Maritime Schools Research Articles

The seafaring labour market in Brazil

The most recent reports on the supply and demand for seafarers suggest that there is an increasing lack of officers for the expanding world's merchant fleet. With a focus on Brazil, this paper discusses a particular seafaring labour market highlighting specific challenges that need to be overcome. The paper looks into the current condition of the imbalance in Brazilian seafaring labour market as well as the prospects for merchant marine officers from the only two maritime schools in the country. Key issues on demand forecast and supply expectation, policy amendment, promoting maritime career, sea career commitment and maritime career empowerment are discussed to illustrate possible means to overcome the imbalance.

Understanding safety culture by visualization of scenarios – development and evaluation of an interactive prototype

To be able to disseminate knowledge about maritime safety culture and safety management to different actors in the Swedish maritime sector, a preliminary pedagogical concept was developed and evaluated. As a first user group, students at upper secondary maritime schools were chosen and the pedagogical concept was adapted for this group. The concept includes an interactive prototype and a teacher's guide and is based on a model for experience-based learning which connects theory and practice by a cyclic approach. The concept was tested in a classroom setting including interaction with the students and a follow-up one week later. A preliminary evaluation of the results shows a very positive response among the students as well as the lecturers. The educational material was successful in immediately creating a relevant discussion about safety culture, and one week later, students could remember many of the safety scenarios included in the pedagogical concept.

Developing a model on improving maritime English training for maritime transportation safety

Maritime services form an integral part of what regulatory agencies requires for the safe navigation and operation of vessels. Therefore, the maritime industry’s compliance with governmental regulations and international protocols has been essential for maritime safety management. As a basis to this aspect, the preparation of maritime students as the forthcoming maritime officers in the future has been a crucial point by the maritime educators in terms of maritime safety. Although English was adopted as the official language of the maritime industries by the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW Convention) in 1978, many difficulties remain in the teaching and assessing of Maritime English at maritime schools. Some research has examined these difficulties; however, no successful models for improving. Maritime English have been adopted Parallel to the teaching and assessing problems, there have also been many difficulties in reaching a training and testing proficiency in English communication that meets the international standards of the STCW requirements in the maritime industry. This paper concentrates upon the difficulties of teaching and assessing the outcomes of the teaching of Maritime Transportation English at the member schools of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) from all over the world. As a first step in the methodology of this study, a survey of techniques used at member schools of the IAMU is conducted to solve some difficulties in assessing the teaching of Maritime English. Then a positioning model is developed to identify and measure the positions of the IAMU member schools in comparison to one another by using a multidimensional scaling technique to analyse the multivariate data received through questionnaires. This information provides the foundation upon which the model of this research is built. Consequently, some strategies based upon the results of the analysis are developed to reduce the problems and difficulties in this context.

Low-Grade Fuel Engines in the United States

All major low-speed and many medium-speed engines now have the capability of operating and maneuvering on low-grade fuel oil (Bunker C). Low-grade fuel engines have recently been appearing in U.S.-flag ships. The economic reasons which influence owners to order these engines are surveyed here. The increased price of diesel oil and the improved efficiency of low-grade fuel engines have been major factors for their implementation. Improved equipment design for reliability and maintainability has decreased downtime due to repairs. Many ships operate auxiliary engines on low-grade fuel. Maritime schools have followed this trend by adding or expanding diesel courses to provide hands-on training and advanced techniques such as engine room simulators to teach problem handling. The low-grade fuel engine, with its superior fuel efficiency, is expected to become the dominant propulsion mode in U.S. merchant ships, as it already is in the rest of the world.

The Keystone System of Anti-Collision Radar Navigation

A RAPID AND ACCURATE solution to the relative motion triangle is imperative if modern high-speed ships are to operate safely at sea under all conditions. Marine radar of great range, accuracy and flexibility provides early warning of the existence of potential dangers to the new ships, but methods of evaluation of the information provided by radar has not kept place with the advancement of equipment design. The methods commonly taught in the various maritime schools for the solution of the relative motion triangle require transfer of the information provided by the radar to a maneuvering board, conversion of the relative motion line to relative speed and direction, and an ultimate solution for a safe course of action by the maneuvering ship based upon the solution of the speed vector triangle. Since the length of the relative motion line cannot be conveniently measured on the radar scope itself, even when a reflection plotter is provided, this procedure cannot be completed on the reflection plotter. The reflection plotter is now the primary method of plotting the relative motion line and due to this inability to solve the problem on the plotter, or to complete the solution on the maneuvering board in the time available, with the methods currently taught ashore, the ship's officers normally do not carry the solution any further than an extension of the relative motion line to determine the CPA (closest point of approach). Change of course is generally decided by estimate—which is another word for guesswork. The use of a distance vector triangle enables the radar navigator to obtain a rapid and accurate solution on the reflection plotter or on the maneuvering board, with the reflection plotter being the preferred method. All calculations are avoided, as the lengths of the vectors for own ship and target's true course and distance made are based on the time duration of relative movement, and own ship's distance may be precalculated for various plotting intervals. Since the solution is plotted at the location of the relative motion line, the positions of several ships may be plotted simultaneously, and when a new course or speed to avoid one ship is plotted, the effect of this action on the CPA of all other targets may be determined immediately. Errors and loss of time in reading off and transferring data, are avoided and the solution may be arrived almost instantaneously. The Keystone Method of solving the distance triangle has the advantages of simplicity, clarity, accuracy and speed of solution. No navigator plotting by this method has ever been involved in a collision. The inadequacy of the speed vector triangle system of plotting raises a presumption of unseaworthiness of ships relying on this system where collision results from a failure to plot. When all factors are weighed, it seems abundantly clear that a shift to the distance vector triangle plotting method should be made by the maritime industry.