In SwedishOutlook
”High wages and internet motivates seamen”
Autumn 2006, my first official task as ombudsman of the Swedish Ship Officers’ Association. I am standing outside Sjösjukan in Kalmar and waiting for the first-year students on the ship officers programme.
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Social capital
The Danish MSSM Conference is an annual opportunity for all ship operators to meet and discuss safety, health and the work environment.
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Work environment and safety in the European transport sector
The European Risk Observatory (ERO) is working continuously to identify work environment risks, describe trends and anticipate changes that affect the work environment at our workplaces.
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In the hope of legally binding noise limits
International noise regulations at sea involve many problems; partly because they are only recommendations, meaning that there is no obligation to follow the limits stated, and partly because the recommended values are far too generous.
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Complicated systems cause errors
The annual MSSM conference on safety, health and environment onboard was held on 26-27 August in Nyborg, Denmark.
Much of the conference was about safety culture, and I will let Professor Sidney W. Dekker summarise:
”Parts fail, but systems drift into failure”.
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Leadership onboard – a challenge, with many involved
Working with leadership onboard a passenger ship is different from working with leadership in the office ashore. At the office the same manager arrives every day and exercises his leadership in his own special way. Among the officers onboard we have three people who share every post in order to put together the relief systems. [...]
Year of Seafarer
2010 has been declared the Year of Seafarer by the UN safety organ IMO (International Maritime Organization). Ashok Mahapatra, manager of the section for Maritime Education and human resource issues at the IMO headquarters in London, says that the main reason for this declaration is to direct attention to the world’s one and a half [...]
Review of the STCW convention coming to a close
The IMO has made great progress with the review of the current edition of the STCW convention (Standards of training, certification and watchkeeping). A few items remain to be solved before the diplomat conference the week before midsummer, when the new version will be officially adopted.
The revision will make it easier and clearer to interpret [...]
EU creates a better work environment onboard
The EU commission has started work on drawing up a new social agenda for seafarers. A concrete proposal will be presented in two years’ time, explains Dimitrios Theologitis, section manager at the EU Commission’s marine department.
Safety, health and environment at conference in Nyborg
The Marine Conference on safety, health and environment held in Nyborg in August was very well organised with interesting topics. Below is a short summary.
An investigation by Henrik L. Hansen at the National Board of Health in Denmark showed that western seamen are not as good as their comrades from eastern European states and Asia [...]
Seamen who are victims of pirates need help
Pirates in the Aden Bay continue to attack sea traffic off the coast of Somalia and reports of new attacks are streaming in. But there is too much focus on transportation, ships and military units in the area and too little attention paid to the victims – seamen.
Risk assessment theme for work environment week
– It is not unreasonable to strive for a zero vision of injuries and accidents in working life. Nobody should need to risk life and health when they go to work.
Difficult to enforce demands on re-flagged ships
Before the Swedish Maritime Administration can approve re-flagging, the work environment onboard must be checked. The ship has already been approved by another administration, but to sail under the blue and yellow flag of Sweden it must fulfil Swedish demands, which in many cases are stricter than other countries’ rules and regulations.
Gender neutral titles in review of STCW code
The wide-ranging review of the STCW code is continuing and in STW 39 (Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping) in March a number of different questions were discussed.
”Yes” to super-convention
Work with ratification of the ILO super-convention for seafarers continues. The time period for submitting proposals in Sweden ran out in January, and when the responses are compiled the case will be prepared by the Swedish Ministry for Industry, Employment and Communications before a bill can be put before the Riksdag.
