SIMULATOR SPECIFICATIONS AND INSTRUCTOR QUALIFICATIONS
by
E. E.
Mitropoulos
Director,
Maritime Safety Division
International
Maritime Organization
The adoption in 1995 of an extensive set of amendments to the
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for
Seafarers (STCW), 1978 marked a milestone in the history of IMO; in particular, in its
efforts to improve safety of life at sea and protection of the marine environment through
tackling the protagonist in all such attempts, i.e. the seafarer himself
The paper specifically addresses the use of simulators to enhance
maritime training. After an historic introduction into the subject, it focuses on those
provisions of the revised STCW Convention and STCW Code which refer to the specifications
of such simulators and the qualifications of instructors and assessors providing such
training.
The paper concludes by stressing the important impact the
implementation of the revised STCW Convention and the ISM Code will have on safety and the
environment.
Distinguished Guests and Conference Participants, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am both honoured and pleased to be able to contribute to the 9th IMLA
Conference on Maritime Education and Training. The beautiful and dynamic city of Kobe is a
fitting place for the holding of such an important and timely Conference and the
University of Kobe is a renowned training institution of worldwide repute.
I have selected to speak to you on the subjects of simulator
specifications and instructor qualifications. These two subjects have not been selected at
random. When, in the summer of 1995, the international maritime community adopted far
reaching amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, better known as the STCW Convention, it
presented the world with a unique and powerful tool to strengthen the human element in
shipping. A tool which opens a number of new perspectives in maritime training and which,
I believe, will make its influence felt in the immediate future. The subjects of my
address are but two of those important and novel aspects and, I think, relevant to this
occasion.
