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Abstract Digital literacy and skills have become critical indicators of international competitiveness, gaining attention across all sectors. As digital transformation accelerates, the shipping industry, a pivotal center of global trade, faces new challenges. The advent of Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) further heightens the demand for enhanced digital literacy among seafarers. This study, guided by UNESCO’s Digital Literacy Global Framework (DLGF) and incorporating specific digital skill requirements for seafarers alongside the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) regulations, developed a tailored survey to assess the digital literacy of Chinese seafarers. Using an online survey, responses from 321 seafarers were collected, with participants selected based on professional experience across various maritime positions. The study examines the impact of factors such as education level, maritime experience, job position, and IT training on digital literacy levels. Results indicate that, overall, seafarers’ digital literacy is moderate, though those who participated in IT training show enhanced competencies. However, the study’s focus on Chinese seafarers may limit the generalizability of the findings to the broader, multinational seafaring population. Further research with more diverse samples is necessary to improve the applicability of the results to global seafaring contexts.

Due to the inherently dangerous environment in the maritime industry, it is an essential aspect for the human resources in the industry to have a high level of knowledge, skill and competence. Therefore, maritime education and training needs to be structured as a unique instructional design model that will ensure the acquisition of the required knowledge, skills, and competencies at the highest level. In this paper, we develop a new approach using an axiomatic design methodology extended with fuzzy set theory to define the suitable instructional design model for maritime education and training. Accordingly, we aimed to establish a decision support system for instructional designers at an institutional level and instructors at the individual level who focus on instructional design, development, and processes. The demonstration of the proposed approach is conducted for basic offshore safety induction and emergency training which is one of the compulsory training courses for people who already work or will work on offshore facilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU) developed the Global Maritime Professional Body of Knowledge (GMP-BoK) to address the current gap between the maritime industry expectations and the delivered maritime education and training (MET) programs.This paper briefly introduces the GMP-BoK and investigates the effectiveness of a new analogous instrument to efficiently implement the GMP-BoK via a user-friendly method developed at the Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT). The analogous instrument helps maritime universities and institutes to digitalize and develop an integrated curriculum framework based on robust evaluation and data analysis to develop strategic plans to improve seafarer capabilities.The paper suggests a protocol for mapping and analyzing maritime programs and courses, enabling educators to reliably perform gap analysis and identify repetitions within delivered courses and programs based on the GMP-BoK recommended practices. As a case study, the proposed protocol was validated utilizing the Maritime Engineering Technology Program (METP).The findings of this study showed that the examined METP includes 30% repetition and focuses on the cognitive and psychomotor methods of education, with little focus on the affective technique. The presented simple protocol can be applied by maritime universities and institutes seeking to evaluate their programs with regard to the GMP-BoK recommendations.

The paper figures out the peculiarities of the maritime learning system considering the actual challenges and requirements of both merchant and naval seafarer professions with risks of accidents, war or conflict zones, sea deriving mines, robbery, and piracy with their plethora of negative intricacies on seafarers life and impacting the life and wellbeing of their families, too. The article also focuses on reducing maritime strain and increasing marine profession attractivity in a complex environment with demanding positions regarding erratic pandemic situations or a global economy changing continuously. Not at last, computer-based or simulator training is considered beneficial for maritime education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The background of this article is an interest in analysing how assessment of professional skills is conducted in higher education contexts, drawing on video data from a course on maritime navigation. The empirical study focuses on a) how students working in a bridge simulator are able to display their knowledge about how to calculate the relation between rate of turn, turn rate and speed when navigating, and b) how their performance is evaluated. The results show that the dynamics of the assessment situation and the interaction between the student and the assessor are decisive in how well students manage the task. When analysing assessment of a professional skill as a concrete practice, knowledge emerges through joint work and cannot be ascribed to the student only. At one level, this may be seen as a threat to the validity of the testing situation, but from a different perspective, the display of knowledge-in-action is always responsive to what happens in the exercise of a professional skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus on challenges related to digital distance learning has become particularly relevant since educational institutions had to close due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Teaching related to operationally oriented professions, such as e.g., aviation and nautical represent educations that have faced extensive challenges. Education portfolios for such professions contain subjects that require transfer of competence based on experiential-based learning leading to in-demand knowledge, skills, attitudes, and sustainable understanding. Such operative-oriented competence is difficult to acquire through exclusively digital distance learning. This paper highlights challenges related to the operationally oriented topics of maritime education and training (MET). Traditionally, operationally oriented learning associated to MET has been carried out based on “on-scene” transfer of experience i.e., inexperienced sailors have gained experience by being guided by experienced sailors. Modern MET has evolved towards more passive ''off-scene'' learning activities. As a replacement for reduced ''on-scene'' learning activities, modern simulator and laboratory-based learning platforms have been developed within maritime and other operationally oriented educations. Learning platforms like these are probably the most challenging to find digital distance teaching substitutes for, regarding the Covid-19 pandemic closure. The purpose of this paper is to show whether the rapid change of learning context due to the pandemic closure affected the instant knowledge displayed in exam grades. In addition, the paper addresses possible challenges related to the loss of experience-oriented simulator and laboratory-based teaching activities, due to the pandemic closure.

