Maritime Operations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Maritime Operations - Essay Example (The ISM code, 2010) (ii) It should ensure a safe working place is maintained on board ship. (iii) Identify areas where accidents can occur on board ship and provide measures for rectification.( The ISM code, 2010) (iv) Upgrade the ability of persons on board to react immediately in case of emergency per safety manuals. (v) The safety manuals and codes have been developed after years of research and feedback generated by shipping personnel over years of experience in facing different distress situations. Hence the crew should always be encouraged to follow the safety instructions and treat the code as a valuable piece of guidance. (The ISM Code, 2007) Therefore it is quite clear from the objectives that the human element is quite clearly addressed in the ISM code and guidelines have been prescribed to reduce operational risk. It is with these intentions that the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006 and the STCW 1978 were conducted and guidelines to avoid human risk were evolved. Mariti me labour Convention 2006 Since the Maritime labour Convention as a document covers a whole gamut of areas and stipulations, the primary areas of reference regarding reducing operational risk of seafarers shall be discussed here. This convention consists of a series of conventions which deals with the scope, rights and responsibilities of seafarers. Here Title 1 deals with the minimum qualification a seafarer must possess for him do his job efficiently thus mitigating accident risk to fellow crew and the ship. Title 2 deals with the minimum wages, hours of rest, period of leave and the manning levels of the seafarers. Title 3 deals with his accommodation and food that is provided on board. Therefore Title 2 and Title 3 deals with the psychological aspect of the person as only an optimum amount of rest would ensure that he performs his watch keeping duty diligently. Title 4 covers measures that the ship has adopted for accident prevention and medical care facilities on board in case of any injury. The ship should also be provided with efficient communication that could inform the land and have the injured person airlifted to the nearest medical facility. (Maritime Labour Convention, 2006) The regulation and code is then further arranged in to a series of five titles. These are (i) Title 1- The minimum age of entry should be sixteen years. Night duty for people below 18 years is banned. Night duty is also defined as one which begins before midnight and ends before 5am. Work that may have an adverse effect on the health of an individual should be avoided if he is below 18 years.( Cleopatra Doumbia, 2009) Seafarers who have not passed the medical tests prior to each sail shall be prohibited from joining ship and taking up duties. Medical certificates to prove the legitimacy must be provided on joining board. The seafarer should be adequately trained in carrying out watch keeping duties and should have carry all the relevant certificates regarding safety like basic fire fighting, first aid among others. (Maritime Labour Convention, 2006) (ii) Title 2- This encourages the shipping companies to adopt a more humane approach to the seafarer employer agreements so that his mind remains focussed when at work away from other external