Maintaining the maritime skills base: does the Government have a realistic strategy?

The UK has a requirement for people with seafaring expertise to fill a wide range of jobs in the maritime-related sector of the economy ashore. The pool of seagoing ships' officers has now reached the level where shore-based demand for such officers cannot be satisfied by natural wastage from this pool alone. This paper considers the implications of this for the Government's recently announced strategy for maintaining the maritime skills base. The paper concludes that it is inevitable that the Government's present strategy will fail, and suggests what measures need to be taken if the skills base is to be saved.     

The seafaring labour market in Brazil

The most recent reports on the supply and demand for seafarers suggest that there is an increasing lack of officers for the expanding world's merchant fleet. With a focus on Brazil, this paper discusses a particular seafaring labour market highlighting specific challenges that need to be overcome. The paper looks into the current condition of the imbalance in Brazilian seafaring labour market as well as the prospects for merchant marine officers from the only two maritime schools in the country. Key issues on demand forecast and supply expectation, policy amendment, promoting maritime career, sea career commitment and maritime career empowerment are discussed to illustrate possible means to overcome the imbalance.     

A qualitative analysis of reintroducing cabotage onto New Zealand's coasts

This paper provides a qualitative analysis of the proposal to ‘reintroduce cabotage’ onto New Zealand's coasts. New Zealand's coastal shipping trade was opened up to international competition in 1995. The analysis is principally based on a stakeholder analysis of the 83 submissions received by the Shipping Industry Review team, as part of the Government's study to identify ways to increase participation in New Zealand's shipping industry. The stakeholders included New Zealand and international shipping companies, unions, industry associations, freight service providers, manufacturers and producers. The main conclusion drawn from the stakeholder analysis was that to reintroduce cabotage onto New Zealand's coasts would appear to have an overall net negative impact on the New Zealand economy at this stage. However, the Shipping Industry Review team ‘was divided on the implementation of cabotage’, and a force-field analysis was undertaken subsequently based on the author's stakeholder impact analysis and the Review team's list of pros and cons of reintroducing cabotage. This force-field analysis also supported the author's earlier conclusion. However, the almost ‘complete absence of statistics’ relating to the commercial activities of the shipping industry in New Zealand places severe limits on the analysis.     

Mariner anticipation and performance

Collisions and groundings continue to take their toll on seafarers and the environment. Much has been said about the associated role of human factors. STCW95 endeavored to create a closer relationship between what is taught and what is needed to handle the demands of the operational environment. Technological developments such as ARPA, and in the future AIS, imply access to more data. With a view to determining how data should be presented and used, this study examines the capabilities of mariners to identify and initiate an appropriate course of action in an encounter where the need for two targets to maneuver to avoid collision with each other changes our own vessel’s passing distance from a safe to an unsafe state. Such a capability can generally add to the probability of a successful encounter through anticipating the resulting conflict with our own vessel and through taking appropriate early action. The outcome of this study, reported in this paper, was that very few senior officers and masters displayed the advanced level of anticipation skills that would provide the situation awareness needed for the encounter presented. Such outcomes may point to the need for inclusion of specific training in anticipation skills within the maritime educational system and/or for the provision of decision support systems which assist the development of situation awareness and identification of an appropriate course of action.     

Maritime economics in a Post-Expansion Panama Canal Era

Government recently introduced the Transport Law Reform Bill, which if passed by Parliament, will allow foreign vessels to uplift and discharge cargoes and passengers along the coast of New Zealand. Coastal shipping is part of the domestic transport industry, which has benefitted from deregulation and considerable restructuring over the last decade. This paper provides a brief review of the coastal shipping industry in New Zealand and an overview of international cabotage laws. An alternative open coast shipping policy proposed by the New Zealand Shipping Federation, which is based on ‘level playing fields’ principles, is presented. The scope of cost benefit analysis is outlined and the potential costs and the potential costs and benefits of the Government's open coast shipping policy are summarized. Despite the potential costs to New Zealand of an open coast policy appearing to be considerably greater than the potential benefits. Government officials have not undertaken an empirical cost benefit analysis. The paperr concludes that hte clauses of the Transport Law Reform Bill relating to an open coast policy should be withdrawn and a full empirical cost benefit analysis should be undertaken to determine the best coastal shipping policy for New Zealand.     