Besides its obvious benefits, the Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) continues to develop as a sophisticated, complex system. With ever-growing features and the integration of external data and sources, it is nowadays normally considered as one among the compact elements forming a part of an even more complex Integrated Navigation System (INS). The ECDIS handling requires a certain level of technical knowledge and operational skills to be gained, besides the usual navigational background. In order to utilize the system efficiently and safely, the navigator has to obtain several levels of education. The Generic ECDIS Training (GT), as defined in the respective International Maritime Organization (IMO) Model Course, introduces the navigator with fundamental, required operational (however introductory) and theoretical knowledge. Apart from the GT, there is an optional, ECDIS manufacturer-approved Equipment Specific Training (EST). The latter represents a special type of training where the navigator improves its theoretical knowledge, understanding, and proficiency, together with competence demonstration on a specific approved ECDIS model. This paper elaborates the dynamics of worldwide regulations pertaining to the ECDIS Education and Training (EET) plan. The reference is given to training procedures in the Republic of Croatia, placing its educational framework in the broader context. Although it is of a non-mandatory nature, the EST is unofficially considered that way, and there is a stable and reasonable ground to consider the opinions and arguments of the navigators who prefer the EST. This is also supported by the fact that there is a large number of approved systems on the market. Apart from fulfilling the performance standards regulated by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), ECDIS models differ significantly regarding handling, interface, and interpretation of data and information, therefore biasing the required knowledge and the purposefulness of the system. The survey among navigational ranks was used to support the study and to relate the existing programs with the actual navigational situation. The motivation was the consideration of the current relationship between defined EET programs, their inequalities, and the actual user needs, referring to the systematisation of the fulfillment of the system as a basic navigation tool. The selected questions referred to the possession of ECDIS certificates and basic education and knowledge, and the navigational ranks’ opinions regarding the opportunity to enhance their knowledge during the EST. The latter considered lack of standardisation (including terminology), apart from different levels of education. As expected, the answers were not uniform, revealing differences in opinion as well as in basic system interpretation. The latter could have possible causes and relation to the particular education system in the first place. The current educational framework was discussed in terms of EET enhancements and the development of the navigation curricula. The study results have been presented and discussed systematically, leading to observations on the potential safety of navigation improvement.

The article presents factors influencing decision making by Dynamic Positioning Operator (DPO) and statistics of the DPOs behaviour in an emergency situation. Considering that supply operation is performed by a DP vessel at a distance comparable to its width of the hull to the installation, unit, or another vessel, the thruster failure may lead to a rapidly developing incident such as collision, pollution, or human injuries. Based on the IMO guidelines on formal safety assessment authors suggested a risk model of platform supply operation in dynamic positioning mode. It is shown that different approaches shall be applied for rule-making and active decision support applications. While rulemaking can be mainly based on retrospective incident-based data, decision support shall be developed on the basis of the dynamic state of the system. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the nature of the human element in the specific operation to build up proper technological and organizational barriers to prevent the forthcoming critical error.

