First of three parts
THE chronic inadequacy of ships that could accommodate the country’s maritime students who are required to undergo cadetship training (or interchangeably onboard training) to complete a baccalaureate program has for decades remained unsolved and is not about to be sorted out in the immediate future. It is a problem known to maritime stakeholders, government, manning agencies, seafarers and maritime students and shipowners who hope to continue hiring Filipino seafarers onboard their merchant fleet; yet the answer to getting those who completed the three years of classroom lectures for a maritime higher education program to proceed to cadetship seems a long haul from where we stand.
Cadetship or onboard training (OBT) forms part of the academic requirements of the Bachelor of Science in Marine Transportation (BSMT) and the Bachelor of Science in Marine Engineering (BSMarE); thus, only those who have completed the 12-month OBT can receive the baccalaureate diploma for the said educational programs. The curriculum for these programs is such that OBT can be taken after a maritime student competes in the three-year classroom lectures in a maritime higher educational institution (MHEI) after which he must go on OBT for 12 months. Upon completing the OBT, the maritime student is awarded his BSMT/BSMarE diploma.
But what is the basis of the cadetship requirement? If one follows the maritime education program curriculum, OBT is simply an academic requirement. In the course of time, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW convention) has become the overriding justification for the inclusion of cadetship/OBT in the BSME/BSMarE program. It is puzzling, though, that cadetship/OBT as a requirement for getting a baccalaureate diploma is not found in the STCW convention.
“Seagoing service” and “OBT” are mentioned in the STCW convention, the most pertinent provision of which is paragraph 2.2 of Regulation II/1 on “Mandatory minimum requirements for certification of officers in charge of navigational watch on ships of 500 gross tonnages or more.” The said provisions states:
“Every candidate for certification shall 1) be not less than 18 years of age; 2) have approved seagoing service of not less than 12 months as part of an approved training program which includes onboard training that meets the requirements of A-II/1 of the STCW Code and is documented in an approved training record book, or otherwise have approved seagoing service of not less than 36 months.” A parallel provision is found for the engineering watch in A-III/1.
The afore-mentioned provision on seagoing service admits several scenarios for certification as follows:
– Scenario 1: a) the approved seagoing service must not be less than 12 months; b) the seagoing service must form part of an approved training program; c) the seagoing service includes onboard training that meets the requirements of A-II/1.
– Scenario 2. An approved seagoing service of not less than 36 months if the conditions as described in Scenario 1 are not present.
In understanding the above provision, the following can be deduced: 1) the seagoing service of 12 months is required for certification, not graduation or part of an academic exercise; 2) the seagoing service is part of an approved training program managed and coordinated by the shipping company which manages the ship on which the OBT is to be performed (according to the guidance under paragraph 4.2 of B-II/1 of the STCW Code; three) OBT is part of the approved training program and may not necessarily run for a continuous 12 months.
Seagoing service, as defined in paragraph 1.26 of Regulation I/1, “means service onboard a ship relevant to the issue or revalidation of or other qualification.” Therefore, “seagoing service” pertains to the performance of functions/tasks that an applicant for certification must render. Therefore, it is logical to presume that the seafarer (not the cadet) is paid for such service. Therefore, the OBT for purposes of getting a BSMT/BSMarE is not analogous to the seagoing service for certification under the STCW convention.
In advancing the above-cited orientation, the writers are driven with that end in view of seeking out alternative approaches/strategies to cadetship as part of the maritime higher education curriculum, thus hastening the awarding of baccalaureate degrees to maritime students. Let us not smother the dream of the thousands of BSMT/BSMarE students even as we endeavor to comply with the STCW convention.
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