All at Sea - The Navigator Issue 16
S-Mode survey success
I am very pleased to inform you that we received replies from 601 participants in our S-Mode survey in issue 14. This pleasing response shows how much you care about the development of marine technology, and how passionate the navigation community is about being actively involved in the process. Your feedback is important as it not only provides an overall picture of how mariners are currently operating navigation systems, but it also reveals performance issues around existing systems and provides us with guidance on how to proceed with the S-Mode initiative. So, thank you for taking part in the survey. We are committed to following through on S-Mode to improve the design of future marine navigation systems and ensure they are effective tools that assist you in performing your duties.
Professor Margareta Lützhöft, Viet Dung Vu
I have learned a lot this month about S-Mode and it has made me realise that following standard procedures leads to better management and operations. This is exactly what my mentor has already told me. Following standard procedures is vital for seafarers to achieve a successful operation. I hope our vessel can keep on receiving your publication.
Ruth Fauste, Deck Cadet, VROON-Fil Ship Management
Mentoring is obviously very important for this business because new technology and globalisation are changing faster each year. We need willpower to encourage each other and share knowledge – in spite of complying with all the regulations during watchkeeping or even during rest time. I’m a Peruvian Chief Mate working in the offshore business in Brazil, and a full DPO on an Anchor Handling Tug (AHTS) vessel. I try to teach English to the Brazilian crew, (I speak Portuguese and my native language is Spanish.) Furthermore, I share knowledge with the officers and the Captain, and we establish discussion about different points like manoeuvres, the DP system, documents and so on. Thank you, NI, for your contribution!
Victor Augusto Quiroz Blondet Chief Mate
The Navigator is my mentor. I believe that mentoring is most effective when the mentee has faith in his or her mentor. I think that one practical way to encourage mentoring on board ship is to extend safety committee meetings so that the Master and Chief Engineer can have more time to guide the crew. In some ports, equipment makers could also come on board and teach officers about their equipment so that they can then pass on this knowledge to others.
Mahendra Singh
David Patraiko, Director of Projects at The Nautical Institute, recently attended the first ever eNavigation Underway Asia-Pacific conference. The event focused on eNavigation for non-SOLAS vessels and the introduction of SMART navigation. After the main conference was over, David contributed to an IMO S-Mode Guidelines workshop, where the results from our S-Mode survey, introduced in issue 14 of The Navigator, were a key component. The survey’s findings were of great interest to delegates and the subject of some worthwhile discussions.
We are always interested in hearing your views on the important topics discussed in this publication.
Contact the editor, Emma Ward at navigator@nautinst.org, or look out for the LinkedIn discussion.
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