Rapid changes in technologies and digitalization challenges caused by Industry 4.0 with the integration of the AI, machine learning algorithms, internet of things’ technologies, introduction of maritime autonomous surface ships and the development of digital shipping and logistics processes require proper education and training of specialists working in maritime industry to ensure safety and security of people, oceans, goods and environment. The shipping and logistic processes and operations, including the decision-making processes, on the global scale and on the scale of whole-organisation ecosystems become more dependent on the manipulation of data from different unstructured open sources and private data sets, increased amount of data stream from sensorial systems. The specialists working with automated systems need competences to use and interpret special data, engineering and analysis algorithms, and skills in using modelling tools of optimised solutions in shipping and logistics. Educational institutions have to be ready to present effective solutions to educate quickly adaptable specialists able to meet volatile labour market needs able to meet digitalization challenges. The case study of the Lithuanian Maritime Academy (LMA) presented in the paper is based on the use of an integrative approach and work integrated learning with the aim of enabling the educational environment to develop proper competencies of the specialists of shipping and logistics information systems.

SAFEMODE is an EU-funded project under the Horizon 2020 programme. The project brings together experience from the whole safety value chain including manufacturers, service providers, regulators, academia, and small-medium enterprises. This paper focuses on two core aspects the project is addressing: 1) the systematic collection, analysis, and categorization of Human Factors (HF) data from maritime and aviation safety events, and 2) the development of a Just Culture framework for maritime to encourage reporting of safety events and learning from them, and at which respondents feel they are treated in a fair and just manner when reporting. Learning from safety events is only possible if root causes of accidents and incidents are properly and systematically identified, analysed, and categorized, and reporters know that reporting is a “safe” and beneficial practice. The implementation of these two outcomes as part of the institutionalization strategy of the project includes recommendations to industry guidance and practice and proposals to the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Organizational structure of a ship changes under the influence of technological development. Processes on board a ship change as well. Major change refers to the role of the crew and consequently leads to the change of a method of determining competences. Equipment and working processes are becoming more complicated. They have a strong impact on the crew, i.e. on their competences. Competences prescribed in STCW Convention are not in accordance with the changed role of the crew in the processes on board. In STCW Convention, competences have been grouped according to the ship’s functions at different levels of responsibility. Competences have not been prescribed on the basis of the working processes within a system. Such a situation has led to the absence of the proper upgrade of needed competences. Based on the analysis of the functional organizational structure of a ship, the paper suggests more elaborated approach to defining competences. Such an approach links competences with equipment and working processes on board a ship.

As an island nation, the topic of training and sending out seafarers is a present challenge in Japan. Awareness activities for elementary, junior high, and senior high school students are essential for securing future mariner job candidates. In this study, we conducted maritime and marine educational methods using various procedures to raise awareness about previous maritime industries. We also brought in maritime specialists for junior high school students who will be continuing to maritime educational institutions, and conducted a comparative study of the results. In this study, we compared three types of educational content: lectures on leadership techniques, observational field trips, and hands-on lessons. The results showed that students had the highest interest in the hands-on lessons, followed by observational field trips, then finally the lectures. These results demonstrated that when creating class content for maritime and marine education, this should be adapted to the identity of the young people who are to receive that education.

The reason for modern Maritime Education and Training (MET) is to provide students with the necessary skills, and knowledge to be successful in the future outside of school. Futuristic teachers need to help students become life-long learners who are ready, organized, and equipped for new challenges. This paper tries to find position of Maritime English/IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases (ME/ IMO SMCPs) versus autonomous ships, to facilitate developments in a safe predictable environment and for ensuring safe navigation in the future, also in a mixed traffic situation where both manned and unmanned ships will be sailing on the same routes and ports. In its attempts, this paper tries to analyse the Obstacles and Disadvantages when no crew is required on board; this could jeopardize the statute of seafarers, and not every aspect of unmanned shipping is all roses. The work is much future oriented and requires challenging conventional concepts and operations.

