Digital Ship Magazine - Complete Set - 2015 collection

Digital Ship Magazine - Complete Set - 2020

One more issue of Alert... This one is mainly dedicated to the education, training and development, as well as to the recognized occupational standards. In the past, most of the people going to the sea, did so because of their wish to become a captain of chief engineer of a vessel, while others just wanted to work at sea. Only few of those people had the aspirations towards building a career ashore.

Nowadays, there is a constantly increasing number of sophisticated and technically advanced vessels and systems which, when combined with the global labor force made up by so many nationalities, can definitely present serious challenges in the education of the seamen, their training and development of their careers. The STCW Code says that all seamen shall be duly qualified for the positions they work at on board, and the ISM Code obliges the Company to define the authority, responsibility and also the competence level required to be possessed by each of the crew members. In turn, all of the instructors and supervisors, and also assessors shall be "appropriately qualified".

However, these minimum sets are definitely not sufficient to cope with all systems on board many of the vessels today. That is why the ship owners and managers shall adopt the best shipping industry standards related to the recruitment and training of their employees... Best if supplemented with this short video.

This issue of the Alert bulletin is fully devoted to the role engineers play in addressing such important aspect of work as the human element. To ensure the safe conduct of the vessel and that the cargo is delivered safely and timely, we shall pay equally close attention to the navigation and technical operation of the vessel. The shipboard machinery and hull systems make the vessel work and the engineers working both on board and ashore ensure that they operate in the efficient and effective may acceptable to the crew.

In the past the vessels were much less complex and, should something require fixing, the engineers on board managed to solve the problem locally, using their own knowledge and experience, and referring to the relevant handbooks and drawings. In case of necessity the technical superintendents stationed in the head office would be contacted for advice, but that was mainly done for reassurance. Nowadays, the technology is at the highest level and it eventually results in the skills, technical knowledge and experience of the engineers not being in pace with the latest technological advances.

As it come clear when analyzing numerous safety investigation reports, in many cases the reasons of the equipment breakdown was the failure of the engineers to properly diagnose the problem, mainly because of the poor training provided on particular system or due to the lack of available manufacturer's handbooks and manuals...

The thirty-seventh issue of Alert bulletin, this one is devoted to the survivability. Every single person engaged in the design, construction and operation of the vessels is automatically assigned a critical responsibility to ensure that no accidents will occur, and they are also considered responsible for the safety of the vessel and all people living and working on board.

It shall be noted that the term survivability does not only cover the lifesaving appliances, damage control, firefighting arrangements and shipboard security facilities. It is also important to have correct resources, adequate and effective training program and established procedures in place in order to ensure the ship safety and protection of the seafarers.

All seafarers shall be fully aware of the potential hazards associated with working on the vessel, particularly flood and fire risks, enclose space entry, up to the maritime terrorism and piracy. In addition, they should be aware of the different psychological effects of negative experience at sea and know where to seek support and advice.

Regularly conducted training and drills are extremely important - this is not only to satisfy relevant SOLAS requirements but also to make sure that the crew members know how to deal with all situations that may take place.

Another issue of the international bulletin exploring the behavior of human beings at sea. The booklet opens with the article of one accident that took place at sea but could actually have been avoided. In the sixth issue of the bulletin the Education has been termed as the gradual process of acquiring the professional knowledge through instruction and continuous learning as well as the development of the important personal attributes by unbringing and also gaining all required knowledge from the textbooks.

In everything people do there are training and education elements presented, especially when we address the role played by the human element in provision of safety of life at sea, recognition and development of the human resources and safety culture. The content of the present issue continues the topics explored within the issues nos. 6, 20 and 29 devoted to the competent people, education, training and career development, and maritime educators and instructors.

Have a look in this booklet of you have some interest in the human element and how it affects safety of people and vessels at sea. There is some information that will be of interest for the people from the industry.

The enthusiasts of sailing from all around the planet show continuously increasing interest in the so-called "junk", or Chinese, rig. The reason for this is that the rig is much safer and easier for handling. This is particularly truth for smaller crafts and for family/short-handed sailing in open sea and in different weather conditions.

The content of this volume is mainly intended to provide interested readers with a sort of primer book giving them all required and detailed information about the rig. The authors of the book have described the whole process of designing a rig, rigging a boat and sailing.

The volume has been prepared in such way that makes it equally useful for both amateur and professional boat designers. The content is arranged in three major parts. While the first part is focusing on the Chinese rig, the second part of the book is dealing with the rig design.

Finally, the third part provides practical instructions on using the rig. There is some additional information provided in the appendices. This is definitely one of the best volumes on the junk rig reflecting the huge practical experience of the authors. Absolutely recommended publication to all boat owners and designers who will find lots of useful stuff inside.

This is a good textbook of sailing compiled by the recognized YCC expert. The content of the course opens with the introduction explaining the fundamental sailing principles including description of the elementary maneuvers and some of the nautical terminology commonly used in sailing.

The second chapter coming under Safety in Navigation title contains the basic safety rules and also touches the possible accidents, while the third chapter is solely devoted to the maneuvers - the readers will have all basic information on them and this will be just enough for a good start.

The next chapter covers such important aspects of naval architecture as sail stability and trim. The remaining parts of the course are dealing with the techniques and effects of the trim, making the basic knots, some basic information on dinghy boats etc. There is a concise yet comprehensive sailing dictionary included.

There is also a very interesting closing chapter giving ten so-called golden rules to be followed by all YCC dinghy sailors. taking into account that the information presented in the pages of this course is basic and presented in a very easy-to-understand way, we would highly recommend this course to all newcomers to the world of sailing.