taken, allow to achieve conformity with both national and international requirements imposed in the matter of prevention for fraudulent documents to appear. The software applied for processing Marine Documents and their storage in the Registry database will work on the same principles. The program for the documents completion is already developed and its experimental application is commenced in the Seaports of Odessa and Nikolaev. The software for keeping and maintenance of the Registry unified database is being on the final stage of development. Regulating Base Development and Improvement The current top priority task lies in development and improvement of the regulating base. During the passed year the Ministry of Transport of Ukraine issued 11 Orders, 2 of which are registered with Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, i.e. got the status of officially adopted documents, The State Department of Marine and River Transport issued 1 order, the Inspection issued 15 orders, 2 of which are agreed with the Department. At present two Resolutions issued by Ministry of Transport are at the stage of discussion and approval. Regional Seminars and Meetings The Inspection holds regional seminars and meetings where the matters of improvement and standardizing of the State Assessment Commissions activities are discussed along with all the unsolved so far problems in the area of seafarers' training and certification. Directors of the Inspection Regional Branches, State Assessment Commissions' Chairmen and Directors of Maritime Training Centres are normally present at the seminars and take active part in their work. Main objective of such seminars is to work out unified modern approach and standards in State Assessment Commissions activities with further their approval with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine. In addition, a number of documents based on the results of work of these seminars will be issued concerning the matters in the seafarers' training and competence assessment area. Changes in State Assessment Commissions (the SACs) Quality changes take place in the State Assessment Commissions: computer hardware is acquired and mounted for assessment test proceeding and record-keeping activities, the testing software is introduced for more objective and modern competence assessment, training curricula and Instructions for the Procedure of Ship Officers and Ratings Qualification Assessment are being developed, software for SACs Protocols is adjusted to be similar to the Marine Documents processing software. Marine educational establishments and maritime training centres are inspected for conformity of their training standards to the STCW International Convention requirements. By last June they were inspected by the Ukrainian Registry of Shipping and since last June this task was assigned to the Inspection. Depending the result of the verification the marine training centres and educational establishments are issued the Protocol of Conformity to the STCW International Convention provisions and national requirements valid for 5 years with annual review. In case of positive outcome of the inspection the respective marine educational establishment is introduced into the registry of marine educational establishments and maritime training centres approved by the Ukrainian Maritime Administration. The provisions of amendments 1995 to the STCW International Convention provide that all the seafarers employed with the ships flying foreign flags must have and endorsement stating that their Certificates of Competence or Licenses entitling them to work in a specific posture are recognized by the relevant Flag State Administration. Such endorsements are only issued provided there is a treaty on marine documents recognition between the State of issue of the respective Marine Document and the recognizing State. Ministry of Transport of Ukraine has such treaties with 31 States worldwide and is holding negotiations with a number of other countries. Such endorsements are issued by the Inspection on behalf of Ukrainian Maritime Administration. All these and a number of other activities of Maritime Administration of Ukraine are aimed to improve the quality aspect of the maritime training system and to maintain it within the international standards, improve the rating points for Ukrainian seafarers and their competitiveness at the international marine labour market and to keep the image of Ukraine as a sea power worldwide. Prospects During the current year, alongside routine activities and problems solving it is necessary to keep work in the main directions, as outlined below: to proceed in development, creating and improvement of national rules and regulations within the entire scope and levels; to develop and implement the quality standards, to solve the matters of relevant companies and personnel certification; to compile, process and implement the best of international experience in the seafarers' training practice; keep work in development of the automatized system of registration. Ukraine possesses significant potential and we are confident that the levels of Ukrainian seafarers competence will always be high enough to expect that younger, top-qualified, highly-educated seamen, trained with the most advanced technologies and under the modern curricula, will succeed the generation of seafarers brought up by the USSR. We wish to hope that within the soonest time these seafarers will come on board of the numerous new-built ships flying the Ukrainian Flag. Birth of the System Improvement Marine Documents Unification State Registry of Seafarers' Documents Regulating Base Development and Improvement Regional Seminars and Meetings Changes in the SACs Prospects © 2005, ITCS About ITCS | Legal Base | Leadership | Training Centres | State Register | Contacts