Security threats come in all shapes and sizes, with different intents, agendas, and motives. Not everyone who wishes to do us harm, is a terrorist. Any unauthorized person with unauthorized access to a vessel has a potential to harm – thieve, hijacker, stowaway, etc. Crew members and officers may be asked to modify their duties once a vessel security plan is in force. In general, they shall be fully aware of all security threats and issues.

They shall arrange for the thorough inspection of the security equipment and reporting on any malfunctioning items. In addition to that, they shall immediately report any suspicious persons, objects and activities. Moreover, they may be assigned additional duties as required by the security plan. There will be different security measures required depending upon the security level, which is set by the port authorities. The security plan will have a graduated table of responsibilities and duties which are appropriate to each of three security levels, and per the ISPS Code.

Another critical implementation is establishing restricted areas and controlling access to those areas. These restricted areas may include, but are not limited to, the following – the navigational bridge, machinery spaces, main and auxiliary steering gear compartments, ventilation and AC systems, systems with direct access to the potable water tanks, pumps, and manifolds, etc.

Here is one more useful training set for those studying English and willing to improve their skills in terms of using and properly applying the phrasal verbs. It goes without saying that knowing these verbs and also how and when to use them properly, will make your speaking and writing language much better and richer. That is why all students of English are encouraged to go through these books.

Note that there are two volumes included in the set – one for the students and intermediate level, and another one for the advanced learners. Traditionally for the books of “In Use” series, they can be used for self-studying as well as in the classroom or remote training. The arrangement of the material is somewhat similar. The students will get to know about phrasal verbs in general, as well as understand some interesting aspects of their application.

The areas of life covered in the volume include work, study, finance, personal life, the world around us, and others. There is a mini dictionary supplementing the main body of the book. In short, get both of these books and start immediately from the intermediate level one and then progress to the advanced level volume to get the maximum benefit from your studying.

To work effectively, ships and their crews must work safely. Developing a safety culture will prevent personal injuries on board ships. It is not only the safe and smart way to operate, it is also mandatory. Running a safe ship is important to those who own it, to those who man it, and to those who entrust it with their cargo. It is also an important new emphasis of the revised STCW Convention and the ISM Code.

Specifically, the ISM Code requires ship owners and managers to develop a safety management system, providing safe practices for ship operation, establish safeguards against risk, and continuously improve safety management skills. In this program we will feature the insight and commentary of author Richard Bracken, whose book “Personal Injury Prevention – A Guide to Good Practice”, available on our website, sets out the basic steps in building a true “safety culture” on board ship. According to the author, the worst way to do it is just to put a set of manuals on board the ship and say, “Follow these procedures and everything will be fine”, just because it will not be!

What it really is about is giving the people on the ship the ownership of the procedures. Let them have a part of it when you are developing the procedures. Go around the ship with them. Take the people on board and take them to show you the safe practices. It is an evolving process. During this training, we will identify the six items of personal protective equipment recommended for individual protection, and discuss the ways ships can prevent accidents and injuries before they happen. Moreover, we will see examples of the safe use of on-board tools and equipment.

Consider this scenario – a bomb threat on the bridge of your vessel. What would you do? Unfortunately, we now live in the time when terror almost routinely includes the use of explosives, threatening commerce, threatening property, and threatening human lives. In this program, we will look into the threat posed by explosives, and preventive measures to minimize that threat. Searching the ship effectively, confronting the explosive device, and the effective planning and response are the integral parts of this training.

Ships are extremely vulnerable to a saboteur using explosives. He poses a different security threat than a stowaway or hostage taker as he will most likely try to remain anonymous and undetected. The explosive threat can be directed against a ship of a particular nationality for political reasons, against a policies or property of a particular shipping company, to sabotage or compromise a sensitive cargo, or to protest a grievance or issue.

The availability of explosive materials makes them extremely attractive for terrorists. As we can see from horrifying headlines, it is often very difficult to stop a terrorist, especially when he is willing to commit suicide to fulfill the mission. Still, there are sensible precautions that crews can take to help prevent explosive attack. First, they have to lock and seal any potentially vulnerable compartments, and watch for any signs of tampering, be especially alert to unusual objects in unexpected places, not touch any suspicious objects or packages – report them immediately…

You are highly encouraged to have a close look at this absolutely perfect training resource officially presented by one of the world leaders in the field of marine coatings. The onboard maintenance manual is in the form of the user-friendly and pictorial application, made interactive for better and easier use. The user will be offered a wide choice of actions normally associated with the maintenance of the ship’s hull.

The sections of the program include technical data sheets, safety data sheets, maintenance on board, maintenance reporting, technical calculations, and the color card. You will only need to move the hand sign on the screen of your computer to make choices. The printing feature is embedded, together with the contact list of the offices. The software contains lots of useful technical information and will be a great reference tool for the ship superintendents when choosing the appropriate product.

For example, the onboard maintenance chart will divide the ship hull into several sections like the topside, weather deck, cargo holds, machinery and accommodation areas, void spaces, superstructure, ballast and fresh water tanks etc. Take a test tour and you will definitely find this software practically useful.

The main content of the present publication developed and officially published by Intertanko, is arranged in four main sections. The first section of the document addresses the Ballast Water Management Convention itself, providing some historical background and highlighting the important reporting related aspects.

The authors underlined the expectations of each involved party, including company DPS, Flag State, Classification Societies, as well as the manufacturers of the ballast water management systems installed on board ships. The second section is entirely devoted to the regulations by the USCG, standing for the United States Coast Guard.

The third section covers the contingency measures, including such critical matters as repair of the shipboard ballast water management systems at the loading port and at sea, different options for the ballast water exchange, mid-ocean exchange both with and without the use of the system, mobile treatment facilities and associated equipment, partial discharges and others.

Finally, the closing section and the two annexes contain all necessary reporting forms and a sample repair plan for the ballast water management system.

The publication tells an interesting story of the family voyage undertaken by Caspar and Nichola years ago. They sailed around the world and took their children on board! Of course, most of the people would consider this family crazy, however now, after more than a decade, they are happy to recall every single moment of their voyage. It had taken them more than five years to carefully plan the intended voyage, as there were so many things to deal with.

All their efforts eventually resulted in two years of brilliantly spent time, sometimes scary and difficult, but magical. It definitely was a great experience for the family. The story told by the author is a story of a great adventure, but there is something even more important than that – in this book he shares his inspiration, he makes reader believe than it is possible and it is not something that can only be done by others, and everyone can do that, turning their dreams into reality.

People planning their voyage with kids will find lots of useful and practical information in this volume, and, moreover, the will feel inspired and motivated – this is also very important for success of any intended voyage. Note that there are many valuable resources provided in the appendix.

The present set of training materials consists of two volumes belonging to the world popular series, presented at our website and including such famous titles as “English Grammar in Use”, “English Vocabulary in Use”, and so many others. The books are intended to be used by the trainees at Intermediate and Advances levels, and they are both great when used in the classroom as well as for the self-study.

The idioms included by the authors cover the vast majority of the situations one expects in his or her life. Knowing them all is actually too difficult but you may wish to have both volumes readily available for reference. There are about sixty training units in each of the volumes so it will take considerable amount of time to go through carefully, but we promise that no one will ever get disappointed with the new knowledge obtained.

You will get to know how the idioms shall be used; understand specific types of the idioms, as well as the ways they are commonly used in our day-to-day life and activities. We would recommend going through both of the books attentively to make sure that you have covered every single aspect, and your spoken and written language has significantly improved as a result.