Unions

Simply the Best!

By Zoe Reynolds - MUA media office

A major international study has ranked Australian seafarers the world's best.

Australian seafarers outperform crew from the traditional maritime nations of Europe as well as the Flag of Convenience states, like Panama, according to a report released this July.

The study "How Competent are Ships Crews? Results of a study of 4,500 ships" is by Professor Tony Lane from the Seafarers International Research Centre, Cardiff University.

It comes at a time when 'the crews of convenience' issue has been highlighted by the oil spill in Syndey Harbour. The crew on board the Italian flagged Laura D'amata is a mix of Filipino ratings and Italian officers.

The report also comes at a time of growing controversy over Australian Government plans to further deregulate the industry, allowing more foreign ships and crew into our coastal trade.

The Howard Government has even proposed replacing Australian seafarers on Australian vessels with more poorly trained (and poorly paid) guest workers.

The government sponsored Shipping Reform Working Group, however has questioned the wisdom of this policy. The Australian daily (13/7/99) reported that the Group instead recommends government industry funding and on-going protection for Australian shipping. The Howard Government, however, still intent on getting rid of the MUA workforce, has refused to make their report public.

The Cardiff study assesses deck officers and ratings in a cross-section of the world's merchant ships trading out of Europe, Africa, Asia and Australasia. It was undertaken in response to growing concern over crew competency in the industry.

"Underwriters, senior managers of shipping companies, port officials and officers of maritime regulatory agencies, ship's masters and chief engineers were all contributors to the emerging collective view," Professor Lane writes.

Competency was assessed by inviting professionals in the industry to assess ship conditions, crew performance and communications on board the vessel.

Pilots, for example, were asked to rank a vessel's standard of boarding, condition on deck, accommodation and wheelhouse as very good, good, average, bad or very bad. The pilot was then asked to rank crew by teamwork, rope handling, efficiency of watch keeping, ship's position as plotted by officer, communications, efficiency of the helmsman, use of radar, tuning of radar, and efficient handling of emergency if applicable and whether crew were at their stations when the pilot boarded the vessel to bring it into the harbour.

Pilots were also asked to note whether they used English or sign language to communicate with the master, watch officer and helmsman.

The survey found that competency levels were higher overall on gas and chemical tankers and container ships, and lowest on general cargo, oil tankers and bulk vessels.

Crew on Black Sea Rim and People's Republic of China flagged vessel scored the lowest on average, (68 and 69) while Australiasian crew boasted top scores of 88, above Northern European (83), German (83), Western European (82) Second and international registers (80).

The Panama Flag of Convenience, which now dominates the world's shipping industry, scored a low 73 average for crew competency.

In addition individual crew from the Black Sea, PRC, Eastern European, African, Middle Eastern, Japanese, South American, Panamanian and other FOC vessels had the highest incidence of low scores ranging from one in four (Black Sea) to one in 10.

One factor influencing crew competency is communication. While Britania no longer rules the waves, English does. Crew from less developed countries with less education opportunities are therefore disadvantaged.

Professor Lane stresses in his report that competency levels are not a matter of race: "If citizens of some countries show themselves as being generally less competent than citizens of other countries we can only assume that this is a function of formal and experiential training a and education. Bearing this in mind it will not be so surprising to find that ships with senior officers trained and educated in countries with lengthy histories of well-regulated maritime training and education colleges are in charge of ships with the highest ratings.

Neither should it be surprising that senior officers from relatively impoverished countries with more recent maritime histories are generally in charge of ships with lower ratings."

One master of a modern, large container ship owned and flagged in Hong Kong told Professor Lane "There is no competence. I am probably defending what shipowners have done and how they have changed to employing idiots because I have to put with them because, at the bottom line, if I don't, my mortgage doesn't get paid. So I have to make the best of a bad deal really and I can only do that by training them myself."

Indeed the most worrying conclusion Professor Lane drew from his research was that it lends further weight to the view that the maritime industry is firmly heading for a skilled manpower crisis.

"Senior officers from North and West Europe who in this study significantly contribute to the best run ships cannot be replaced by indigenous nationals once they retire. While we may be confident that equally competent senior officers from other world regions will be financially induced to replace them, this can only be at the expense of a general lowering of global standards of competence."

Professor Lane graduated with a first class honours degree in Social Science from Liverpool University in 1968. He was eight years at sea after leaving the Warwash School of Navigation in 1955. He has held posts with MNAOA and T&GWU. In 1993 he held the prestigious Hallsworth Senior Research Fellowship in Political Economy at the University of Manchester. Professor Lane is well known social and economic historian who has published widely. His better known books are Strike at Pilkintons, the Merchant Seamen's War and Liverpool, City of the Sea.

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  Issue 26 contents

»	Workers to Star in Second Wave Rally
»	Oakdale Injustice: Six Weeks Is All It Takes
»	Chook War Widens - Woman Who Walked Wants Job Back
»	Rural Council Workers Push to Quit ALP
»	Push for Action on Millennium Leave Bug
»	Pay Equity Inquiry Sidelined
»	NRMA Candidates Address Union Concerns
»	Ceiling Dust a Deadly Cocktail
»	Sex Discrimination Head Warns Against Complacency
»	DIR Launches Indigenous Employment Unit
»	"Big Drum Up" For East Timor
»	Eric Lee Public Forum
»	STOP PRESS: Fire Bans Lifted But Dispute Not Over

»	Guest Report
»	Sport
»	Trades Hall
»	Piers Watch

»	Piers Fans Fires
»	Some Views Of Einstein
»	Group Homes Sell-Off Fears
»	Privatisation Of Prince Of Wales Hospital Maintenance Department
»	Call for Wage Freeze Action

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