The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978

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 The International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, was adopted by the International Conference on Training and Certification of Seafarers on 7 July 1978.

The 1995 STCW Conference adopted the Seafarers’ Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Code.

The STCW Code contains, in:

1. part A, mandatory provisions to which specific reference is made in the annex to the STCW Convention and which give, in detail, the minimum standards required to be maintained by Parties in order to give full and complete effect to the provisions of the STCW Convention; and, in

2. part B, recommended guidance to assist Parties to the STCW Convention and those involved in implementing, applying or enforcing its measures to give the STCW Convention full and complete effect in a uniform manner.

he 1978 STCW Convention was the first to establish minimum basic requirements on training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers on an international level. Previously the minimum standards of training, certification and watchkeeping of officers and ratings were established by individual governments, usually without reference to practices in other countries. As a result, minimum standards and procedures varied widely, even though shipping is extremely international by nature.

The Convention prescribes minimum standards relating to training, certification and watchkeeping for seafarers which countries are obliged to meet or exceed.

The Convention did not deal with manning levels: IMO provisions in this area are covered by regulation 14 of Chapter V of the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974, whose requirements are backed up by resolution A.890(21) Principles of safe manning, adopted by the IMO Assembly in 1999, which replaced an earlier resolution A.481(XII) adopted in 1981 and has since been itself replaced by resolution A.1047(27) Principles of Minimum Safe Manning, adopted by the IMO Assembly in 2011.

One especially important feature of the Convention is that it applies to ships of non-party states when visiting ports of States which are Parties to the Convention. Article X requires Parties to apply the control measures to ships of all flags to the extent necessary to ensure that no more favourable treatment is given to ships entitled to fly the flag of a State which is not a Party than is given to ships entitled to fly the flag of a State that is a Party.

The difficulties which could arise for ships of States which are not Parties to the Convention is one reason why the Convention has received such wide acceptance. By 2018, the STCW Convention had 164 Parties, representing 99.2 per cent of world shipping tonnage.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/STCW_Convention

https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/HumanElement/Pages/STCW-Convention.aspx

https://www.imo.org/en/OurWork/HumanElement/Pages/STCW-Conv-LINK.aspx

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