conferences
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Command Seminar series 2008: Captain Vikrant Malhotra
MNI The final leg of the
Command Seminar Series was held on board
the Star Pisces alongside the Ocean
Terminal, Hong Kong on 6 November, 2008. The ‘maritime cluster’ of The keynote speaker, Roger Tupper Director of Marine, HKSAR
government, set the pace for the seminar. He briefly reminded delegates about
the advent of the ISM Code and the flag
state’s role in its implementation before
zeroing-in on the core topic of the day’s
discussion, the qualification requirements for the DP. In his opinion, it is
preferable that the Designated Person (DP) be
an ex-mariner holding a senior management
position in the company. These attributes would help the DP to influence the
mind-set, attitude and behaviour
of subordinates effectively and ensure that proper
shore-side support would be given to ships’ crew. In Hong Kong , most leading
companies had appointed a senior officer
as their DP and the effectiveness of this
was clearly visible in the experience of the
flag state, as the safety standard of these
companies were better than those where
this function is carried out by an officer of lower rank. Following with the regulator’s viewpoint, Captain Sameer Sablok read a paper on behalf of Captain
Ashok Mahapatra, Head, Maritime Training and the
Human Element, IMO, who was unable to attend in person. This highlighted IMO Guidelines. He
IMO allows flexibility to companies for implementing
the ISM Code, so a small four –to-six
ship company may have its DP carrying out
multiple functions, whereas a large
organization may assign the Captain Pradeep Chawla, Director |
Quality Assurance and
Training-Anglo Eastern Ship Management, highlighted the varied interpretation of
the Code, ranging from the DP as a senior manager with direct access to the
highest level of management and ensuring adequate resources, to a DP being a
day-to-day operator, monitoring ship safety meetings, inspection reports,
drill reports, maintenance records etc. He was strongly of the opinion that
the DP should be a ‘leader’ or a ‘process manager’ rather than a ‘doer’ or
line manager. George Smefjell,
Deputy Head of Section, DNV Maritime Management Systems, also said that
expecting the DP to be responsible for the entire administration of the
management system, documentation and planning and conducting of internal
audits may represent an erroneous view. He also expressed the view, as did
some of the previous speakers, that the DP should be a process manager
ensuring effectiveness of management systems rather than a person involved in
practical implementation. Arthur Bowring, Managing Director, HKSOA,
and Captain Deepak Honowar, Director,
Safety-Insurance-QMS, Wallem Shipmanagement,
highlighted some interesting incidents relating to the role of the DP in
practice and the excessive paperwork related to the ISM Code. He included the
case of a chief cook giving call to the DP, informing him that the master had
assaulted him, and another case where an anonymous caller informed the DP
that the chief engineer was involved in selling bunkers. Dr. Phil Anderson, Managing Director,
Consult ISM Ltd. Captain Lothair
Lam, Port Captain/Assistant Manager-Operation Department, Parakou
Shipping Limited, speaking on behalf of seafarers, considered that the DP was
the saviour of safety on board. In the pre-ISM era,
the vessel’s superintendent wore several hats, including that of safety
officer, he said. Under the ISM Code, this function is now handled in a more
focused manner by the Designated Person. |
Conclusion This last seminar in the
command seminar series stirred up an excellent debate with an almost endless
Q&A session. The summation session included feedback from the three
earlier seminars at Command Seminars: conclusions, pp26-27.
Among the speakers, Dr Phil Anderson, left and Captain Richard Coates, President of The Nautical Institute, right
Captain Marso Law, Senior Harbour Pilot, NIHK Branch Chairman and Captain Deepak Honowar
Captain Marso Law with Captain Lothair Ming Fung Lam |