This study interrogated the relevance of maritime education and training (MET) at the secondary level as an effective strategy for developing a sustainable supply of maritime labour and to mitigate current and future supply-demand imbalances arising from philosophical and sociological changes in society and in the maritime industry. Secondary education and its associated curriculum may be developed to form the underlying fundamentals of early awareness of maritime concepts targeted at youth of ages 11-18 years. To find answers to five research questions relating to this topic, a mixed method approach was applied in collecting and analysing data. The findings indicate strong evidence of the importance and relevance of MET at the secondary level. They further show this importance as it relates to an appreciation by the youth of the maritime industry as a domain for technical career options and to the creation of a sense of stewardship of the world’s oceans. Despite these positive findings, the study also finds that a number of key stakeholders are unaware of the potential and role of the maritime industry leading to a notable barrier to the implementation of MET at the secondary level and a lack of the necessary rigour and focus on promoting the industry to the youth via MET in secondary education. The study concludes by noting that there is a need for a focus on reforming the curricula of national secondary education system, where appropriate, as a first step towards the achieving the benefits of implementation of MET at the secondary level.

Ship collision is a form of maritime accident that possess great threats to transportation safety, economy, and human lives. Deck watchkeeping officers who oversee the safe navigation of the ships are responsible for preventing these collision accidents. Yet, most of the collisions are directly linked to the human errors onboard. One way to reduce these human errors is to train competent navigation officers for collision avoidance situations. However, training maritime students for complex collision situations is a challenging task. This study aims to examine if game‐based learning (GBL) can help students to perform better in collision avoidance situations by providing them the necessary skills to properly identify risks, goals, and cues in collision situations. With this purpose, we developed a digital game‐based decision‐making training containing eight collisions at sea scenarios. The developed tool was then presented to maritime engineering students as supplementary training. Thirty undergraduate maritime transportation engineering students participated in the study. A pretest/posttest control group design was adopted to investigate the effects of GBL. Tests are conducted with the use of a full mission bridge simulator. Observed changes in situational awareness, decision making, navigation, and collision avoidance performance of the participants were analyzed. The results showed that the intervention group had small but significant improvements in all dimensions compared to the control group. Overall, the game‐based decision‐making training helped students to reach a better understanding of the related course material. Required efforts and challenges to develop and incorporate such training into the existing maritime curriculum are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, we have seen a prolific increase in Polar Cruise Tourism, and thereby, more humans are able to visit the Polar Regions. As a result of this, the IMO implemented the Polar Code in 2017 to better prepare seafarers in polar waters in order to ensure maritime safety. Several researches have been carrying out work, after the Polar Code came into force, to evaluate its realization concerning the harsh climatic conditions of the Arctic and Antarctic. Based on the Polar Code requirements, the crew’s preparedness for evacuation and survival in negative temperatures due to remoteness, is somewhat ambiguous. Also, the use of safety equipment in the polar climate still is in the discussion, whether sufficient or not. This paper investigates the cruise crew’s preparedness for an evacuation in the Arctic and Antarctic, according to the Polar Code. Here, gaps in the existing Polar Code Basic and Advanced Training modules were identified with respect to evacuation needs. Questionnaires and interviews were used as the research method to evaluate the insights of the potential target audiences. The study findings were analyzed and reveal the Polar Code’s ineffectiveness with respect to educating the cruise crew for an evacuation, along with the lack of requirement to passenger survival training. This study recommends specific evacuation training for all the cruise crew members based on the actual needs and, subsequently, the need for improvement in the Polar Code training modules. It also proposes survival training modules for cruise passengers to be developed, for evacuation of a vessel in the Arctic and Antarctic.

