Rethinking training with arrival of new technology

I SIGNED my life away to a shipping company just over 50 years ago. That was the beginning of nearly five years of sea service and college courses which led to a Second Mate (Foreign Going) certificate of competency. That "ticket", as it was always referred to, was yours for life.

Things have changed. Nowadays, and quite rightly, certificates have to be renewed at regular intervals.

For over 40 years a global regime has been in place. The International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) allows a cadet to obtain an Officer of the Watch (OOW) certificate a bit more quickly than we managed to get our tickets in the early '70s.