INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 86 - …

1 BULLETIN Date25 October 2013 INFORMATION BULLETIN No. 86B86 AND ACCEPTANCE OF SEAFARER TRAININGOR INSTRUCTIONPage 1 of 20 7562 1300 APPROVALAND ACCEPTANCEOFSEAFARERTRAININGOR INSTRUCTIONG uidance andInstructionsforBahamas Recognised Organisations,Bahamas Approved Nautical Inspectors, Ship Owners, Managers,Masters, Seafarers, Seafarers Recruitment & Placement ServiceProviders and Training International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification andWatch-keeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended (STCW) require trainingand assessment of seafarers to be administered, supervised andmonitored and the relevant training or instruction to be approved by aSTCW party. There are also training and certification requirements inIMOA ssembly Resolution A.

2 891 (21)and some industry BULLETIN provides guidance on The Bahamas policy and proceduresrelating to approval and acceptance of seafarer training or instruction forpersons employed or engaged onboard Bahamian ships in accordance withthe provisions of STCW and the acceptance of training or instruction inaccordance with the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 (MLC 2006) andIMO Assembly Resolution A. 891 (21). BULLETIN should be read in conjunction withBMA INFORMATION BulletinNos. 70, 81, 103, 121, 127, 137, 140, 147and any other BMAI nformation Bulletins relating to training and certification of Maritime AuthorityB86 AND ACCEPTANCE OF SEAFARER TRAININGOR INSTRUCTIONPage 2 of 20 7562 INFORMATION in this BULLETIN generally applies to:(i) Training providers carrying out training and assessment of seafarers;(ii) Companies who are managing Bahamian ships and engaged in trainingor instruction onboard Bahamian ships;(iii) All persons serving or intending to serve on a Bahamian ship in anycapacity;(iv) Companies employing, recruiting or selecting the seafarers notedabove for service onboard Bahamian the purpose of this BULLETIN the following definitions apply.

3 1 Training provideris an institution, organisation or company applyingfor approval,.2 Companyis the entity that has accepted responsibility for theassignment of seafarers for service onboard Bahamian ships inaccordance with the provisions of STCW Regulation I/14. TheRegistered Owner or ISM Manager shall report the full name anddetails of such entity ( Manning agents) to the BMA Seafarers andManning Department. This notification, as well as any changes of theentity, shall be made either by completing the Manning Section ofBahamas form R104 or submitting a Letter of Declaration to this effect(The letter shall be on the headed paper of Registered Owner/ISMM anager),.3 Approved training or instructionmeans training or instruction(training/instructions) that satisfies the requirements laid down in theSTCW.

4 4 Seafareris any person to which the training/instruction training/instruction will be assessed taking into consideration theprinciples outlined in the STCW and any relevant guidelines developed bythe IMO and Maritime AuthorityB86 AND ACCEPTANCE OF SEAFARER TRAININGOR INSTRUCTIONPage 3 of 20 7562 BMA will initiate an approval process for training or instructions that isconducted under a quality standard system and which satisfies one of thefollowing criteria:(i)The training/instruction is being conducted by a training providerwithin The Bahamas, OR(ii)The training/instruction is being conducted by an Owner orCompany operating Bahamian ships for seafarers who will be sailing onBahamian ships and such training/instruction only relates to therequirements of STCW Chapters V and VI or shipboard training for ratingsin accordance with STCW Chapters II and BMA may initiate an approval process for other training programme(s)not satisfying the criteria as laid down in above at its discretion as anexceptional consideration.

5 The terms and conditions for such approvalprocess will be determined by the BMA individually for each BMA has approved a number of training providers and a list of theapproved training providers is contained on the BMA website( ).3. 5 Where training/instruction is being carried out in-service onboard aBahamian ship, the Company shall take into consideration that there aresome STCW standards that may have practical BMAconsiders that training/instruction solely based on computer, video orother electronic medium may not satisfy the practical elements of manySTCW requirements and if such training/instruction is approved by theBMA, a restriction may be imposed on the shipboard duties of personswho have undergone such of training or training/instruction carried out by a provider not approved by BMAmay be accepted if the training/instruction has been approved by anSTCW party with whom the Bahamas has a recognised STCW agreement(seeBMA INFORMATION BULLETIN 121).

