In latest issue of North P&I Club’s loss prevention
newsletter Signals, the Club provides detailed advice for ship owners on how to ensure a smooth and successful promotion of
their chief mates to the all-important role of master. The Club
notes that there is need for a structured approach to training and refers
to the obvious basics, such as STCW, while sheds focus on mentoring,
pastoral care and the Master’s SOLAS safety ‘trump card’.
Once a ship owner has
selected one or more chief officers for promotion to captain, a comprehensive
program of training and coaching should be put in place to ensure they are
fully prepared to assume command. In addition to achieving the necessary STCW
certification, the program should include learning about mentoring, pastoral
care and their over-riding safety duties under SOLAS.
The Club suggests using a simple checklist so that
there is proof of the key skills being assessed. This might include:
Ø The
relevant section from your or ship manager’s SMS. Relevant ‘Guides for Ship
Master’ from various organizations. Something like STCW Part A and Part B
Chapter VIII.
Ø Relevant
‘Guides for Ship Master’ from various organizations
Ø Something
like STCW Part A and Part B Chapter VIII
Gillespie says all masters need to understand how to
be good mentors, enabling them to pass on their valuable experience to officers
and crew and thereby improve job competence throughout their ships.
‘Chief officers chosen for
promotion will have already benefited from being mentored by masters and other
officers, but they should be given specific training in mentoring skills to
ensure the process continues.’
Just like pastoral care training there should be
training in how to be a good mentor. Unless the Master understands the need for
this function then it is difficult to assess and develop competency
Captains also need to be
able to provide good leadership and pastoral care. ‘This is essential to ensure
crewmembers are happy and enjoy their work. Chief officers in line for
promotion should therefore have training on promoting and championing good
pastoral care on board. Pastoral care is not rocket science: it’s simply a case
of creating a strong on-board “family”, with the master at the head.’, he also
says.
Pastoral care is not
rocket science. It might sound cheesy but it’s as simple as being a strong ‘on
board family’. With internet access becoming a must have rather than a luxury,
crew family problems are instant. Crew must feel that despite being isolated
from their families at home they have the bond and close support of their ‘on
board family’. For example, if the motorman is acting strangely someone must
notice and ask why. The Master as the head of the ‘on board family’ must be
told, or hopefully if he is a good leader he will have noticed himself.
The Master must also be
striving for better and safer crew performance. For example, he should see
control of hours of work and rest as a key factor for a happy crew that will
enjoy their work a lot more. Such rules are there for a purpose. In marine
accident reports, fatigue is usually identified as a factor. All Masters should
be briefed on how to manage fatigue on board through robust control of hours of
work and rest.
Gillespie further says that all would-be masters must
fully understand their over-riding responsibilities under SOLAS for the safety
of people and the environment. If the Master takes a safety decision that overrides all other
issues or influences then he must understand that to do so requires a
significant reason. He must be able to show how and why he took that decision.
He needs to accumulate good evidence at the time and make it known at the time.
It does not look good when you put together evidence after the event!
‘SOLAS V regulation 34-1
states that masters are free to take any decision which, in their professional
judgement, is necessary for the safety of life at sea and protection of the
marine environment. Understanding this all-powerful duty needs to be a vital
part of preparing chief officers for command.’
In conclusion, Gillespie reminds ship owners that
running ships is a joint task between the on-board management team and the ship
operations team ashore.
‘Both teams need to contribute
to training and coaching chief officers for command. The more this becomes part
of the safety culture of the company, the better prepared chief officers will
be to make the big step up to captain.’
North P&I Club’s
latest issue of Signals (October 2016) provides information relating to loss
prevention and other topics of interest to those engaged in the business of
operating ships both at sea and on shore. You may find it by clicking here below,
http://www.nepia.com/media/485419/NORTH-Signals-Issue-105-SP.PDF
http://www.nepia.com/media/485419/NORTH-Signals-Issue-105-SP.PDF
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