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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 23 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 5

Written Answers. - Naval Service Officers.

David Stanton

Question:

22 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources if, further to Parliamentary Question No. 125 of 1 February 2000 and Parliamentary Question No. 87 of 18 February 2000, discussions have taken place between his Department and the Department of Defence and the Naval Service with a view to identifying and developing a mechanism whereby engineering officers of the Naval Service may obtain appropriate certification for merchant shipping purposes have been concluded; if the Marine Survey Office has expedited its consideration of this matter as requested by the Minister; if so, if he will report on the outcome of any agreement or consideration that has been reached; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26977/00]

The Deputy will be aware from my replies to the previous parliamentary questions that my Department's difficulty in relation to the recognition of qualifications and sea service of certain Naval Service engineering officers towards the granting of merchant shipping certificates of competency relates to our obligations under the 1995 amendments, STCW 95, to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping 1978. The STCW 95 Convention requirements are that qualifying sea service should be served on ships to which the convention, and our regulations, apply and Naval Service vessels do not fall under this category.

Notwithstanding this, the Marine Survey Office of my Department, which is responsible for the examination and certification of seafarers under the STCW Convention, earlier this year concluded an examination of the type and duration of the sea service performed on Naval Service vessels. As a result of this examination, my Department wrote to the Department of Defence on 8 May 2000 proposing the following as a way forward to facilitate Naval Service engineer officers gaining merchant shipping certificates of competency: this arrangement would apply only to those Naval Service officers who have been trained under the engineer cadet training scheme at Cork Regional Technical College; such officers would attend for an oral examination at class two level. This examination would concentrate on merchant shipping practice, including certification, safe manning, health and safety, pollution prevention, cargo operations, stability matters, emergency procedures, ISM code etc.; if successful in this oral examination and subject to all other documentary requirements being satisfied, a class four certificate of competency would be issued. This would enable these officers to gain employment on a merchant vessel in a watchkeeping capacity; after serving five months on merchant vessels, these officers would then be eligible to sit for the class one, motor examination, engineering knowledge, written and oral only.
I understand that these proposals are currently being considered by the Department of Defence in conjunction with the Naval Service and my Department is awaiting a response from them in the matter. Nevertheless, I am confident that these proposals offer an acceptable mechanism for recognising Naval Service engineering qualifications and at the same time ensure that we can honour our obligations under STCW 95.
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