The Winds of Change

You have all experienced this.  You are underway on what appears to be a clear and calm day.  The first thing you notice or feel is the wind increasing or shifting direction.   That should be your first indication that the weather pattern is about to change.  To what, we often don't know, but rest assured, it will change.   The International Maritime Organization (IMO) is the world regulating body that develops and implements the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW).  After the "big" amendment in 1995, the IMO has meet periodically to further amend the STCW code to address changes in the maritime industry and to address issues presented by many of the countries (or Parties) to the Convention.   

Throughout this entire process the United States has been working to further amend it's own regulations and laws to coincide with the STCW convention.  To "harmonize" the two systems if you will.  This is the "light wind shift" that you have been feeling over the past few years if you are a mariner who was trying to obtain, renew, or upgrade your merchant mariner credential.  While "light" may be a vast understatement, it is very light in comparison to the proposed rule making making its way through the U. S. Regulatory process as I write this. This "notice" is a huge re-write of the current U. S. merchant mariner regulations.

There are sweeping changes in the structure of "officer endorsements" as they are now called. In particular anyone thinking of upgrading to an "officer endorsement" as MASTER 500 or 1600 GRT near coastal (or Oceans) would be wise to think about applying sooner rather than later.  When this rule making becomes effective, mariners in the U.S. will no longer be able to work their way up to Master 500 or 1600 without first meeting ALL of Officer in Charge of a Navigational Watch (OICNW) requirements.  Those require several additional training courses and assessments, which the average mariner does not have the resources to complete.   It was inevitable that the day would come when we, the United States, would bow to the IMO.  We are but one vote out of approximately 139 "parties" who have signed on to the STCW convention.  The structure of the U. S. merchant marine license is about to change.  For the better? Only time will tell. The change has been slow, but it is picking up speed, just like the weather here in New England.