A Study on the Development of Emergency Response Management Education for Passenger Ship

Basically, Korea's maritime law is similar to international law, so domestic sailor education consists of a similar process. However, the Shipping Act and the education regulations for the safety management of ferries are domestic regulations and curriculums.

Article 116 of the Seafarers Act requires those who wish to become sailors to undergo education and training conducted by the Minister of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries as prescribed by Presidential Decree, and Article 43 of the Enforcement Decree of the Seafarers Act designated a list of training to be completed.

The <Table 1> below is shown by comparing domestic law with the relevant laws of international agreements.

<Table 1>

Comparison of Domestic regulation and International Conventions on passenger ship

In general, a ro-ro passenger ship that transports cargo and passengers together has a risk of losing the safety at once if the cargo moves during transportation. Thus, officer on board the ship must complete and prove the relevant education in order to understand the characteristics of the passenger ship and have the knowledge and ability to effectively control passengers in case of emergency.

World-leader countries in the maritime industry have passenger ship-related education in accordance with the STCW Convention and its Code as shown in <Table 2>. That is, competence, duties, and responsibilities can be fulfilled by completing the training required in STCW Reg.V/2, A-V/2 for the training of crew members aboard the passenger ship and emergency situations. They require that workers other than ship personnel receive passenger training and familiarization education.

<Table 2>

Passenger ship training required by STCW

(1) Vessel emergency response familiarization training

It is an education to achieve the competence suitable for the duties and responsibilities of all employees working on passenger ship engaged in international voyage before being assigned to onboard mission.

(2) Passenger ship safety training

In the case of a ship's service provider, he/she must complete the safety training required in Regulation STCW V/2, Paragraph 6.

(3) Training of crowd management on passenger ship

Before being assigned to duties on a passenger ship, the captain and ship personnel who are qualified in accordance with STCW chapters II, III and VII must receive training related to the captain list in order to assist passengers in emergency situation and have completed the crowd management training required by the Regulation V/2, paragraph 7 specified in the STCW A-V/2-1 table.

(4) Passenger ship crisis management and human behavior training

Prior to being assigned to onboard service, the designated persons responsible for the safety of passengers in emergency situations, such as the captain and chief engineer, must have completed approved crisis management and human behavior training as required by Regulation V/2, paragraph 8, specified in table STCW A-V/2-2.

(5) Passenger and cargo safety, hull integrity training

Any person responsible for deck services (captain, navigation officer, engineer, etc.) and for the loading of all passengers and cargo or closing of hull opening must complete passenger safety, cargo safety and hull integrity training in accordance with STCW Regulation V/2, paragraph 9 in order to remain competent for the duties and responsibilities.

(6) Fire safety education (basic and advanced safety education)

Ship personnel must complete basic and advanced fire extinguishing training in accordance with STCW A-VI/1 and VI/3, including access to confined spaces and prevention of the spread of fires in adjacent spaces.

(7) Damage control training

Shipping company and ship training institution must complete the standard training presented in STCW A-II/1, A-II/2 and A-III/2 in order to achieve the necessary theoretical knowledge, understanding and proficiency in ship damage management and waterproofing.

(8) Personal survival technique (PST)

It addresses training in individual sea survival technique. Based on the provisions of STCW A-VI/1-1, all seafarers are required to complete basic training to protect themselves and others and sustain life at sea in accordance with international regulations.

(9) Personal safety and social responsibility (PSST)

It provides a minimum required education on personal safety and social responsibility. Based on the provisions of STCW A-VI/1-4, it provides insight into the various elements of ship and operating procedures. It aims to educate students on adjustments to the ship's environment and a basic understanding of how to better cope with unexpected situations.

(10) Advanced life-saving training

As mandatory safety training for lifeboat operation specified in STCW A-VI/2-1, it aims to build up knowledge of operating procedures and cultivate practical skills through practice of lifeboat.

(11) High speed rescue boat training

Its purpose is to understand the operation of high-speed rescue boats and related procedures and knowledge. Based on the regulations of STCW A-VI / 2-2, it aims to develop the skills and capabilities to perform the role as a person responsible for high-speed rescue boat in an emergency.

(12) Safety investigation course

As a safety investigation education on marine casualties and marine accidents, the course consists of a series of exercises structured around the requirements of international law, IMO conventions and bodies. It is a basic theoretical and practical training course on the necessary common and uniform approach, application of consistent methodologies, and maritime safety investigation of marine casualties and marine accidents.

(1) Korea Institute of Maritime and Fisheries Technology (hereinafter KIMFT)

IMO Model Course 1.29, which is the basis of current domestic passenger ship safety education, is a training for captains, engineers, and other crew members on ro-ro passenger ships and non-ro-ro passenger ships. It requires education on passenger boarding and disembarkation, loading and unloading of cargo, and passenger safety in emergency situation. It aims to present and fulfil the minimum essential requirements. Furthermore, training for those who provide services to passengers, passenger management and safety and safety training are provided through separate model course. The educational institution that provides these safety education services is KIMFT.

