Dynamic Positioning Training and Certification Scheme: Overview and Prospects

Dynamic positioning operators must follow a training scheme developed by The Nautical Institute to obtain their license. The training scheme comprises two courses (basic and simulator) and two periods of dynamic-positioning training on board, which is recorded in a logbook. The documentation is carefully double-checked when these are completed before issuing the certificate. This paper aims to present the details of this training, currently covered in Section B of the International Convention on the Standards of Training, Certification, and Watchkeeping (STCW), and to predict how the system would work if the scheme is referred to in Section A of the same Convention. The Dynamic Positioning training and certification scheme will be compared to other micro qualifications detailed in Section A of the STCW convention to achieve this prediction. The following items will be evaluated: access to the course, instructor's eligibility, control of materials and equipment, updating of the lesson plan, and certification control. The results show that the Dynamic positioning training scheme is much superior in all the researched categories due to the rapid capacity for updating the materials and for the strict controls placed in lieu by The Nautical Institute to accredit training centres, including equipment and personnel, and especially the certificate-issuing system, keeping frauds to a minimum.