The following is the text of a news release from the Marine Education Standards Council:
(STUART, Fla.) — The Marine Education Standards Council (MESC) is pleased to announce the release of a new training standard for the towing industry.
In 2013, a MESC member school, Maritime License Training Co., acting as an American Waterways Operators Responsible Carrier Program auditor, was reviewing an incident which resulted in an allision involving a tug and tow. After reviewing the incident with company management against what was required by the company’s towing safety management system plan, it was established that the watch officer suffered a short term distraction, did not fully understand how to use a MARPA unit to best advantage and made the decision to avoid a collision by leaving the channel. The resulting allision was unplanned.
As a result of that investigation, MESC schools including Maritime Professional Training, Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Sea School, Tampa, Fla., and Maritime License Training Co., Atlantic Beach, Fla., established a working committee to develop an objective, repeatable and scorable towing proficiency assessment using a full mission bridge simulator. The working committee has published the resulting standard.
This standard, which is available to all MESC member schools, allows a company to establish a ”required baseline of proficiency in towing vessel operations” for new hires as well as current employees.
For more specific information about the assessment program and how it would benefit your company, please contact any MESC school that has a full mission bridge simulator.
MESC is composed of 35 schools across the nation. MESC schools as a group train more mariners than any other single organization and are leaders in ensuring quality education through a variety of programs such as Quality Systems Standards.
