Maritime Training in terms of the German education system

For those who do not know me, let me introduce myself, Oleksii Chepok - Facilitator, Auditor and Consultant in Maritime Training. I have been for more than a decade a steady partner for such internationally known maritime training hubs as WMTC (Wallem Group), ONU 'MA' (Odessa National University 'Maritime Academy' a.k.a. ONMA), OMTC (the Institute of postgraduate education 'Odessa Maritime training center').

After the center of my professional activity and interests shifted to Germany, I had to find out the correct German terms matching the services I offer to the maritime industry.

Q: What would be the established terms covering the basic training, advanced training, value added training (a.k.a Value Added Courses or VAC), continuous professional development (CPD) training, etc. for the seafarers?

A: All of these have specific mappings to the German education system:

Ausbildung: This refers to initial vocational training or education. It is the foundational training that individuals undergo to acquire the necessary skills and qualifications for a particular profession or job. In the maritime context, it would typically involve the basic training required for becoming a seafarer, such as basic safety training, firefighting, first aid, etc.

Fortbildung: Fortbildung translates to "further training" or "advanced training." It involves additional training or courses that professionals take to enhance their skills and knowledge beyond their initial qualification. In the maritime context, Fortbildung might include specialized courses, competency training, and skill development for specific roles onboard.

Weiterbildung: Weiterbildung means "continuing education" or "further education." It is a broader term encompassing various types of education and training that individuals pursue to expand their knowledge and expertise in a specific area or profession. In the maritime sector, Weiterbildung could include courses that lead to higher qualifications or specialization in certain aspects of seafaring.

Umschulung: Umschulung refers to "retraining" or a career change. It is the process of acquiring new skills and qualifications to transition to a different profession or field. This may not directly related to post-STCW training but could be relevant if a seafarer decides to switch to a different occupation at sea, e.g. en electric engineer deciding to get the engineer officer license.

Schulung: Schulung means "training" or "instruction" in a general sense. It is a broad term that can encompass various types of training activities, including those related to the maritime industry.

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Regarding the specific forms of training for the licensed deck and engineering officers, as well as cadets, currently offered by me to clients I can also suggest the coresponding reverse mapping:

A. Post-STCW Training and VAC for licensed deck and engineering officers would fall under Weiterbildung or Fortbildung, as it involves specialized training to improve their professional skills and knowledge, possibly for higher-ranking positions or specific roles on the ship.

B. For cadets one year before their board exams, this would typically be part of their initial Ausbildung or basic training, which includes the necessary preparation for their exams to become licensed officers.

C. CPD, which refers to ongoing learning and skill enhancement throughout a seafarer's career, can be categorized under Weiterbildung. It involves regularly taking courses, attending workshops, and staying updated with industry best practices to maintain and enhance their competence.

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If you are seeking maritime training services, Oleksii Chepok - Ausbildung & Beratung is your reliable choice for any of the mentioned ABC types of training

Working globally online and locally in the greater Hamburg area, I can offer you a range of B2B and individual services related to maritime training: either the value added courses, training faciltation, or auditing of the training processes.

O. Chepok

EU members approve "FuelEU Maritime" Regulation

 

Jul 2023, the EU has achieved a significant milestone in its efforts to promote sustainable shipping by approving the "FuelEU Maritime" regulation. This initiative aims to bring renewable and low-carbon fuels to the maritime sector, not only reducing the greenhouse gas emissions but also pushing the industry into eco-friendly shipping practices development.

Q: What is "FuelEU Maritime"?
A: The "FuelEU Maritime" regulation is part of the wider "Fit-for-55" package, a set of legislative proposals introduced by the EU to align its climate and energy policies with the goal of achieving a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. The maritime sector, responsible for a considerable share of global emissions, has long been a focus for efforts to combat climate change.

Key Provisions of the Regulation
The "FuelEU Maritime" regulation introduces EU-wide rules to limit the greenhouse gas intensity of energy used onboard ships, particularly focusing on the type of fuels employed. The new requirements apply to ships with a gross tonnage over 5,000, operating in EU member states' territorial waters.