This study was aimed to investigate the English language needs of Indonesian Marine Pilots. Using a qualitative descriptive method of research, this study involved 14 Indonesian marine pilots and 2 Maritime English teachers. An open-ended questionnaire, interviews, and observations during a pilotage simulation were used to collect data. In addition to that, the result of the Marlins English Test for Seafarers was also used to support the data analysis. This study revealed that to conduct safe and effective pilotage services, the marine pilots need the following language skills: giving advice and giving order, asking and giving information (exchanging information), and using the Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP). This study also showed that the marine pilots need improvements in their linguistic competence. They have problems in grammar or sentence structure, vocabulary, and pronunciation. Realizing their shortcomings, the Indonesian marine pilots want to improve their English competence, especially their speaking skills in conducting interpersonal conversations as well as transactional conversations. They also want to improve their writing skill. The findings indicate that in the teaching of Maritime English for marine pilots, it is important to provide learners with meaningful learning experience by using roleplays and simulations and address the communicative competence comprehensively.

This year the 8th of December was very important date for Gdynia Maritime University. It was the 100th anniversary of the ceremonial opening of the Maritime School in Tczew and the flag-raising of the Polish Merchant Navy on the school building. Over the course of the century, the name and location of the University has changed, but one thing that has remained unchanged to this day is the serving of the Polish sea. 2020 is also a special year for all the world affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Unfortunately, the restrictions in force introduced changes to the program on the 100th Anniversary of GMU. In the changed formula, the celebrations on December 8, was held according to the modified plan adopted by the University.

The aim of this article is to consider a naval officer as a leading personality from a strategic point of view in respect of the challenges and opportunities of professional development, by characterizing the needs and changes of the naval officers’ profession and discussing the transition period for the training of Lithuanian naval officers. The main methods applied to the research are scientific literature analysis, document analysis, interpretation, and synthesis. The basic methodological principles of the research are as follows: humanism, personalism, and cognitive psychology. The type of the research is a descriptive study. The changes, such as the absence of a clear border between the front line of action and the back area, expression of war as a changing and, at the same time, constant process, as well as changes in the social environment of the officer’s profession, when the challenges are not always purely physically military in nature but also diplomatic and psychological, require a high level of military training of naval officers. Taking into account the transition period for the training of Lithuanian naval officers at non-foreign military academies, their professional training should be strengthened by collaboration with the Alliance’s partners, by updating existing training programs and coordinating them with Western military academies, which have a long tradition of training naval officers depending on the relevant geopolitical challenges and potential threats, as well as technological and social changes.

This paper relates to comparison of different model of radar training in maritime universities/academies in world shipping.

Autonomous merchant shipping has become a topic of discussions and studies as the available technology enables it to become a possible alternative to conventional ships manned with seafarers. The present study reviews the results of a survey conducted worldwide amongst the students of maritime universities. The students were asked about their understanding of autonomous merchant ships and an attitude towards them. The study finds that the vast majority of interviewees claims to have an average or below average knowledge of the topic, and perceive automation as a factor increasing safety at sea, while threatening seafaring jobs. The results suggest that the topic of autonomous shipping should be more touched upon in curriculums of maritime universities, as the students appear to have a limited understanding of what can potentially become a future of their prospective occupation.

One consequence of the declining ice cover in the Arctic is increased areas of open seas. These new open sea areas lead to some challenging aspects related to ship stability. Longer fetch lengths, associated with build-up of larger waves followed by increased conditions for sea spray icing on vessels is one aspect. Open seas in combination with cold atmospheric temperatures is a prerequisite for polar low pressures to occur. Polar lows may represent an additional aspect of increased icing on vessels by heavy snow in addition to extensive sea spray ice accretion. Over the last decades, different formulas for prediction of sea spray ice accretion rate on ships were developed to form basis for ice accretion warnings. Some of these formulas seem to have certain limitations and appear to be conservative. Important limitations of some formulas are considerations regarding heat flux, relationship between wind and waves, and ice accretion related to Polar lows. This paper will take a closer look at the accuracy and the realism of different ice accretion formulas and, related to this aspect, we will also discuss whether ship officer candidates receive sufficient maritime education and training (MET) related to realistic ice accretion and ship icing aspects.

The article addresses the problem of modern maritime education and training in the perspective of computer technologies development, especially the internet. Computer-based training is being a standard for the maritime industry for almost 25 years, but there is still no unified approach on the use of this teaching method in MET. Authors suggest to open a conversation on harmonization of standards regarding CBT in the industry and wider implementation of this teaching method into STCW training process via a blended learning approach, where theoretical part of the course may be taken online, while the practical part is taken in the training facility.