Escorting economies: Networked journeys,household strategies and resistance

This paper is an exploration of strategies used by households to ensure safe journeys for household members. It has been long been argued that women's travel demand is suppressed. There is no doubt that this is an important issue simply on the grounds that women make up one half of the population but it is also timely and pertinent for policy makers and practitioners as legislation at national and international level asserts and legitimates rights to access, safety and security as demonstrated in the European Union's assertion in the 2007 Green Paper that “Every EU citizen should be able to live and move in urban areas with safety and security”. An understanding of social networks, reciprocity and exchange within and between households is integral to our understanding of travel demand. This paper, through an exploration of micro-social practices, identifies competencies and strategies, such as skills of transaction negotiation, scheduling among household members and across households, escorting, social synchronisation and cost sharing in women's travel, which add to our theoretical understanding of household coping strategies and practices to overcome exclusion. This paper brings together contemporary and historical evidence on the strategies and competencies used by women and in households to ensure safe travel for household members. There is a paucity of data on networked practices and resources which impacts on the efficacy of social policy and societal aspirations for sustainability and inclusion.     

Code of behaviour at sea: women seafarers’ shipboard identity management

The employment of women on cargo ships, particularly at officer’s level, is paid more attention in order to supplement the shortage of qualified officers. However, seafaring jobs are still overwhelmingly dominated by men, and there seems to be gender-related challenges for women in such work environment. Women seafarers in this research are those who work in the ship operational sections on cargo ships as deck officers, engineers or radio officers. A total of 36 female and 8 male seafarers from eight different countries participated in the project and shared their experiences of working on board ships. The research revealed that the occupational culture of seafaring often reflects masculine norms and values which could affect women seafarers’ behaviour and attitudes. This paper further explores how women manage such situations on board by utilising various strategies in order to avoid gender-related problems. This study identifies a typical pattern of women seafarers’ identity management and creates a model of women’s strategic shifting patterns over time.     

弹性基础上单层隔振系统功率流传递特性研究

利用振动能量的传递与变化来描述系统的振动状态具有诸多优点,功率流作为隔振系统中能量传播的一个衡量指标,可以方便地分析机械振动的传播路径与隔振系统的隔振效果.本文将柔性基础上的单层隔振系统简化为四边简支薄板基础上的单层隔振系统模型.通过对模型的分析和数值计算,可以考察各变量对于隔振效果的影响,通过不同的方式来评估隔振系统的隔振效果,将功率流概念运用到隔振效果的评估中,分析其中的差别和相似点,为隔振系统的设计与评估提供指导.     

Book review

According to the latest BIMCO and Drewry reports, there is a global shortage of officers for the worlds’ merchant fleet. This article focuses on the South African labour market for officers and examines some of the maritime education and training challenges facing these officers in accessing global labour markets. The paper argues that despite processes of globalisation, the nation state can still be an important actor in shaping global labour markets. Using a qualitative approach, interviews were conducted with 10 key informants in the maritime human resources management sectors in South Africa. Interview data was analysed and coded for themes using NVivo qualitative data analysis software (QSR International Pty Ltd., Version 10, London, UK). This was theoretically informed by Braun &; Clarke’s six-step method of thematic analysis. This was combined with a review of labour market statistics to demonstrate that the key challenges facing South African officers are the lack of training berth availability and the lack of South African ship ownership. The solutions adopted by the state includes a limited adoption of best practices adopted by global MET institutions in the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan and Nigeria. The article contributes to filling the gap in empirical-based maritime studies that are located on Africa.     

基于柴油机机座结构的有限元模态分析方法

利用大型通用有限元分析软件MSC.patran/Nastran,以某船用柴油机机座结构为算例,并且结合类似研究中对约束条件的讨论,进行初步的线性无阻尼模态分析.在船用柴油机机座的模态分析中常存在的局部模态无法辨识,整体模态振型无法提取的实际应用问题,因而本文分别提出模态有效质量系数以及"虚拟梁"2种技巧.通过有效质量系数来进行模态结果的筛选得出具有主要影响作用的主模态,从而剔除了局部模态.通过虚拟梁的方法提取由于局部变形而无法观察到的结构整体振型.在此基础上以期能够更加深入的进行有限元模态分析,有效地将计算数据提取并加以利用.该算例得出的计算结果以及计算方法还能扩展为同类型的机座结构进行针对性的动力学优化计算.     