In addition, starting in 2030, container and passenger ships are obligated to use shore power while at ports, reducing their reliance on conventional fuels during idle periods. The regulation also promotes the use of synthetic fuels derived from renewable energy sources, providing a cleaner alternative for long-distance shipping where electric propulsion may not be feasible.

One of the primary goals of the "FuelEU Maritime" regulation is to drive the demand for renewable and low-carbon fuels, significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the maritime sector. The regulation sets ambitious emission reduction targets for the shipping industry, requiring emissions to be cut by 2% in 2025, 6% in 2030, 14.5% in 2035, 31% in 2040, 62% in 2045, and 80% in 2050, all relative to the 2020 average.

O. Chepok

Decline in Cargo Turnover at Stade Port: Aftermaths of the Energy Crisis

 

The port of Stade (Lower Saxony) witnessed a decline in cargo turnover last year, as per the recently released annual report.

In 2022, the port handled approximately 5.1 million tons of goods. Overall drop of -13% for the year-on-year comparison. Among them: solid bulk cargoes -4%, chemical products -27%.

The decline has been attributed to the energy crisis, which coincided with rising natural gas costs, leading to a substantial reduction in production by the energy-dependent sectors of industry and thus on the maritime trade in Lower Saxony (overall, -6% decrease in turnover across all its seaports, with the Stade port making it below the average decline for the region).

For furhter details see the reporting site https://www.seaports.de/

Sinking of 'Vasa': Historical lesson for Teamworkers

 
 

Frigate "Vasa" in Vasa Museum (Stockholm)
Photo: Wikipedia

'Vasa' was a powerful warship built in the 17th century on the order of the King of Sweden, Gustavus Adolphus. He understood the potential of ships as gun platforms and ordered a series of vessels with two full gundecks and much heavier guns. Vasa was to have the largest number of cannons and the tallest masts of any other ship at sea. Renowned shipbuilders and naval architects Henrik Hybertsson and Arendt de Groote were entrusted with constructing the ship at the Stockholm shipyard.

Despite recognizing that a ship with so many guns and high masts would not be stable, the shipbuilders, supervisors, commissioners, and other experienced project members dared not to challenge the King's vision. The ship was dangerously unstable, but no one spoke up. When the first architect dropped out of the project due to age and disability, another one, who took over also did not challenge the King's wishes. The King, leading the army in Poland, was eager to see 'Vasa' take up her station as the flagship in the Stockholm Archipelago. His subordinates lacked the courage to discuss the ship's problems or to postpone her maiden voyage.

As a result, the ship sank within minutes of setting out on her maiden voyage, causing significant loss of property, money, time, and reputation. An inquiry by the Swedish Privy Council sought to find those responsible for the disaster, but no one was punished. The council accepted that fear of the King's authority prevented the team from being challenging and assertive.

The sinking of 'Vasa' illustrates the Power Distance problem, imbalance between too High Authority and Low Assertiveness in a team, leading to an accident with significant loss. It also demonstrates that even in the 17th century, there was a hint of fairness in judgment that has evolved over centuries into the modern concept of Fairness, no Blame, and Just Culture.

Effective and balanced teamwork, unhindered and professional communication, other resource management essentials are key to prevent accidents. It is also an investment into maintaining safe working environment and finding solutions to daily challenges in business processes.

Various training courses, such as Global Resource Management (GRM), Maritime Resource Management (MRM), HELM (Human Element Leadership and Management), Command and Leadership (C&L), etc. cover the issues in the teamwork. The training cannot be a single life experience, but requires re-iteration. The Iterative learning allows participants to re-fresh knowledge, re-consider gained experience, and to up-scale the skills for the future application. Thus the training cycles may be considered a "vaccination" program for the staff, enabling them with a set of concepts and techniques to pre-empty incidents, find optimal solutions, be resilient in their line of duty.

For your information I offer among others the GRM, MRM, and C&L courses for my Business Customers.