The problem of “reshaping” the fundamental education of navigators in the conditions of intensive development of modern computer mathematics, intelligent technologies and high-performance computing is considered. The main attention is paid to the formation of the information-educational environment that provides intellectual support for the trainee. Examples of the use of intelligent technologies that contribute to the organization of the learning process as a creative process of building knowledge are presented.

This paper presents a research in the field of maritime training and education for Search and Rescue (SAR) migrants at sea. This research is oriented to more effective method based on team training for SAR Operations utilizing ship simulation and process of Operational Planning. The training which conducts in cabinets and ship simulators at the Military Academy provides the best results in the optimal application of onboard and emergency/SAR procedures. The training method is in line with all conventions of the International Maritime Organization and models of maritime training courses. The proposed training method can be developed and applied in all schools and centers where seafarers and other Maritime Search and Rescue personnel are trained.

Over the past 25 years, the role of simulators has increased dramatically within Dutch Maritime Education and Training (MET) in parallel with new educational insights like competency-based learning. Research demonstrated that the learning efficiency for certain competences is higher in the simulator instead of that made during sea time. Relevant trends and developments that will affect MET in the future relate to maritime innovations, safety, simulator developments, human factors and didactic insights. Both sea time and simulator training contribute to the development of competencies, each having specific benefits and drawbacks. Within a balanced training program the optimal combination of on board experience, and simulator practice with online and offline learning, leads to an effective development of competences.

This study scrutinizes how a simulated scenario framed as a competition is discussed in a post-simulation debriefing, where students reflect on game-like play in the context of professional education. This study draws on Erwin Goffman's (1974/86) analytical concept of framing. In particular, the analysis focuses on the instructor's and students' authentic conversations during a debriefing session and explores how these conversations open up negotiations of professional and playful learning. The research design is ethnographically informed and based on observations, field notes, and 34 h of video data from a navigation course in which 35 bachelor's students from a Norwegian university participated. Our analytical findings reveal that the activity undergoes continuous negotiation between two framings: professional and competitive. In professional framing, students are held accountable for adhering to professional rules, regulations, and norms of "good seamanship." In the competition framing, students were competing to win the race. Moreover, as the competition mode intensified, students prioritized winning the race over adhering to the rules and regulations of the profession. Consequently, the findings illustrate how a competition framing within a professional education context has engaged the students, letting them demonstrate their knowledge and skills in a playful manner. Furthermore, the findings emphasize the need for an additional exploration of the opportunities and challenges of competition on professional decision making and ethical conduct in settings where simulation-based learning is utilized for training, particularly in domains that train students in high safety standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper shows the results of the research conducted in order to analyse the differences in understanding the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea among the students in countries practising two different systems of education for seafarers: the so-called “sandwich system” and the continuing system. Methods of learning as well as their effect on understanding the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea and students’ opinions on efficient methods of learning have also been analysed. Furthermore, the problems the teachers are facing have been identified. Measures for the improvement of the system have been proposed as well.

In Maritime Education and Training (MET) where students are trained for professions with high standards of safety, the use of simulators is taken to provide opportunities for safe and cost-effective training. Although the use of simulators for training and certifying technical proficiency and so-called non-technical skills is well established and regulated by international standards, previous research suggests that simulator-based assessment has been poorly implemented in the MET system. Now the challenge is to contribute with knowledge about how to conduct consistent, unbiased, and transparent assessments of navigational skills and competencies. However, in current research it is not evident how training of non-technical skills in simulated environments should be assessed. The aim of this study is to explore the pedagogical challenges instructors face when assessing students’ navigational skills and competencies in a simulated environment. The study is based on video-recorded data from the certification part in a navigation course for second year master mariner students. A situated approach to cognition and learning is employed to analyze the co-construction of assessment in the simulated exercises by means of instructors’ questions and students’ answers. Results reveal an assessment practice where the students are still developing their navigational skills with instructional support from examiners whilst being certified on using Radar equipment in accordance to COLREG.