Officers and ship personnel on board a ship must understand the characteristics of a passenger ship and must receive safety training in order to improve their ability to cope with emergency situations. In order to become a seafarer engaged in passenger ships, one must complete safety education in accordance with Chapter VI of the STCW Convention. <Table 3> and <Table 4> below show the contents of the crew safety training course. It is composed of passenger ship basic safety training course, advanced training course, and job training course. The training certificate requires that the safety training course, except for the job training course, be renewed by participating in re-education every 5 years.

<Table 3>

Passenger ship safety training by KIMFT

<Table 4>

Passenger ship competency training by KIMFT

(2) Korea Maritime Transportation Safety Authority (hereinafter KOMSA)

In accordance with Article 15 (12) of the Enforcement Rule of the Shipping Act, domestic passenger transport business operators, safety management officers, seafarers, etc. must complete safety management training. The training content is shown in <Table 5> below.

<Table 5>

Passenger ship safety training by KOMSA

In accordance with the regulations on passenger ship safety management officer training, the domestic passenger ship safety management officer must complete the training in <Table 6> below.

<Table 6>

Passenger ship safety management officer training by KOMSA

A survey was conducted for a total of 260 people who completed basic and advanced safety retraining at the KIMFT from December 3, 2020 to April 6, 2021 in order to confirm the necessity of the passenger ship manager training course.

The general characteristics of the respondents who participated in the survey are shown in <Table 7>. Looking by the position on ship, Capt. & C/E 18.1%, C/O & 1/E 20.0%, 2/O & 2/E 16.5%, 3/O & 3/E 17.3%, staff members occupied 15.4%, purser occupied 7.7%, and other positions took up 5.0%. In terms of the experience on board, less than 2 years occupied the largest proportion with 23.0%, followed by 2~5 years with 21.25%, 5~10 years with 12.3%, 11~15 years with 7.7%, 15~20 years with 14.6%, and more than 20 years with 21.2%. 63.8% of the survey participants had no experience of marine accident.

<Table 7>

General characteristics of respondent

<Table 8> illustrates the results of the frequency analysis of survey respondents on possibility of initial response in an emergency situation and necessity of emergency response training.

<Table 8>

A result of frequency analysis

The rate of the respondents who answered that an initial response is possible was 54.2%, and the rate of those who answered it is not possible was 37.7%. The non-response took up 8.1%. The respondents who answered that emergency response training is necessary occupied 81.9% of the total.

Passenger ship safety education implemented in Korea is being conducted individually at each educational institution. After the Sewol ferry accident, education courses were developed due to high interest in crew safety education and strengthening of legal regulations. However, managing the passenger ship training courses in a unified way is difficult in overall, and realistically, the quality level of education and measures to reduce maritime accidents were not reflected.

Thus, the overall frame for the operation of the passenger ship training course was presented as shown in [Fig. 2]. The passenger ship training courses, which are being conducted in Korea, were comprehensively summarized, and educational curriculum deemed necessary for future development was added, which is explained in the section C below.

[Fig. 2]

Passenger ship training Frame.

Legal regulations such as implementation of safety management education for target persons, deletion of exemption provisions for safety education for on-board crew members, and placement of maritime safety inspectors in major ports across the country are being strengthened and implemented in accordance with Article 15 (12) of the Enforcement Regulations of the Shipping Act. On the other hand, the measures to improve the quality level of passenger ship safety education and the level of crew safety awareness are not being reflected. Accordingly, efforts such as developing a passenger ship safety manager training course and reflecting it in the crew safety training course are needed. Effort to legislate the Seafarers Act should be carried out at the same time.

Previous studies related to crew safety education reported that the effect of hands-on training compared to the existing injection-type training is statistically significant (Han, 2017). Further, a study on effective practical training methods for ship officer reported that practical training in the real environment of a ship is very important due to the nature of the maritime field (Kim et al., 2012).

As such, in terms of crew training, the importance of practical education as shown in [Fig. 3] is being emphasized, but the rest of the courses, except for the safety education for seafarers, are currently difficult to be carried out due to the lack of educational facilities and educational system in conducting such hands-on training. Thus, a method of improving the existing curriculum can be considered by using a virtual reality-based simulator and FMS (Full Mission Bridge System) as in the study of Cho and Lee(2016) and applying it to the current passenger ship education in order to develop and improve the passenger ship education system.

[Fig. 3]

Demonstration of Marine Evacuation System.

Moreover, there is a lack of practical emergency response training course for crew working on passenger ship to improve their ability to cope with emergencies.

For this, emergency manager education for passenger ship workers needs to be developed. The contents of the education should include basic understanding and situation evaluation in various possible emergency situations, passenger ship structure theory, manpower maintenance, optimization of resources on board, crowd psychology and response, passenger management, communication inside and outside the ship, maintenance and management of emergency response team, delegation and authority, response capability theory, and ship characteristics of passenger ship. By reflecting the IMO Model Course, which provides the existing standards for crew training, and OPITO's Major Emergency Management training course, which establishes the standards for training workers in offshore structure, a curriculum consisting of a theory course and role practice was proposed as shown in <Table 9> below.

<Table 9>

Proposed Passenger Ship Emergency Management program