587
1
INTRODUCTION:WHYTHEMETSTANDARDS
FORETOHADTOBEDEVELOPEDAND
IMPLEMENTED?
Todayandtomorrowchallengesinfrontofmaritime
universities cover, among other things, a full
implementation of the STCW 1978 as amended in
2010 Convention in the teaching and training
programsoftheuniversities[1],[2]. One of
thenew
elementsoftheupdatedversionofSTCWConvention
and Code [3] are MET (Maritime Education and
Training) standards for Electro‐Technical Officers.
WhytheMETStandardsforETOhadtobedeveloped
and implemented? A fundamental reason of this
processisarapidandcontinuouslyrunningprogress
in
electricalandelectronicengineeringonships.This
progress covers two layers: a technical, related to
complexity of the marine electrical and electronic
devicesconstructionandcontrolaswellasapersonal,
competence‐related and connected with new
requirements for watchkeeping officers responsible
for control, maintenance, diagnostics and repair of
electrical and
electronic installations on board of
ships. The first one is based mainly on the
development of the new‐technology based,
sophisticatedships,likepassengerships,largeferries,
chemical and gas tankers, container vessels, oil rigs
suppliersandlargeoffshorestructures.Inmanycases
they are all electric ships, ships equipped
with
dynamic positioning system or ships with main
engine without camshaft with electronic control
injection‐commonrail system. A significant
component of these technologies is based on the
assumption, that the computer control systems are
generallyusedinengineroom,onthebridgeandin
cargo loading and discharging systems and are
supervised by distributed ship systems. Nowadays,
on many kinds of vessels, including previously
mentioned, numerous frequency converters are
applied both to the main propulsion motors and
auxiliarydrives.Itisworthytoaddthatpresentlynot
onlythenumberofpowerconvertersinshipsystems
increases, but also the power
of a single electrical
motor rises, which together with converter system
used in main propulsion systems often exceeds
20MW. At the same time total power of electrical
MET Standards for Electro-Technical Officers
J
.Mindykowski
GdyniaMaritimeUniversity,Gdynia,Poland
ABSTRACT:ThepaperdealswithoneofthemostimportantchangesintheSTCW1978asamendedin2010
Convention, from the point of view of the watchkeeping officers responsible for control, maintenance,
diagnosticandrepairofelectricalandelectronicinstallationsonboardofships.Somereasons,whytheMET
Standards
forElectro‐Technicalhadtobedevelopedandimplementedareshortly analyzedanddescribed.A
legislativewaytowardsandashortdescriptionoftheminimumstandardscompetenceforETOarepresented.
Next,newtoolssupportingETO’sstandardsimplementationareappointed.Finally,thefutureworksaswellas
theconcludingremarks
concerningdiscussedissueareformulatedandcommentedon.
http://www.transnav.eu
the International Journal
on Marine Navigation
and Safety of Sea Transportation
Volume 8
Number 4
December 2014
DOI:10.12716/1001.08.04.14
588
energy receivers installed in these systems in many
cases reaches the va lues up to 80…100MW. Such a
greatvaluesofpowercauseanecessitytouseahigh
voltage solutions, and a level of applied voltages
reacheseven11kV.Underdescribedconditionsmany
new problems had been observed and new
challenges, how to overcome them, appear. It is a
starting point to second aspect concerning the new
competencesandKUP’s(Knowledge,Understanding
and Proficiency) for highly qualified staff, and
dedicatedmainly to electrical,electronic andcontrol
engineering issues. Safe operation of many
sophisticated ships today is greatly dependent on
satisfactory
skills and qualifications in the electrical,
electronic and control engineering field being at all
times available and more and more developed
onboard. That is why such a big power plants and
electricmotorsusedforpropulsionofthevessellike
previously mentioned, also very complicated
computercontrolandmonitoringsystemson
boardof
ships, should be maintained and repaired by really
competentandwellpreparedtoperformETOduties
person. Such a person, responsible for repair and
maintenance of electrical and electronic installations
on board of ships, must have thorough knowledge,
which is not possible to obtain working for a long
periodinenginedepartmentoftheshiponly.Adeep
theoretical background and a ppropriately conducted
training based on specialised laboratories and
simulators is needed. It is worthy to add, that a
majority of shipowners presently have employed
electrical / electronic officers, but at the same time
many contrary situations were noted.
One of the
strange and well analysed cases concerning a dead
short caused the failure of generating set’s circuit
breaker during a voyage of passenger ship m/s
STATENDAM was described in [4]. The most
intriguing were the statements formulated by the
TransportSafety BoardofCanada:firstly,“
Noneofthe
senior engineers onboard had theoretical or practical
education in 6,6 kV generation, distribution and trouble
shooting
” and secondly, “The seafarers Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) code however,
doesnotidentify electriciansasaseafaringprofession and
does not specify a minimum internationally applicable
standardfortheireducationtrainingandcompetence
”[4].
