Capt. John Dickie, Managing Director, Joint Development Associates Ltd., says that the biggest safety challenge facing shipping in 2017 is that of retaining the best crews on board and professionals ashore in the office. Therefore, industry should focus on a more practical approach to enforcement of the new STCW certification requirements for seafarers that enter into effect on 1 January 2017.

-Capt. John Dickie, Secretary General, IFSMA gave a presentation entitled''Anti Piracy, Human Rights and other untold stories'' at the 2015 SAFETY4SEA Athens Forum. He started his presentation with a statement made from research that '' Piracy and Armed Robbery are here to stay for the foreseeable future'' and explained that this not only shows a disturbing trend but also that the overwhelming and long term problem lies in the South China Sea. He stated that it is a non-disputable fact that armed security guards carried on board ships have been successful as there are no reported successful hijacking on a ship under way and carrying such personnel on board. He debated on IMB's concerns over the decision to compensate pirates and questioned the issue from the seafarers' perspective as they do have human rights and although they are abused, no compensation has evered received.My presentation deals with Anti-piracy, Human Rights and other untold stories. The threat of piracy is not over. Its not gone away. It is here to stay and its global. As we squeeze one part of the world, like we do in the Horn of Africa, with military warships, it is going elsewhere. We had for example...

- Criminalization can happen to anyone. Before it was always about the ship master but nowadays any seafarer can become criminalized. The damage and destruction affects not just the seafarers but also the family. I am not saying that every seafarer is innocent but I do believe that everybody is entitled to the rule of law and presumed innocent until proven guilty. At the moment, I am involved in building a database which goes back to the beginning of 2009, where there have been a number of major cases of criminalization. Whenever you have a master found guilty and fined by Port State Control that does not mean he is a criminal. In some of the cases that I deal with, I see that people cannot afford the cost of having lawyers represent them. So, there is a perception by seafarers who believe that the P&I Club will protect them. P&I Clubs are there for the shipowner and do help seafarers however there are limits to what they can do when it is contrary to the best interest of the shipowner. The basic cost is that they are put in prison as suspects of being involved in illegal activities such...

What we expect in the future? Piracy will not go away, it is shifting and some people are deluded about piracy and criminalization. The Somali pirates are not poor fishermen. It's a complex international business model. In 2014 there's going to be a big change in Africa because of the funding goals and the only thing that is left in its place is armed security guards to take up the slack. Also, we have the other dimension, the Yemen, which is now destabilized. The commitment of war ships in the area is being reviewed and probably reduced in 2014/15. It's going to be a checkpoint, it's going to be difficult and there is possibility piracy to arise again. West Africa is a nightmare. Pirate probing attempts have not diminished, so the problem has not gone but is waiting. And no matter what everybody else says, the ship-owners have to foot the bill. Does crew receive weapons training and ships carry their own armoury? Of course this is contradictory on the concept of merchant ships, but it can be done in times of war. Also does the definition of a merchant ship need to be redefined? Are ships redesigned to trade...

- Shipping changes so much and there is over-regulation. But the people who make the over-regulation do not come from maritime background. The demands on the Master for his time and ability are being stretched to new limits. The advent of the STCW 2010 Manila Amendments came into force on the 1st January 2012. This is in respect of the Hours of Work and Rest. Do you work by hours of work or by hours of rest? If you calculate the hours of rest, things are more flexible. The Master continues to see more and more administrative tasks being awarded to him, but where is the time to complete these and ensure that his ship operates at peak performance? Add to this the increasing numbers of maters who are being prosecuted as criminals and the recipe is set for disaster. Concerning the criminalization of the Master, there appears to be in shipping that the common rule of law does not apply. "Innocent until proven guilty" does not apply. It would appear to be more the saying of "Guilty until proven innocent". If this situation continues it will drive more seafarers to leave the sea instead of staying. This will result...

The latest revision of the STCW convention has mentioned the word competent - Nothing has really changed S4S: What's new about STCW 2010, training, certificates and competency? JD : Our crews and our officers have to be better trained, so that they have even more competence. We have certificates of competency and we do short courses. Actually, the size of the certificates that seafarers have to carry is getting bigger every year. The latest revision of the STCW convention has mentioned the word competent and that made a lot of people worry about what will happen. Nothing has really changed. There will be certain demands made, but nothing of major importance. Look at the 'Competence tables' for attaining specific skills. Knowledge is still the same, understanding, proficiency, criteria for evaluation and as we read through we find more about moving into more practical, on board training instead of academic. We have basic and advanced training for personnel on tankers and new certification for electro-technical officers and able-seafarers deck and able-seafarers engine. S4S: Who is it going to the trainer? Are there any issues regarding the onboard training? JD : Competence has been extended in the 2010 amendments to the specialized...