This study proposes the use of generative adversarial networks (GANs) to solve two crucial problems in the unmanned ship navigation: insufficient training data for neural networks and convergence of optimal actions under discrete conditions. To achieve smart collision avoidance of unmanned ships in various sea environments, first, this study proposes a collision avoidance decision model based on a deep reinforcement learning method. Then, it utilizes GANs to generate enough realistic image training sets to train the decision model. According to generative network learning, the conditional probability distribution of ship maneuvers is learnt (action units). Subsequently, the decision system can select a reasonable action to avoid the obstacles due to the discrete responses of the generated model to different actions and achieve the effect of intelligent collision avoidance. The experimental results showed that the generated target ship image set can be used as the training set of decision neural networks. Further, a theoretical reference to optimize the optimal convergence of discrete actions is provided.

Training of seafarers is traditionally focusing merely on the ‘occupational’ aspect. Competent seafarers have always been defined as people who have good professional, navigational or engineering skills. However, practice shows that these skills alone are often not enough to solve complex situations at sea. This article attempts to look at life and work at sea as a multidimensional phenomenon. The personal reaction to the social field challenges is unique for every person because of his ideas, feelings, behaviour, needs, moral values and physical attributes. The aim of the presented article is to describe a theoretical research model, which reflects the interaction of young seafarers and a social space on board a ship, and to determine the adaptation and well-being support measures used by young seafarers on board.

The following article presents a comparative analysis of the operation of Polish ports in the Tri-City as well as the characteristics of the most prosperous Chinese ports. The comparison of such unreasonably different size ports aims at directing Polish ports to development opportunities in order to achieve trans-shipment and development growth. The change in how cargo management in an area remote from the port affects the work of the city and the port itself may suggest changes in the management of the current situation.

Translators and interpreters need to rewrite or retell the essence of a message to be conveyed in a foreign language through cognitive grammar, implicatures, connotations and sometimes standardized phrases to bring out the full and true meaning in the translated work. The aim of this paper is to acquaint with the specificity of the translator's workshop, familiarization with the working framework for translations of implied meaning, theories of translation and elementary principles to be followed, so that, the reference meaning of the communicated content could impart pragmatic meaning. In view of the constraints of literal translation, special attention is given to linguistic aspects of pragmatics with regard to the conveyance of context sensitivity, precision, intentionality of the communicating sender, influence of the translator’s linguistic intuition and approach, and communicating receiver. Different approaches to translations and possible limitations are exemplified and explained with the use of Polish and English equivalents adopted from standard, maritime and legalese language.

Maritime education and training (MET) has a long tradition of using simulator training to develop competent seafarers and relevant seafaring skills. In a safety critical domain like maritime industry, simulators provide opportunities to acquire technical, procedural and operational skills without the risks and expense associated with on-the-job training. In such training, computer-generated simulations and simulators with higher realism are inferred to better training outcomes. This realism, or the extent to which simulators replicate the experience of a real work environment, is referred to as the “fidelity” of a simulator. As the simulation technology develops, the maritime industry adapts to more advanced, higher fidelity simulators. However, the cost of a simulator generally increases with increasing fidelity, and thus practical and economic constraints must be considered. In this paper, we investigated two types of simulators on perceived skill development of the students at engine room simulation training. We compared the self-efficacy levels of 11 second year marine engineering students and their perceived skill development between two different fidelity engine room simulators. The result suggests that students have higher motivation and prefer to train with immersive training simulators compared to the traditional training. This article aims to add to existing knowledge on the influence of fidelity of simulators in training effectiveness in maritime education and training.

One of the primary factors that affect the safe maritime navigation is the insufficient experience and skill of an apprentice officer, which may be improved using simulation-based training by ensuring operational efficiency. This study aims to determine appropriate factors for achieving effective and intensive simulation-based training of apprentice officers and present the guidelines for such a training scheme. Initially, a marine traffic risk model, which interprets and accurately measures the risk of collision with other vessels, is analyzed to derive the most influential factors in safe navigation. Subsequently, simulation experiments are conducted by applying machine learning to verify the required safe navigation factors for effectively training the apprentice officers. As a result of the above analysis, it was confirmed that the factor affecting safe maritime navigation was the distance from other vessels. Finally, the differences between these distances in the simulations are analyzed for both the apprentice officers and the experienced officers, and the guidelines corresponding to both these cases are presented. This study has the limitation because of the difference between the ship maneuver simulation and the actual ship navigation. This can be resolved based on the results of this study, in combination with the actual navigation data.