ChatGPT AI in the crewing process - a humble example

In Internet there are many examples of using ChatGPT for Python coding, data processing, math. The AI is known for its ingenuity as well as for its extraordinary "creativity". As any tool it has own realm of advantage, and scope of limitations. Nevertheless, it is a powerful tool closely mimicking human to human interaction backed up by a huge knowledge base. Why not to consider it for the crewing process?

Human beings are finite in their knowledge. They cannot know everything about their jobs, despite the job description's saying the opposite. Especially for those who gain experience in a new field.

One can agree that junior inexperienced ranks make rather many mistakes in their learning curves. This way they get mature. Although at a cost, which for a business process may be considered just a loss in the short term. A loss in efficiency and an 'installment' into a cumulative loss for the enterprise.

Productive use of an AI can be considered another way of clearing doubts, getting a 'third party' opinion.

Being a consultant, I see the use of the AI as if engaging an assistant who knows much. From the AI I need getting support, often in a form of a substantiated summary.

I would like to provide an example of how ChatGPT had already helped to clear confusion in the line of crewing process (hiring a seafarer) communication regarding sufficiency of a ship particulars data.

There was a product tanker position open for a professional with the previous ships' experience in so called "COP" pumps. Ambiguity arose in interpreting what type of the pump system is hidden under the abbreviation COP.

Client's executive, who did not understand the difference much, insisted on hiring the right experience. The receiving side, who got request for the COP profi, could not understand if the data was enough and sufficient. Doubt was expressed to the Client. Provided clarification stated that COP stands for the "centrifugal oil pumps" used on oil tankers, not a Framo or a Marflex system used on chem tanker vessels. Questions to the Client's clerk, whether the abbreviation actually stands for the "cargo oil pump turbine" (should had been described COPT), did not clear the situation.

Attempted googling brought to surface many references without giving any coherent answer: just loads of text and videos, which described different types of pumps used on tankers. 

Processing the technical information definitely was not the fastest way for a non-technical operator. Making a conclusion required a consultant confident in the field. Such a consultant could be also an AI. We tried it out, and in this question obtained sufficient 'consulting' support within just few minutes.

Below is my dialogue with ChatGPT clarifying the doubt about "COP":

Human: In the ship particulars it is said that the type of the Cargo pumps on a product oil tanker is "COP". How can we decipher the abbreviation? What is the type of the cargo pump?

AI: COP stands for "Centrifugal Oil Pump". It refers to a type of cargo pump commonly used on product oil tankers to transfer liquids such as crude oil or petroleum products. Centrifugal oil pumps use a rotating impeller to increase the velocity of the fluid, which is then converted into pressure by a volute casing to move the fluid through the pump.

Human: Then what is the driver for the COP: is it the steam turbine, Framo hydraulic system, Marflex electric system, any other?

AI: The driver for a Centrifugal Oil Pump (COP) can vary, and the specific type of driver depends on the ship and the pump system installed. Some common drivers for COPs on product oil tankers include:

• Steam turbine: This is a type of driver that uses steam to power the pump. It is often used in older ships or in ships with steam turbine propulsion systems.
• Framo hydraulic system: This is a hydraulic drive system specifically designed for use with cargo pumps on tankers. It utilizes hydraulic power to drive the pump, making it a reliable and efficient option.
• Marflex electric system: This is an electric drive system that uses an electric motor to power the pump. It is a popular option on modern ships due to its reliability and ease of maintenance.

So the abbreviation COP does not determine the specific type of driver. The actual driver used would be specified elsewhere in the ship particulars.

The above explanation received from AI was enough to remove doubts and to convince the hesitents that "COP" was not a sufficient description in the requirements for the open position. One can see that AI returned to me the same phrases I used like "Steam turbine", "Framo hydraulic system", "Marflex electric system". The AI understood what I wanted from it and responded the correct way.

The dialogue became really an encouraging experience of using ChatGPT for our processes. Try it out.

Alexey O. Chepok

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Original text is available at https://alexeychepok.blogspot.com/2023/02/use-of-chatgpt-ai-in-crewing-process.html