STCW 10 [previously STCW 95] explained in the Caribbean
Most people in the marine industry will have heard of STCW which means Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping which are a set of standards agreed by the IMO International Maritime Organisation and to which most maritime nations contribute
So what is STCW 95 or STCW 10 … the number refers to the major revisions which happen every few years with minor revisions more frequently. STCW 95 followed the revisions in 1995 and similarly the year 2010 for STCW 10 which are also known as the Manilla amendments as that IMO meeting was based in manilla in the Philippines.
The most well known STCW qualification is the Basic Safety Training and is often just referred to as STCW 10 . This is a requirement for anyone working on a commercial vessel over 28m long but in reality individual countries often insist on it for smaller vessels. This applies to cruise ships, cargo vessels, superyachts, ferries and all types of commercial vessel.
It is not just the crew that need it but chefs, stewards and stewardesses , hairdressers and even musicians. Ondeck antigua recently welcomed the band ‘Breve’ here from Dominica who needed the course in order to take up the offer of playing on one of the cruise ships.
It covers four main modules PSSR [Personal Safety and Social Responsibility]; Elementary First Aid, PST [Proficiency in Survival Techniques] and Fire Prevention & Fire Fighting. Ondeck includes the PSA Proficiency in Security Awareness as part of the 5 day package
There are limited number of organisations or countries that offer the training in the Caribbean and are Ondeck in Antigua, Trinidad, Jamaica and St Maarten.
This training can only be approved by a limited number of countries and is costly to set up – Ondeck for example is accredited by the UK’s MCA Maritime and Coastguard Agency
The other major thing to mention is that the Manilla amendments introduced a requirement for Updating or Renewal of certain STCW courses specifically PST [Sea Survival] and FF & FP [Fire Fighting] which Ondeck offers as a two day course
Anyone who has a STCW 95 or STCW 10 certificate that is more than 5 years old need to do the STCW Updating course. It is reported that many ports and countries in the Caribbean region are getting far more rigorous in their inspections
For crew working in more senior positions there are other courses that require updating which we will cover in a later article.
If there are any questions then please email me Peter Anthony [email protected] Ondeck STCW website
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