Latest on ECDIS Training
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Bearing in mind that the first phase of carriage requirements for ECDIS entered into force on 1 July 2012, the ninety-first session (MSC 91/22) on 17 December 2012 of the Maritime Safety Committee endorsed the Sub-Committee’s approval of STCW.7/Circ.18 on Guidance on Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) Training.
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STCW.7/Circ.18
22 May 2012
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ELECTRONIC CHART DISPLAY AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS (ECDIS) TRAINING
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1 The Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping, at its forty-third session (30 April to 4 May 2012), considered the need for guidance on ECDIS training. The information presented below aims to assist Member Governments, Parties to the STCW Convention, companies and seafarers in ensuring that training programmes in the use of ECDIS provided to masters and officers1 certificated under chapter II or VII of the STCW Convention serving on ships fitted with ECDIS takes into account:
.1 the mandatory carriage of ECDIS, as required by SOLAS regulation V/19.2.10, which will be subject to a staged entry into force between 1 July 2012 and 1 July 2018;
.2 the 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention and Code which have introduced ECDIS training for master and officers;
.3 the transitional provisions of the 2010 Manila Amendments which require seafarers to be trained according to the new competence standards before 1 January 2017;
.4 that there is, however, for some ships, a potential training gap associated with the ECDIS carriage requirement. Masters and officers certificated under chapter II of the STCW Convention on ships fitted with ECDIS, might not have received ECDIS training satisfying the requirements of the 2010 Manila Amendments. This potential gap may occur up to 1 January 2017;
.5 masters and officers certificated under chapter II of the STCW Convention serving on board ships fitted with ECDIS are to be familiarized (in accordance with STCW regulation I/14) with the ship’s equipment including ECDIS;
.6 ECDIS manufacturers are encouraged to provide resources, such as type-specific materials, which could be provided on a CD or DVD. These resources may form part of the ECDIS familiarization training;
.7 while there may be no requirement for masters and officers serving on vessels fitted with ECDIS to meet the 2010 Manila Amendments before 1 January 2017, it is encouraged that, prior to serving on such vessels, these seafarers should be provided with generic training, for example, the IMO model course 1.27;
1 Training and assessment in the use of ECDIS is not required for those who serve exclusively on ships not fitted with ECDIS. This limitation shall be reflected in the endorsements issued to the seafarer concerned (refer to tables A-II/1 and A-II/2 of the STCW Code).
STCW.7/Circ.18
Page 2
I:CIRCSTCW 718.doc
.8 after 1 January 2017, all masters and officers serving on ships fitted with ECDIS certificated under chapter II of the STCW Convention shall have undertaken appropriate generic ECDIS training (which may be based upon IMO model course 1.27), meeting the competence requirements of the 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention and Code;
.9 regulation I/14, paragraph 1.5 of the STCW Convention, as well as sections 6.3 and 6.5 of the International Safety Management (ISM) Code, requires companies to ensure seafarers are provided with familiarization training. A ship safety management system should include familiarization with the ECDIS equipment fitted, including its backup arrangements, sensors and related peripherals. To assist Member Governments, Parties to the STCW Convention, companies and seafarers, a record of such familiarization should be provided;
.10 Administrations should inform their port State control officers of the requirements for ECDIS training as detailed in paragraph 9 above. A certificate of competency issued in accordance2 with the 2010 Manila Amendments would be prima facie evidence of generic ECDIS training; however, a record of the ship specific familiarization of the ECDIS should be provided; and
.11 attention is also drawn to STCW.7/Circ.17 – Advice for port State control officers on transitional arrangements leading up to the full implementation of the requirements of the 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention and Code on 1 January 2017 and STCW.7/Circ.16 – Clarification of transitional provisions relating to the 2010 Manila Amendments to the STCW Convention and Code.
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2 Training and assessment in the use of ECDIS is not required for those who serve exclusively on ships not fitted with ECDIS. This limitation shall be reflected in the endorsements issued to the seafarer concerned (refer to tables A-II/1 and A-II/2 of the STCW Code).
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You can download MSC 91/22 here: www.uscg.mil/imo/msc/docs/msc-91-report.pdf & STCW.7/Circ.18 here: http://www.imo.org/blast/blastDataHelper.asp?data_id=31074&filename=18.pdf