Itisobvious,thatthiskindofthinking,basedonthe
existingofthattimeversionoftheSTCWConvention
andCode[5],hadtobechanged.Infact,therewere
many important circumstances and reasons, which
created a need for international qualification
requirements for Marine Electro‐Technical Officers
(ETO), in the light of the continuous technological
progress as well as the new required qualifications
and skills for electrical/electronic installations
operation in the field under consideration. More
detailed information concerning ETO background,
progressinrelatedstandardsandlegislativewaymay
befoundin[6],[7].
2
ALEGISLATIVEWAYTOWARDSMET
STANDARDSFORETO’S
ThefirstunsuccessfulattemptofPoland,Norwayand
USA to introduce regulations for electro‐technical
officerstotheSTCW’95Conventiontookplaceinthe
years 1992‐1995. In March 2008, Poland, France,
United Kingdom and Bulgaria, submitted the
definition and mandatory requirements for
certification of Electro‐Technical Officer (ETO) and
Senior Electro‐Technical Officer (SETO) [8]. In 2008
the representatives of Poland in cooperation with
other countries have undertaken the initiative to
create the international informal working group
oriented to ETO works, named ETO Forum. The
representatives of Bulgaria, France, IFSMA, Islamic
Republic
of Iran, ITF, Malaysia, Poland, Sweden,
Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States of
Americahave participatedin thisworking group. A
detailedlistofpersonsinvolvedmaybefoundin[7].
Thiswasfollowedbytheformulationofthedefinition
of training and certification requirements for the
Electronic Officer submitted by
the Islamic Republic
ofIran[9] and a formulation ofthe proposalon the
knowledge and skill requirements for Electronic
OfficerpresentedbyThePeople’sRepublicofChina
in [10]. In the next step the delegations of Poland,
France,theUnitedKingdom,BulgariaandtheIslamic
Republic of Iran, in
September 2009, consolidated
from their previous documents the requirements for
ETO at operation and management levels and
presentedthemasajointproposalissuedas[11].Itis
worthytonoteapositionofUSandGermandelegates
included in [12], that there should be two levels of
training and related
requirements, i.e. support and
operational. After an in‐depth discussion it was
agreedacompromisesolutiontoincludetotheSTCW
Convention and the Code the requirements for
Electro‐Technical Officers (operational level) and
Electro‐Technical Ratings (support level). The
significant progress has taken place during the
ConferenceofParties
totheInternationalConvention
on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers in Manila in 2010. The
mandatoryminimumrequirementsforcertificationof
electro‐technical officers were formally included in
the Section A‐III/6 and for certification of electro‐
technical ratings in A‐III/4‐7 [13], and later on 2011
Edition of STCW Convention and STCW Code [3].
ThesearethefirstinIMOhistorystandardsforelectro
‐ technical personnel and now international
community of seafarers is just equipped with
appropriatelegalinstrumentsinthediscussedmatter.
3
ASHORTDESCRIPTIONOFTHEMINIMUM
STANDARDSCOMPETENCEFORELECTRO‐
TECHNICALOFFICERS
The minimum standards of competence for ETO,
established in the STCW Convention and Code’s
Annex approved at the end of June 2010 by the
Diplomatic Conference in Manila, and specified in
[13] cover 18 competences divided into three
functions:
1. Electrical, Electronic and Control
Engineering,2.MaintenanceandRepair,aswellas3.
Controlling the Operation of the Ship and Care for
personsonBoard.Allfunctions arededicatedtothe
operational level. The competences of the first
functionconcernthemonitoringtheoperationofthe
electrical electronic and
control systems, including
propulsionandauxiliarymachinery,theoperationof
generators and distribution systems as well the
589
operationandmaintenanceofhighvoltage(inexcess
of 1kV) power systems, and finally the usage of
internal communication systems and English at the
adequate level. The competencies of the second
function cover the maintenance and repair KUP’s
related to electrical and electronic equipment,
automation and control systems of main
propulsion
and auxiliary machinery, bridge navigation
equipment and ship communication systems, and
alsoelectrical,electronicandcontrolsystemsofdeck
machinery and cargo‐handling equipment, and
finallyrelatedto control and safetysystems of hotel
equipment.Thecompetencesofthethirdfunctionare
similartothecompetenciesforotherengine
anddeck
officersat the operational level andadequate KUP’s
describe the issues of pollution prevention
requirements,prevention,controlandfire‐fightingon
board, operation of life‐saving appliances, medical
first aid on board ship and finally, application of
leadership and teamworking skills. All above
presentedstandardsofcompetencewerethe
basisfor
the development of a new IMO Model Course on
Electro‐TechnicalOfficer[14],presentedandaccepted
inMay2013inLondonduringthe44
th
sessionofSTW
Sub‐Committee.
