STCW Convention

STCW Convention
International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and
Watchkeeping for Seafarers

• It was adopted in 1978 and entered into force in 1984.

• The main purpose of the Convention is to promote safety of life and
property at sea and the protection of the marine environment by
establishing in common agreement international standards of training,
certification and watchkeeping for seafarers.
• Amendments to the 1978 STCW Convention's technical Annex may be
adopted by a Conference of STCW Parties or by IMO's Maritime Safety
Committee. Amendments to the STCW Annex will normally enter into force
one and a half years after being communicated to all Parties unless, in the
meantime, they are rejected by one-third of the Parties or by Parties whose
combined fleets represent 50 per cent of world tonnage.
• The regulations contained in the STCW Convention are supported by
sections in the STCW Code. Generally speaking, the Convention contains
basic requirements which are then enlarged upon and explained in the
Code. The STCW Code has two Parts –
1. Part A of the Code is mandatory. The minimum standards of competence
required for seagoing personnel are given in detail in a series of tables.
2. Part B of the Code contains recommended guidance which is intended to
help Parties implement the Convention.

• The STCW Convention requires that training leading to the issue of a

certificate is 'approved'. The IMO does not approve any training courses or
institutes. This is a privilege and responsibility of Member Governments who
are Parties to the STCW Convention.
• The Convention requires that training and assessment of seafarers are
administered, supervised and monitored and those responsible for training
and assessment of competence of seafarers are appropriately qualified as
per the Code.

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Contents of Part A of the Code:

• Chapter I: Standards regarding general provisions

• Chapter II: Standards regarding the master and deck department
• Chapter III: Standards regarding the engine department
• Chapter IV: Standards regarding radio personnel
• Chapter V: Standards regarding special training requirements for persons on
certain ship types
• Chapter VI: Standards regarding emergency, occupational safety, medical
care & survival function
• Chapter VII: Standards regarding alternative certification
• Chapter VIII: Standards regarding watchkeeping

FITNESS FOR DUTY

• All persons who are assigned duty as officer in charge of a watch or as a

rating forming part of a watch and those whose duties involve designated
safety, prevention of pollution and security duties shall be provided with a
rest period of not less than:
a) a minimum of 10 hours of rest in any 24-hour period; and
b) 77 hours in any 7-day period
• The hours of rest may be divided into no more than two periods, one of
which shall be at least 6 hours in length, and the intervals between
consecutive periods of rest shall not exceed 14 hours.
• The rest periods need not be maintained in the case of emergency or other
overriding operational conditions. Musters, drills, etc shall be conducted in a
manner that minimizes the disturbance of rest periods and does not induce
fatigue.
• Watch schedules must be posted where they are easily accessible, in a
standardized format in the working language and in English.
• When a seafarer is on call, such as on UMS duty, the seafarer shall have an
adequate compensatory rest period if the normal period of rest is disturbed
by call-outs to work.
• Records of daily hours of rest of seafarers must be maintained in a
standardized format, in the working language and English, to allow
monitoring and verification. The seafarers shall receive a copy of the records
endorsed by master or a person authorized by him.

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• The master still has the right to require a seafarer to perform any hours of
work for the immediate safety of the ship, persons or cargo, or for giving
assistance to other ships in distress. Master may suspend the schedule of
hours of rest and require a seafarer to perform any hours of work necessary
until the normal situation has been restored. As soon as practicable, the
master shall ensure that any seafarers who have performed work in a
scheduled rest period are provided with an adequate period of rest.
• The administration may allow an exception and reduce the rest period to
not less than 70 hours in any seven day period. This exemption shall not be
allowed for more than two consecutive weeks. In addition, the rest hours
during the period of exemption may be divided into not more than three
periods, one of which shall be atleast 6 hours in length and neither of the
other two shall be less than 1 hour in length.
• Also, if the hours of rest is reduced to 70 hours per week over a ‘two week’
period, then the next ‘four weeks’ (double the period of exemption) atleast
have to comply with the general rule of 77 hours rest per week and only two
rest periods in any 24 hours.
• BAC limit of maximum 0.05% blood alcohol level (BAC) or 0.25 mg/l alcohol is
set.

