THE Saint Lucia Air and Sea Ports Authority (SLASPA), through the Division of Maritime Affairs, will be commencing the certification of crew onboard commercial vessels, operating within Saint Lucian waters.
The programme started yesterday and will be targeting an estimated four hundred (400) crew members working on board nationally registered vessels.
The Director of Maritime Affairs, Mr. Christopher Alexander said:“This initiative is another step by the Authority in the holistic approach of increasing overall boating safety on Saint Lucian flagged vessels. The crew invariably needs to interface with other craft or equipment and therefore requires technical skills for the safety of the vessel, crew and passengers alike.”
The manual “Basic Seamanship Crew Training” has been developed by the Division of Maritime Affairs and follows the standards set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). It is expected that by 2017, this certification, will become a mandatory requirement for crew employed on commercial vessels (Plying for Hire).
The objective of the crew training programme is to allow crew members to acquire the knowledge and skills required to perform safely and manage emergency situations on vessels. This manual prescribes policy, standards, instructions, procedures, and guidance for the purpose of training, qualifying and certifying crew members working on commercial vessels operating within the waters of Saint Lucia. The course covers theoretical and practical “hands on” training on equipment with classroom and mock up sessions delivered by qualified instructors. The syllabus includes:
• Rules of the Road,
• Communications,
• Basic navigation,
• Marlinspike seamanship,
• Anchoring,
• Towing,
• Man overboard and
• Firefighting
It is anticipated that this human resource capacity building will mitigate against risk and optimize the use of all available resources – equipment, procedures and people – to promote safety and enhance the efficiency of boating operations. The training is expected to take place over a four-week period where in the end participants are expected to receive a certificate of completion as well as a crew identification card.