Consultation outcome

10b. Deck - Shipmasters Law and Business

Updated 5 July 2023

Nautical - STCW II / 2 CoC
Competency/ Module: Shipmaster’s Law and Business	Competency: Monitor and control compliance with legislative requirements and measures to ensure safety of life at sea, security and the protection of the marine environment competency: Monitor compliance with legislative requirements
Knowledge, understanding and proficiency	Recommendation of working group regarding the outcome and objective.	Rationale	Action required
Outcome 1: Evaluate the principles and application of UK legislation and international treaties applicable to the shipping industry.	Keep	Relevant	None
1.1 International law and its transition into UK national law applicable to the shipping industry	Keep	Relevant	None
1.2 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea	Keep	Relevant	None
1.3 Flag and port state legislation	Modernise	The candidate needs to understand the difference between the Flag/ Port State and a Recognised Organisation, and their delegated responsibility. In addition, the candidate requires an understanding that compliance with regulations is important, but are the minimum level required. Ships should always be aiming higher, particularly with safety.	Include the role of Recognised Organisations. Include importance of going beyond minimum standards, e.g. building safety culture, source of further guidance
1.4 Classification societies	Keep	Relevant	None
1.5 Health, safety, human rights and employment legislation applicable to the shipping industry	Modernise	It is essential for all seafarers to have an awareness of the Human Rights legislation that applies to them and others at sea.	Include applicable Statutory Instruments and COSWP Add Human Rights to this outcome
Outcome 2: Analyse international requirements to ensure safety of ship, life, cargo and the protection of the marine environment.	Keep	Relevant	None
2.1 Requirements of international conventions; Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), Marine Pollution (MARPOL) and the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2007.	Add	This is essential knowledge for seafarers. This convention is being ratified by an increasing number of member states.	Add “the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and Sediments, 2007.”
2.2 Standard of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) convention on seafarers and marine industry in general	Keep	Relevant	None
2.3 Maritime Labour Convention 2006	Keep	Relevant	None
Outcome 3: Analyse UK legislation with regard to the laws of contract, torts and maritime liens applicable to the Merchant Navy.	Keep	Relevant	None
3.1 The law of contract, including how contracts are formed, the use of conditions and warranties and the breach of a contract	Keep	Relevant	None
3.2 The law of torts applicable to the marine industry with emphasis on the tort of negligence.	Keep	Relevant	None
3.3 The law and rules of agency, including the master as agent of necessity.	Keep	Relevant	None
3.4 The law of possessory and non-possessory maritime liens	Keep	Relevant	None
Outcome 4: Analyse the application of commercial law to ship operations and the role of Master in its application.	Keep	Relevant	None
4.1 International conventions and UK national law on maritime contracts of carriage of goods	Keep	Relevant	None
4.2 Maritime insurance and the roles of underwriters and P&I clubs in accordance with the Maritime Insurance Act 1906	Keep	Relevant	None
4.3 Commercial role and legal responsibility of the master in vessel operations	Modernise	Candidates must understand the legal responsibilities of the master while appreciating the resources available to aid their decision making from other sources.	Include support mechanisms available to the master while recognising that the master’s overring authority, as per the International Safety Management (ISM) Code. Include the availability of resources from shore side to assist master in decision making and how to make best use of these.
4.4 Commercial role and legal responsibility of the master in emergencies and incidents	Keep	Relevant	None
4.5 Legal procedures on arrival at, and on departure from, a port	Keep	Relevant	None
4.6 Legal implications of Migrant Rescue/ Mass Casualty situation	Add	Considering the current geopolitical situations, this legal element has become even more prominent for seafarers and should be covered.	Add Mass Casualty/ Migrant Rescue situations to this outcome (The MCA’s intention is to raise this in the IMO STCW Review).
Proposal submitted by:	Any other outcomes for this competency, above and beyond STCW which would be needed due to use of modern technology and impact of future fuels onboard:
	Objective	Reason Why	Action required
Cadet Training and modernisation working Group	Add the legal implications of innovative technologies, including autonomous vessels.	Legislation is constantly evolving regarding autonomy and innovative technologies, so we should ensure this syllabus is future-proofed.	Include “Awareness of the legal implications of vessels operating with innovative technologies” as a separate outcome.
Cadet Training & Modernisation Working Group	Include Human Element Factors throughout the syllabus	To provide seafarers with a contextualised understanding of the Human Element in the maritime industry, showing how they can put theory into practice in the work they carry out at sea.	Raise awareness throughout the Cadet’s training of the areas in which human element factors will have an impact. Recommendations on where this can be included have been noted throughout the entire syllabus. Not every template has Human Element Factor recommendations but please do add any you feel may have been missed.
Cadet Training & Modernisation Working Group	Include Data Science skills throughout the syllabus	Data Science Skills (Comprehension, Analysis, Presentation, etc…) are already required within much of the syllabus. A further, specific focus on these skills needs to be taught where relevant.	A specific topic will need to be introduced to improve Cadets’ Data Science skills. Practical application of data science skills should be highlighted throughout the syllabus. Not every template has Data Science recommendations but please do add any you feel may have been missed.
Cadet Training & Modernisation Working Group	Ensure all outcomes are contextualised to help Cadets understand what they are learning in relation to what they will experience at sea.	While some outcomes are intrinsically linked to work carried out at sea, some need to be contextualised to show how they apply to work on board. Where this is the case, it is important to make sure Cadets clearly understand how the outcome relates to work at sea and it is essential to make sure that this context is given with reference to current and future seagoing technologies and practices.	Where outcomes do not specifically cover a topic which relates to work carried out at sea, more must be done to contextualise the outcome and make it relevant to the maritime industry, giving specific shipping examples of how the outcome may be applied in a modern shipping context. Not every template has contextualisation recommendations but please do add any you feel may have been missed.