MEDICAL STANDARDS
• As per STCW Convention, medical fitness for seafarers shall comply with the
minimum in-service eyesight standards set out in Code.
• These standards may differentiate between those persons seeking to start a
career at sea and those seafarers already serving at sea and between
different functions on board, bearing in mind the different duties of
seafarers.
• They shall also take into account any impairment or disease that will limit
the ability of the seafarer to effectively perform his/her duties during the
validity period of the medical certificate.
• The standards of physical and medical fitness established by the Party shall
ensure that seafarers satisfy the following criteria:
a) Have the physical capability to fulfill all the requirements of the basic
training as required.
b) Demonstrate adequate hearing and speech to communicate effectively
and detect any audible alarms.

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c) Have no medical condition, disorder or impairment that will prevent the

effective and safe conduct of their routine and emergency duties on
board during the validity period of the medical certificate;
d) Are not suffering from any medical condition likely to be aggravated by
service at sea or likely to endanger the health and safety of other
persons on board
e) Are not taking any medication that has side effects that will impair
judgment, balance, or any other requirements for effective and safe
performance of routine and emergency duties on board.
• Medical fitness examinations of seafarers shall be conducted by
appropriately qualified and experienced medical practitioners recognized by
the Party. A register of recognized medical practitioners shall be maintained
by the Party and made available to other Parties, companies and seafarers
on request.
• Each Party shall provide guidance for the conduct of medical fitness
examinations and issuing of medical certificates, taking into account
provisions set out in the Code.
• Administrations should ensure that recognized medical practitioners enjoy
full professional independence in exercising their medical judgement when
undertaking medical examination procedures.

CONTROL
• Ships while in the ports of a Party will be subject to control / inspections, by
officers duly authorized by that Party to verify that all seafarers serving on
board who are required to be certificated by the Convention are so
certificated or hold an appropriate dispensation.
• Such certificates shall be accepted unless there are clear grounds for
believing that a certificate has been fraudulently obtained or the holder of a
certificate is not the person to whom that certificate was originally issued.
• In the event that any deficiencies are found, the officer carrying out the
control shall inform, in writing, the master of the ship and the Consul or, in
his absence, the nearest diplomatic representative or the maritime authority
of the State whose flag the ship is entitled to fly, so that appropriate action
may be taken.

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• Such notification shall specify the details of the deficiencies found and the
grounds on which the Party determines that these deficiencies pose a
danger to persons, property or the environment.
• In exercising the control, taking into account the size and type of the ship
and the length and nature of the voyage, if the deficiencies are not
corrected and it is determined that this fact poses a danger to persons,
property or the environment, the Party carrying out the control shall take
steps to ensure that the ship will not sail unless and until these
requirements are met to the extent that the danger has been removed.
• When exercising control, all possible efforts shall be made to avoid a ship
being unduly detained or delayed. If a ship is so detained or delayed, it shall
be entitled to compensation for any loss or damage resulting therefrom.
• This provision of control shall be applied as required to ensure that no more
favourable treatment is given to ships entitled to fly the flag of a non-Party.
• Apart from Certification, the inspecting authority will all verify that the
numbers of the seafarers serving on board are in conformity with the
applicable safe manning requirements of the Flag State.
• The inspecting authority shall also assess the ability of seafarers to maintain
watchkeeping standards as required by the Convention if there are clear
grounds for believing that such standards are not being maintained because
any of the following have occurred:
a) the ship has been involved in a collision, grounding or stranding, or
b) there has been a discharge of substances from the ship when under way,
c) at anchor or at berth which is illegal under any international convention,
d) the ship has been manoeuvred in an erratic or unsafe manner
e) the ship is otherwise being operated in such a manner as to pose a
danger to persons, property or the environment.

• Deficiencies which may be deemed to pose a danger to persons, property or

the environment include the following:
a) Failure of seafarers to hold the required certificate or valid dispensation.
b) Failure to comply with the applicable safe manning requirements of the
Administration.
c) Non-compliance with navigational or engineering watch arrangements.
d) Absence in a watch of a person qualified to operate equipment essential
to safe navigation, safety radio communications or the prevention of
marine pollution.

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 STCW Convention

• Failure to correct any of the above deficiencies to the satisfaction of the

inspecting authority shall be the only grounds on which a Party may detain a
ship.

STCW Amendments:

The STCW Convention and Code had amendments several times in the past, out of
which the 1995 and 2010 amendments had major revisions.

