Revision of IMO Model Course 3.17 Maritime English. Focus on Maritime English to Auxiliary Personnel

Abstract

Under the Manila 2010 amendments to the STCW , all crew members on board cruise vessels, mainly those assisting passengers during emergency situations and not only, should be able to communicate safety-related issues in English or in the language spoken by the passengers and other personnel on board. Having in view that navigational and safety communications from ship to shore and vice versa, ship to ship, and on board ships must be precise, simple and unambiguous, so as to avoid confusion and error, besides the need to standardize the language used, there is a growing demand of developing communication skills in English, especially for personnel working on cruise vessels, but also on RORO vessels, yachts and small passenger vessels. This is the reason why the authors have designed, developed and are already delivering the English for Auxiliary Personnel course in Specialized Maritime English to auxiliary personnel working on board cruise vessels to develop their ability to communicate with passengers, mainly during an emergency. The course covers the specific language used to describe the parts of ships, organisation on board ships, all essential safety-related matters and work-specific topics. It also reflects the situations in which auxiliary personnel need to communicate, with each other, with other crew members and with shore side authorities. The final goal of this course is to improve fluency in spoken English in real life situations which, of course, can be both routine and non-routine.