A proposed quantitative methodology for the evaluation of the effectiveness of Human Element,Leadership and Management (HELM) training in the UK

In 2006, a review of maritime accidents found that non-technical skills (NTSs) are the single largest contributing factor towards such incidents. NTSs are composed of both interpersonal and cognitive elements. These include things such as situational awareness, teamwork, decision making, leadership, management and communication skills. In a crisis situation, good NTSs allow a deck officer to quickly recognise that a problem exists and then harness the resources that are at their disposal to safely and efficiently bring the situation back under control. This paper has two aims. The first is to develop a methodology which will enable educators to quantitatively assess the impact of Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA)-approved Human Element, Leadership and Management (HELM) training on deck officer’s NTSs with a view to identifying further training requirements. The second is to determine whether the HELM training provided to develop the NTSs of trainee deck officers is fit for purpose. To achieve these aims, a three-phase approach was adopted. Initially, a taxonomy for deck officer’s NTSs is established, behavioural markers are identified and the relative importance of each attribute is calculated using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP). Subsequently, a set of scenarios were identified for the assessment of deck officer’s NTSs in a ship bridge simulator environment. A random selection of students that have completed the Chief Mate (CM) programme was performed, and data regarding their NTS-related performance in the scenarios was collected. Finally, the collected data was fed into the evidential reasoning (ER) algorithm, utility values were produced and, having established these values, the effectiveness of the HELM training that the students have received was then evaluated.     

Legal and practical consequences of not complying with ISM code

Almost a decade since port corporatization was introduced in Australia it is becoming clear that initial objectives are not being realized. This paper explores some of the legal and legislative causes, the effect on port operation and investigates what necessary conditions are required to deliver an effective corporatized port business. The paper argues that effective corporatization is a product of effective legislation—one which, while emulating private sector business practices—can deliver a business model that is innovative, entrepreneurial, commercially oriented and free from self-serving political constraints.

The legislation and corporatized artifacts in Australian mainland ports have failed, in general, to deliver this. Arguably, the legislation has, in fact, created a model with inherent flaws and serious contradictions. The legislation enacted is such that while it has set in place a model that articulates commercial objectives, the model created is in fact one in which political objectives may override commercial ones; where strategy may be determined by a bureaucratic elite without the requisite skills and insights, and the resultant strategy appears ad hoc; and a corporate culture that frequently has failed to transcend that of the statutory authority and public utility model. This paper will test these assertions against the developments in the port of Melbourne.     

Effective corporatization of ports is a function of effective legislation: legal issues in the existing paradigm

Almost a decade since port corporatization was introduced in Australia it is becoming clear that initial objectives are not being realized. This paper explores some of the legal and legislative causes, the effect on port operation and investigates what necessary conditions are required to deliver an effective corporatized port business. The paper argues that effective corporatization is a product of effective legislation—one which, while emulating private sector business practices—can deliver a business model that is innovative, entrepreneurial, commercially oriented and free from self-serving political constraints.

The legislation and corporatized artifacts in Australian mainland ports have failed, in general, to deliver this. Arguably, the legislation has, in fact, created a model with inherent flaws and serious contradictions. The legislation enacted is such that while it has set in place a model that articulates commercial objectives, the model created is in fact one in which political objectives may override commercial ones; where strategy may be determined by a bureaucratic elite without the requisite skills and insights, and the resultant strategy appears ad hoc; and a corporate culture that frequently has failed to transcend that of the statutory authority and public utility model. This paper will test these assertions against the developments in the port of Melbourne.     

舰船厕所恶臭污染物治理方法

针对舰船厕所恶臭污染物净化效果不佳,长航期间空气质量差的现状,综述了现有多种恶臭污染物净化方法,对比分析各种方法在舰船厕所这一特定环境下的适用性,提出恶臭污染物源头治理和扩散过程净化相结合的综合治理方法,并给出实现工程化应用需要解决的重点问题.     