4
NEWTOOLSSUPPORTINGETO’SSTANDARDS
IMPLEMENTATION
In result of the ETO forum and IMO members and
official bodies activity two new tools supporting
ETO’sstandardsimplementationwerecreated.Firstly
within the IMO procedures, in accordance with the
decisionoftheSTW44,anew“Modelcourse:Electro‐
TechnicalOfficer,2013Edition,
CodeT708E,hasbeen
established [15] and introduced to IMO distribution
channels.Thecontentof theModelCourseDraftfor
ETO [14] was updated this way, that in chapter 3.1
some requirements concerning the familiarization
withMARPOLwereadded,andinchapter3.5apart
related to “Application of leadership
and
teamworking skills” were deleted, but at the same
time a decision about moving into operation a new
model course “Leadership and Teamwork” [16], for
allcandidatescertifiedintheEngine andNavigation
Department was taken. Additionally, part of
Appendices [14] has been enriched with
complementary knowledge “Basic Electricity and
Electronics”.
Finally,thecontentoftheModelCourse
for ETO has been carefully designed in order to
assure the full coverage of the necessary
requirements. The structure of this model course
consist of Introduction, part A, including Course
Framework for all functions and Parts B, C and D
(Course Outline, Detailed
Teaching Syllabus and
Instructor’s Manual, respectively) prepared for three
previously specified functions for ETO. The final
parts of the ETO Model Course cover part E‐
Evaluation and Appendices as follow: Basic
EngineeringScience,Mathematics,Thermodynamics,
Mechanical Science, Industrial Chemistry, and
previously mentioned‐Basic Electricity and
Electronics. The second tool supporting ETO’s
standards implementation is On Board Training
Record Book [17] for candidates for certification as
Electro‐Technical Officer. The On Board Training
RecordBook[17],asabasisfortherecognitionofthe
officer’sknowledgeandexperience,leadingtoobtain
the certificate, shall contain five parts: 1. General
Information,2.Summary
recordofonboardtraining,
3.OnboardtrainingrecordforFirst,SecondandNext
Ship, 4. List of training tasks and record of
achievements, and 5. Electro‐Technical Operations
Workbook Guidance. A detailed structure of the
content of the Training Record Book, taking into
accountthedivisionof the sections
intorelatedsub‐
sectionsisshownin[7].
5
FUTUREWORKS
Itseemsthatthenextessentialstepconcerning“ETO
issue” in the near future will be the adoption of
appropriate standards of education and training for
Senior Electro‐Technical Officers [7]. The concept to
include Course for Senior ETO in this project was
originatedfromtheDiplomaticConferencein
Manila,
whereduringtheprocessofcomprehensivereviewof
STCWConventionandCode,delegationsfromlarge
number of countries have been successfully
supportingtheideaoftwolevelstandardsforETOs.
These delegations proposed to establish also
standards for Senior Electro‐Technical Officer at the
managementlevel.Inthis context,
theCommittee of
theWholeoftheSTCWConferenceinManilaagreed
to invite the Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) to
consider proposal of Senior ETO with a view to
establishing a new work programme item for the
STW Sub‐Committee [18]. In the same queue MSC
invited Member Governments and international
organizations to submit proposals relating Senior
ETO[19].Itisworthytomention,thatsomeactivities
ofInternationalAssociationofMaritimeUniversities
(IAMU)werenoted.InparallelwithIMOprocedures
concerninganinclusionofETO’sstandardsinSTCW
ConventionandCode,theIAMUresearchprojectwas
takingplaceinFY
2012‐2013.Undertheumbrellaof
thisproject,PolandandChina,underthe leadership
of Ukraine, took part in the activities related to the
development of IAMU Model Course for Electro‐
Technical Officers: Course for Electro‐Technical
Officer (ETO), Course for Senior Electro‐Technical
Officer (Senior ETO). Project has been positively
completed and accepted. The partners of the project
believe in positive impact of the project results for
futureIMOworks.
6
CONCLUDINGREMARKS
Duetothecontinuoustechnologicaldevelopmentas
well as new required qualifications and skills for
maintenance and repair of electrical/electronic
systems, equipment and installations, there is a
significant increase in employment of properly
qualified Electro‐Technical Officers. Such specialists
arethecrewmembersof cruise vessels, largeferries
and
allkindsofspecialpurposevessels,andtherefore
their qualifications and competences had been
standardised at the international level in the STCW
Convention.Asinthecaseofotherofficers,thereisa
needtoimplementanddevelopthenewlyestablished
590
IMOModelCourseforElectro‐TechnicalOfficersand
Onboard Training Record Book. These documents
should be helpful to establish procedures for ETO’s
education and training. Taking into account a
previous MSC announcement and recommendation,
thenextessentialstepshouldbeorientedtowardsthe
adoption of appropriate MET standards for Senior
Electro‐Technical Officers. It is very important, to
openafulltrackoftheirprofessionalcarrier,itmeans
electro‐technical rating, electro‐technical officer and
seniorelectro‐technicalofficerforpersonsresponsible
formaintenanceandrepairofelectricalandelectronic
systems, equipment and installations on board of
ships.
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