Day of the Seafarer

Examination (External) Timetable for STCW 78 as amended - Reg II/I Reg. III/I (Operational Level).

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a debilitating impact on the global community. Not least of the consequences is the crisis this created for seafarers – the many men and women on the front line, working on-board ships, ensuring the flow of vital goods such as food, medicines, essential supplies and energy.

As many governments sought to protect their citizens from this contagious disease, ports and borders were closed. This created difficult working conditions for seafarers, as they were not allowed to travel across borders to take up crewing assignments. Others who had completed their Seafarer Employment Agreement (SEA) could not return home to their families. Instead, SEAs were being extended to facilitate continuity of trade.

The Maritime Authority of Jamaica (MAJ) has signed a memorandum of understanding with Kenya to enable reciprocal recognition of STCW certificates for seafarers for their nationals.

The agreement means that Jamaican seafarers will now be able to serve on Kenya-flagged vessels, and vice-versa.

The unique aspect of this agreement is in the establishment of a Joint Committee on Shipping and Maritime Affairs. The joint committee’s mandate is not limited to the review of the implementation of the undertaking but extends to conducting joint studies in the field of maritime transport and facilitating discussions of maritime safety, security, education and training.

“By deliberately promoting innovation and moving into new ways of doing business within the last decade, the Shipping Association of Jamaica (SAJ) was fortuitously prepared to face this ‘new normal’”, stated Charles Johnston, referring to the organisation’s effective response to COVID-19. Johnston was delivering his President’s Report at the 82nd Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Shipping Association of Jamaica held on Friday, November 27, at the SAJ’s headquarters in Newport West, Kingston.

The outgoing president of the SAJ did not seek a third consecutive term in office, and in handing over leadership to William Brown, group managing director of Lannaman & Morris (Shipping) Group of Companies, he said that “the changes we have made in recent years aptly position the association to meet the opportunities and the challenges that we will face in the coming years”.

Johnston, who previously served as president of the SAJ in 1993, noted that members distinguished themselves as “exemplars in manoeuvring the unprecedented socioeconomic reality brought on by the pandemic”. He commended members of the shipping community for their swift action to implement strategies to maintain cargo operations while keeping staff and customers safe.

The MAJ has been advised that the building will re-open on Monday August 31, for regular business. The Authority welcomes the return of walk-in customers to its offices.