NORTHEAST MARITIME - Marine Training Center

What Is The STCW-2010 Basic Safety Courses?

1) What is the STCW Personal Survival Techniques (Sea Survival Course)

Module provides knowledge of essential prevention and survival techniques. It includes both theoretical and practical sessions, investigating causes of distress, knowledge and use of equipment, launch and recovery of life rafts, preparation for survival, personal survival skills and use of search and rescue organisations

Personal Survival Techniques (PST)

The STCW Personal Survival Techniques course (often referred to as Sea Survival training) covers all the essentials for dealing with a survival situation at sea. It is a core part of the STCW Basic Safety Training course and is one of the 2 modules that require STCW 2010 Update training every 5 years.

Course Content:

Types of emergency situations such as collision, fire, sinking
Types of life-saving appliances normally carried on ships
Equipment in survival craft
Location of personal life-saving appliances
Principles concerning survival
Practical instruction will include
Donning a life jacket
Donning and use an immersion suit
Safely entering the water from a height
Righting an inverted life raft while wearing a life jacket and immersion suit
Swimming while wearing a life jacket
Keeping afloat
Boarding a life raft from ship and water while wearing a life jacket
Taking initial actions on boarding a life raft to enhance chance of survival
Streaming a drogue or sea anchor
Operating location devices, including radio equipment.

2) What is the STCW Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting course?

The STCW Fire prevention and fire fighting course deals with the necessary precautions to minimize the risk of fires aboard ship, how fires are caused and the first means of extinguishing them. The course includes practical training in the use of fire fighting equipment and the use of breathing apparatus for fire fighting and rescue. If you are just starting your journey to a new career at sea you will need to complete a number of basic modules which can be done as a 5 day package with a cost saving.

Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting (FPFF)

South West Maritime Academy’s STCW Fire Prevention and Fire Fighting course can be taken either as a stand-alone module or as part of the 3 day STCW Basic Safety Training, helping you prepare to take your first steps into a career at sea. The course runs over two and a half days, and covers both theory and practical learning.

Course Content:

Minimizing the risk of fire
Maintaining a state of readiness to respond to emergency situations involving fire
Fighting and extinguishing a fire
Shipboard fire-fighting organisation
Location of fire-fighting appliances and emergency escape routes
The elements of fire and explosion (the fire triangle)
Types and sources of ignition
Flammable material, fire hazards and spread of fire
Fire and smoke detection and automatic alarm systems
Classification of fire and applicable extinguishing agents
Use of Breathing Apparatus
Live fire fighting.

3) What is the STCW Elementary First Aid Course?

This STCW elementary first aid course module is a combination of theory and practical training for basic first aid and life saving skills. This course is intended for all seafaring personnel who need to be able to practice elementary first aid on board ship. It comprises the knowledge required in STCW 95 Table A-VI/1-3 and provides an introduction to the principles of first aid. It shows how to respond to the most common medical emergencies.

Elementary First Aid (EFA)

The Elementary First Aid course module is a combination of theory and practical training for basic first aid and life saving skills. This course is intended for all seafaring personnel who need to be able to practice elementary first aid on board ship. It comprises the knowledge required in STCW 95 Table A-VI/1-3 and provides an introduction to the principles of first aid. It shows how to respond to the most common medical emergencies.

Course Content:

Dealing with an emergency
Priorities of treatment
Casualty transport
Basic Life Support (CPR)
Shock management
Bandaging
Wounds/Bleeding
Burns/Scalds

4) What is the STCW Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities (PSSR)

This STCW Personal Safety and Social Responsibility (PSSR) course module gives basic induction training in safety procedures and accident prevention and familiarizes novice seafarers with employment and working conditions aboard. It is a classroom based course

Personal Safety & Social Responsibilities (PSSR)

Course Content:

Complying with emergency procedures
Observing safe working practices
Understanding orders and being understood in relation to shipboard duties
Contributing to effective human relationships on board ship
Types of emergency which may occur, such as collision, fire foundering
Knowledge of shipboard contingency plans for responses to emergencies
Effect of operational or accidental pollution of the marine environment
Basic environmental protection procedures
Importance of maintaining good human working relationships aboard ship
Social responsibilities; employment conditions; individual rights and obligations; dangers of drug and alcohol abuse

5) What is the STCW Proficiency in Security Awareness course and who is it for?

Proficiency in Security Awareness course

The course provides necessary knowledge for personnel intending to work on ships who will not have any designated security duties but who all the same require a heightened awareness of general security issues and practices. Upon completion, candidates should be able to demonstrate competence to:

Contribute to the enhancement of maritime security through heightened awareness
Recognized security threats
Understand the need for and methods of maintaining security awareness and vigilance.
This course can be taken as a stand-alone module.

6) What is the STCW Basic Safety Training course?

This course can be taken as a stand-alone module or is included as part of our STCW Basic Safety Training course.

Basic Safety Training (BST)

The 5 day STCW Basic Safety Training course STCW 2010) is required to be undertaken by all seafarers in accordance with section A-Vl/1 of the STCW Code. The course is intended to ensure that seafarers are aware of the hazards of working on a vessel and enables you to respond appropriately to an emergency. Personal Survival Techniques (PST)The Personal Survival Techniques course (often referred to as Sea Survival training) covers all the essentials for dealing with a survival situation at sea. It is a core part of the Basic Safety Training course and is one of the 2 modules that require STCW 2010 Update training every 5 years.

Course Content:

What is the difference between STCW 95 and STCW 2010?

The first International training requirements for merchant ships were introduced in 1978. This was part of a scheme by the IMO (International Maritime Organization) to standardize Maritime training across the world. Before 1978 individual Governments decided the standards, without consulting other countries. As a result, training practices and procedures varied from country to country and with shipping being a global industry, one country would not accept another’s training standards. This led to ships being delayed in port, lots of red tape and political arguments between nations.

The 1978 STCW Convention, a meeting of all IMO member states, decided on a standard of training and certification to be adopted by all states henceforth. This agreement was ratified in 1978 and came into force in 1994. On 7th July 1995 the STCW code was updated, these were mainly administrative changes to bring the convention up to date. Basic principles of the STCW 95 convention were that all crew should receive basic training to cope with

How many courses are there in STCW?

After the STCW 2010 update, there are now 5 courses included within STCW Basic Safety Training. This training lasts around a week and must include the following:

1. Fire Fighting and Fire Prevention – 2.5 day practical course that teaches you how to use the fire fighting equipment on-board your ship in the event of a fire.

2. Personal and Social Responsibilities – 0.5 day course that introduces the safety procedures on-board, your responsibilities, living and working on-board a ship.

3. Personal Survival Techniques – 1 day of survival techniques, abandoning ship, equipment found on-board. This course includes a practical session in a swimming pool.

4. Elementary First Aid – 1 day of practical training on basic first aid, resuscitation techniques and practical first aid techniques.

5. Proficiency in Security Awareness – 0.5 day training module which is all about how to respond to security issues and threats whilst working at sea.