The 1995 Amendments:

• It entered into force in 1997 and divided the STCW Code in Part A & B.
• It made the procedure for amendments easy, whereby there would be no
need to call a full conference to make changes to the Code.
• The amendments are described briefly below:
a) Port State Control: The amendments include enhanced procedures
concerning the exercise of port State to allow intervention in the case of
deficiencies deemed to pose a danger to persons, property or the
environment. This can take place if certificates are not in order or if the
ship is involved in a collision or grounding, if there is an illegal discharge
of substances (causing pollution) or if the ship is maneuvered in an
erratic or unsafe manner, etc.
b) Watchkeeper Fatigue Prevention: Measures are introduced for the
prevention of fatigue of watchkeeping personnel. Administrations are
required to establish and enforce rest periods for watchkeeping
personnel and to ensure that watch systems are so arranged that the
efficiency of watchkeeping personnel is not impaired by fatigue.
c) Non-Compliance: Penalties and other disciplinary measures must be
prescribed and enforced where the Convention is not complied with.
d) Training Requirements: Technical innovations, such as the use of
simulators for training and assessment purposes have to be used.
Simulators are mandatory for training in the use of radar and ARPA.
Training, certification and other procedures must be continuously
monitored by means of a quality standards system. Special training
requirements were introduced for personnel on board ro-ro pax. ships.

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e) Refresher Course/Training: Every master, officer and radio operator is

required to meet the fitness standards and the levels of professional
competence at intervals not exceeding five years. If necessary, holders of
certificates may be required to undergo training or refresher courses.
f) Alternative Certification: Regulations regarding alternative certification
enable crew to gain training and certification in various departments of
seafaring rather than being confined to one branch (like deck or engine)
for their entire career.
g) White List: The first so-called "White list" of countries deemed to be
giving “full and complete effect” to the revised STCW ‘95 was published
by IMO. It is expected that ships flying flags of countries that are not on
the White List will be increasingly targeted by PSC inspectors.

The 1997 Amendments

• It entered into force in 1999.
• Amendments were regarding training for personnel on passenger ships.
a) Mandatory minimum requirements for the training and qualifications of
masters, officers, ratings and other personnel on passenger ships other
than ro-ro passenger ships.
b) Crowd management training and Familiarization training
c) Passenger safety, Crisis management and human behaviour training.

The 1998 Amendments:

• It entered into force in 2003 and aimed at improving minimum standards of
competence of crews, in particular relating to cargo securing, loading and
unloading on bulk carriers, since these procedures have the potential to put
undue stresses on the ship's structure.

The 2006 Amendments:

• It entered into force in 2008 and following were the amendments made:
a) New minimum mandatory training and certification requirements for
persons to be designated as ship security officers (SSOs).
b) Certification of SSO and guidance regarding training for SSO.
c) Additional training requirements for the launching and recovery of fast
rescue boats to prevent incidents involving them especially in adverse
weather conditions.

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The 2010 Manila Amendments

• The Manila amendments to the STCW Convention and Code were adopted
in 2010, marking a major revision of the STCW Convention and Code. They
entered in force in 2012 under the tacit acceptance procedure. They are
aimed at bringing the Convention and Code up to date with developments
since they were initially adopted and to enable them to address issues that
are anticipated to emerge in the foreseeable future.
• Amongst the amendments adopted, there are a number of important
changes to each chapter of the Convention and Code, including:
1. Improved measures to prevent fraudulent practices associated with
certificates of competency and strengthen the evaluation process.
2. Revised requirements on hours of work and rest (Hours of rest increased
from 70 hours to 77 hours per week.)
3. New requirements for the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse.
4. Updated standards relating to medical fitness standards for seafarers.
5. New certification requirements for able seafarers.
6. New requirements relating to training in modern technology like ECDIS.
7. New requirements for marine environment awareness training
8. New requirements for training in leadership and teamwork.
9. New training and certification requirements for electro-technical officers.
10. Updating of competence requirements for personnel serving on board
all types of tankers (new requirements for persons onboard gas tankers)
11. New requirements for security training, to ensure that seafarers are
properly trained to cope if their ship comes under attack by pirates.
12. Introduction of modern training methodology including distance learning
and web-based learning.
13. New training guidance for personnel serving on board ships operating in
polar waters.
14. New training guidance for personnel operating Dynamic Positioning
Systems.
Note: 2016 amendments set to be force on 1st July, 2018 add tables of competency
required for persons serving onboard ships operating in Polar waters.

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