This short film opens the series of training videos developed by The Nautical Institute together with the Lloyd's Register. It is estimated that about eighty percent of all accidents happening at sea are the result of human or, more precise, the operator's errors. Though the operator's error may be immediate cause of the accident, but the root cause if often human influences on the design or operation of the ship's systems. So it is exactly the human factors that need some serious consideration, and in this is what we will concentrate on in the present program. The video is to supplement this Alert publication.

Alert 11 - Integration - The Human Element Jigsaw. In this issue, we are going to consider the human elements jigsaw...This training film is supplemented with this training booklet. Some of the ship components or systems may be fully automated but they may still require some input from the seafarer - setting tolerances, for example, or responding to alarms.

Other systems require direct seafarer's input for operation and maintenance. Then, there are systems tat require humans to interact with other humans, etc. And, in all these cases seafarers have to interact and work harmoniously with one another. Integrating the human element in this complex system is a dynamic process...

Suppose the ship was completely automatic - no seafarers required, suppose the engines maintain themselves - no people required, and suppose all the cargo did load and discharge itself - untouched by human hands... Unlikely? Well, of course, it is.

Technology may be playing an increasing role in the running of the vessel, but as we all know, how safely and how efficiently the ship is run, is all about people - and so is this issue of Alert. The plight of some seafarers has already been made international headlight. Badly paid, sometimes not paid at all, poor food and accommodation, working on ships managed by people having little or no regard to health, safety and wellbeing.

The MLC 2006 is described by many as a milestone for the international maritime industry. Often referred to as the "seafarers' bill of rights", it addresses the significant issues pf minimum working age, maximum working hours, along with accommodation, health protection, food and catering, medical care, welfare and also social security matters. The Convention is also addressing the current health concerns, for example the effects of vibration and noise on seafarers, and is intended to apply worldwide, be easily understandable, and easy to update and enforce. This video supplements the Alert 18 issue.

Issue 6 — Development and Maintenance — Competent People Make the Difference. There is little doubt that technology is revolutionizing the global maritime industry, which means that learning is crucially important.

At sea, we must have competent people; to promote this, we must have high—standard education training.

The problem is that the standards of education vary, and this is what we are going to discuss in this issue of Alert. The booklet on same topic may be used as a supplement.

This is an excellent and even outstanding book - real classics and a real boon for the enthusiasts of the naval history. The volume was intended to provide readers with the finely detailed analysis of the ship construction technologies of three of Europe's foremost maritime powers ever written. The book by Blaire Olivier and David Roberts contains very useful info on French, English and Dutch shipbuilding industries.

Apart from the main content with the general technical information on the subject, this publication includes a very useful Glossary of the terminology that is commonly used in the shipbuilding - it contains some ten percent of the second Ollivier manuscript, but actually presents numerous terms of the ship construction technology listed in alphabetical order; note that it does not address any of the foreign practices; on the other hand, it will provide readers with a huge amount of detailed information covering the French Navy.

In short, this is another must-have publication expected to be very useful and of course interesting for all readers. The text is very easy to read, and the author has supplemented it with almost hundred of the carefully selected colorful and informative illustrations and thirteen plates. We would really recommend this title to the historians and even to the general readers. 

Though there are so many electronic devices used on the bridges of modern vessels for safer and easier navigation, their navigators keep losing the orientation. Among the reasons for that we would note the excessive workloads caused by too many items to be read and compiled, as well as the associated navigational information displayed in a demanding way, plus short time available to make the decision because of the high speeds, as well as the long hours of work and fatigue because of the minimum ship manning.

   This title is intended to address the problems of navigation map information that is displayed not in the optimal way. It presents three newly introduced concepts, namely no go shipping areas, bridge perspective and dual-lane seaway network. Reading of the subject maps could be quite difficult because of the mental rotation problem which can actually be eliminated using the charts by allowing the 3D charts to be viewed from the egocentric perspective.

The associated calculations for the purpose of checking if there is enough water under the keel of the vessel can be handled by chart system and also displayed as no go and free water areas. The above stated concepts have been tested in a lab as well as in prototyping project and in numerous interviews and the results obtained were promising...

This pack of files contains the most actual proceedings of the 12th ISSW which was hosted by David Taylor Model Basin together with the SNAME Chesapeake Section in Washington, United States, in 2011. There were ten major sessions covering such the most important aspects of stability as early stage design criteria as applied to the intact stability of the vessel, compliance and regulatory matters related to the damage stability, operational issues, assessment of the vessel stability using the numerical simulation and various experimental techniques, stochastic dynamics, progressive flooding and capsize issues, basic theory and roll damping, stability issues integrated into the overall risk assessment, and, finally, design for survivability after the vessel has been damaged.

The first session, as stated above, addresses the early-stage design criteria of the ship's intact stability, touching the vulnerability criteria for both surf-riding and parametric rolling, some relevant considerations on parametric roll and dead ship conditions, lateral accelerations taken into account in the ship design rules, validation attempts on the new stability criteria...

The pack of files presented to your attention contains the materials of the Eleventh ISSW hosted by MARIN (The Netherlands) in 2010. The list of sessions of that conference includes ones dedicated to the goal based intact and damage stability standards, special problems and risk based methods of analysis, naval ship stability, safety of damaged ships, recent developments in the field of intact/damage stability, operational safety and roll damping, etc.

The first chapter of this compilation is dedicated to the current status of the developments of the intact ship stability criteria. It addresses such the important aspects as the vulnerability criteria, possible stability failure, direct stability assessment, various relevant regulations governing the stability of the vessels, such as 2008 Intact Stability Code released by the IMO. This part of the volume also deals with design of the stability criteria and researches relating to the container shipping.

The other numerous papers included in this book cover goal-based damaged stability, risk based analysis, freak waves, capsize risk, stability standards allied to the landing crafts, evaluation of the dynamic stability, emergency response, ship roll damping, non-linear roll damping and many other interesting topics.