6 The providers of the training/instruction referenced in above, theBMA may require an inspection and or review in accordance with theprocedure outlined in Section 6 of this Maritime AuthorityB86 AND ACCEPTANCE OF SEAFARER TRAININGOR INSTRUCTIONPage 4 of 20 7562 13005 Approval applications for a Bahamas approval, the following INFORMATION , in theEnglish language, shall be submitted to the Seafarers and ManningDepartment of the BMA:(i)Name and address of the training centre and address(es) of anyadditional location of the training/instruction,(ii)Copy of Quality standard certification, which shall take intoconsideration STCW AI/6 and a copy of the relevant section of thequality system that makes reference to the training/instruction,(iii)Titleofthetrai ning/instructionasgivenintheConvention/R esolution with full reference to Regulation, Code andor Sections,(iv)Scope and objectives of the training/instruction,(v)Entry requirement for candidates,(vi)Training/instruction curricula with full breakdown of course/subjectduration, delivery method, etc,(vii) Details of facilities and equipment.

7 Where the training/instructionincorporates computer based or multimedia components, details ofthe supporting practical requirements, where applicable, shall beprovided(viii) INFORMATION on any practical demonstration, training inswimming pool, fire-fighting facilities, etc.,(ix)Assessment process, continuous assessment during thetraining/instruction and/or formal examination at the end of thetraining/instruction,(x)CV for each trainer and the process for maintaining the competencyof the trainers and assessors. The Company should be guided bythe IMO model course provisions, where available, and ensure thatthe person(s) are duly qualified for the task and have documentaryevidence of their qualification,Bahamas Maritime AuthorityB86 AND ACCEPTANCE OF SEAFARER TRAININGOR INSTRUCTIONPage 5 of 20 7562 1300(xi)Details of record keeping and means of providing verification oftraining/instruction and/or issued certificates.

8 Each record should asa minimum contain details of the persons who have undergonetraining or instructions, the dates of the training/instruction anddetails of issued certificate if any: The records shall be readilyretrievable and may be maintained in an electronic format.(xii) Format or specimen of the proposed document to be issued to thesuccessful participant. The document should contain the followinginformation: name of the approved centre or company with its logo, postaladdress, e-mail address and contact numbers. If different, includecontact details to which any queries in relation to the certificate canbe sent, Unique document number, Title of the training/instruction certificate, Detail of holder including full name, date of birth and identitydocument number, STCW or IMO Resolution referring to the specific training/instructionrequirement, Clear reference to the successful completion of the requiredtraining/instruction or achievement of the level of competence, Reference to approval granted by The Bahamas Maritime Authority, Signature of person authorised to issue the certificate, Signature and photograph of holder of the certificate.

9 Reference to the requirement for the original certificate to be keptavailable in accordance with STCW Regulation whenever theholder is serving onboard the vessel.(xiii) A training/instruction approval fee of US$90 will be charged foreach submitted training/instruction programme.(xiv) If the training/instruction has been approved by another STCW party, then a copy of the approval letter shall be BMA will review the submitted INFORMATION and if the review issatisfactory, an interim Approval Document valid, initially for a period of 6months, will be issued. A copy of the BMA issued approval document shallbe maintained by the Company and at the location where thetraining/instruction is being carried out, if this location is Maritime AuthorityB86 AND ACCEPTANCE OF SEAFARER TRAININGOR INSTRUCTIONPage 6 of 20 7562 3 months of the issue of the interim approval, the Company willarrange for the BMA, or an Organisation authorised by the BMA to act ontheir behalf for STCW audits, to attend to conduct an onsite audit the audit is completed satisfactorily, the ApprovalDocument will be issued a period of five (5) years from the initial issuingdate.

10 The BMA issued Approval Document shall be maintained by theCompany and if applicable, a copy of the Approval Document shall beavailable at the location where the training/instruction is being the training/instruction is approved, no changes that maysignificantly affect the terms of approval should be made without the prioragreement, in writing, of the BMA reserves the right to withdraw, cancel or suspend anytraining/instruction approved, and/or certificate issued, should the BMAhave any concerns with respect to any aspect of the training/instructionwhich has been, or is being, the Approval Document has expired, any training/instruction carried outwill not be accepted as approved by the duplicate Approval Document will be issued, if requested, subject to theApproval Document being within the validity date and the BMA receivingthe applicable fee (See BMA INFORMATION BULLETIN no.)