基于AMESim的一种双作用往复抽油泵仿真研究

以某型双作用往复抽油泵为研究对象,利用AMESim软件对其进行建模仿真,主要分析双作用抽油泵在工作过程中的出口流量特性与压力特性,关键部件固定阀的开启特性以及柱塞运动规律对固定阀阀球起跳位移的影响.仿真结果表明,双作用往复抽油泵在排液时存在特殊的负流量与压力波动现象,固定阀的开启特性与阀罩的实际故障破坏密切相关,该仿真结果对于双作用往复抽油泵的运动控制规律优化具有指导性意义.     

Investigation of the condition and the behavior of a modular floating structure by harnessing monitoring data

In this paper, the condition and the behavior of an installed and operating Modular Floating Structure (MFS) is investigated and assessed by harnessing field monitoring data and using collectively multiple Correlation Coefficients (CCs) between measured quantities. The examined MFS consists of five pairs of interconnected floating concrete modules and it functions as a floating breakwater. The field monitoring data are acquired through a sensor network deployed on one pair of modules (connected through two groups of connectors) of the MFS. A methodological data processing framework for data organization, manipulation and post-processing is developed and presented. This framework enables the quantification of the structure's condition at different time periods through the calculation of CCs: (a) between the incident wave height and the tensions of the mooring lines and (b) between the tensions of the mooring lines, considering various wave directions. Recorded data at three characteristic time periods during the structure's lifetime are used, namely: (i) before any failure (structure's initial condition), (ii) after the failure of the first connectors' group and (iii) after the failure of the second connectors' group. The data processing framework developed in the present paper is applied to the above recorded data in order to calculate CCs and, therefore, quantify the structure's condition, at the three aforementioned time periods. The quantification of the structure's initial condition resulted to conclusions that were consistent from a physical point of view with the most recently documented, available in-situ mapping of the mooring lines' configuration in the horizontal plane. By considering the structure's initial condition as a reference base for comparison, the effect of the connectors' failure on the CCs, used to quantify this condition, was also investigated and efficiently assessed. Specifically, the significant changes observed in the variation patterns of all examined CCs, when compared with their respective patterns corresponding to the structure's initial condition, demonstrated and confirmed the existence of significant reformation of the examined structural system resulting from the connectors' failure. In this way, the effectiveness of the joint utilization of CCs to assess the structure's condition was proved.     

海上航行受限制区域的探讨

航次计划和航线设计是STCW 95公约要求负责航行的管理级和操作级人员完成的工作,从影响航线选择的诸多因素之——限制区域入手进行探讨,为从事此类工作的海员提供可行的方法,以期得到重视并应用于航海实践中。     

Legal Regulation of Land Reclamation in China's Coastal Areas

China's national marine development strategy acknowledges that land reclamation problems cannot be avoided. Land reclamation has increased rapidly, leading to many risks—as regards resources, the environment, and social concerns. China needs to implement measures to control these risks. Analysis of current legal regulations on land reclamation reveals paradoxes of legislation at the national level and varying regional legal practices; there is a shortage of effective and coordinated land reclamation regulations in China. Analysis of the factors that affect land reclamation shows that regulation plays a central role in managing land reclamation. And, through an analysis of the deficiencies in existing legislation and by learning from the experience of other countries, we can propose a direction for China's land reclamation legislation. Such reforms could effectively protect China's marine resources, avoid environmental and societal risks, and contribute to coastline protection.     

The choices of employing seafarers for the national shipowners in Taiwan: an empirical study

This paper focuses on the binary choice behavior of employing seafarers for the Taiwanese' national shipowners and embraces the empirical investigation based on the Binary Logit Model. First, three groups of important factors have been identified having a bearing on the national shipowners' hiring preferences: crew cost, competence and efficiency (including knowledge, skills, communication, physical and psychological attitude and conditions), as well as quality standard system complying with STCW95. Then, an empirical analysis, based on a Binary Logit Model about the national shipowners' choosing seafarers, is conducted to demonstrate the conceptual framework developed in this paper. The results show that the hiring decision is significantly affected by the crew cost. The national shipowners also consider several other factors when hiring officers and ratings. In addition, there are significant differences in hiring preference between the sailing international services and operating the liner ships. In the future, when the Measure shall be amended, the national shipowners will change their behavior to re-choose the foreign seafarers.     

驾驶员进行轮机模拟器培训的可行性分析

通过对我国船员知识结构和航运市场对船员的素质要求进行分析,认为驾驶员进行轮机模拟器培训,对提高自动化和轮机管理水平是非常有必要的,也是可行的。