Anchoring exercises on a training ship have a significant effect on the acquisition of ship handling skills. Furthermore, such training is also effective for the development of critical thinking and problem solving. The authors investigated this topic to develop effective training methods for anchoring exercises. We created a rubric for anchor training, and the instructor evaluated trainees based on the rubric items. These rubrics were effective for judging trainee performance. The effect of dialogue in group work was shown by comments from instructors and the trainees. Group presentations were also evaluated via student comments. After conducting the anchoring training in native language in the spring, the same exercise was conducted in English in the fall. Only English instructions were offered during the training exercise in the first year (2016). In the second year (2017), students took a brief e-learning course in English about anchoring before attempting the second exercise in English. According to instructor evaluations, the second session in 2017 saw a much greater improvement in trainee performance than did the second session in 2016. English practice in the e-learning course allowed students to focus more on practising the techniques they had learned previously when performing the second training exercise in English.

Over the recent years, ship traffic in the polar areas has increased. There is reason to believe that this traffic, and especially the cruise traffic, will increase further as the ice retracts towards the poles. There is also reason to believe that with the continued focus and exposure of the Polar Region, the cruise tourism to the region will grow. The increased presence in the polar areas will create positive repercussions for several actors, both on sea and land. There will, however, also be challenges associated with the growing presence in the polar areas. Vessels will be operating at long distances to other vessels and land infrastructures. These vessels will also be operating in climate and conditions that will put extra pressure on both vessel and crew. These challenges need to be solved in order for the ship industry to operate safely in the Polar Region. To ensure that companies operating in these areas identify and manage these challenges, the International Maritime Organization (IMO) developed the Polar Code (2017) with the intent of increasing the safety for vessels operating in polar waters, and to reduce the impact on humans and environment in this remote, vulnerable and harsh area. This code defines a number of requirements, with which the vessels should operate in accordance with. In this paper, we reveal which challenges the vessel and its crew need to deal with when navigating in polar waters. The challenges will be analysed and assessed through the use of a preliminary qualitative risk analysis to determine the potential hazards the vessel is exposed to under operations in polar waters, and to find out what level of risk the different hazards represents for the vessel and its crew. The main objective of the paper is to find out how the risk levels can be reduced, with particular focus on the use of simulator training as a risk reducing measure. The final goal is to measure the risk towards acceptance criteria, which have been determined prior to conducting the analysis.

The article focuses on the issues of maritime education and training of young adults as a tool of public diplomacy. In the first part, the authors present a contemporary approach to the tools and tasks of public diplomacy used for strengthening the image of the state.

Development of the specialists’ professional competence can be achieved both directly during games and a post-game analysis. Since the continuing education system must respond quickly to changes in external and internal conditions it is necessary to adapt it to new conditions. This is possible when scientific and pedagogical staff of the university is ready to the project activity. In this regard the problem of teachers training for such activities is actual one. The most effective methods of such preparedness development are game methods and, in particular, business and simulation games. There are situations of "conflict" of interest during games as in real life and teachers of different subjects must search a compromise that satisfies basic learning goals. During the game, participants consider many variants for solving certain project tasks, methods of training schemes designing. It is very important in the sphere of maritime specialists training. Participants are often faced with a lack of methodological training that is an important motivating factor for self-development and new knowledge. Business and simulations games have an aim to develop readiness of teachers to design educational systems. The paper discusses the methodological approaches to the development of conceptual designs of professional business/simulation games for seafarers and managers of maritime transport and describes a business/simulation game scenario “Ensuring the safety of maritime cargo transportation”. The problems of the game organization, a results analysis and developing measures to improve the system of training and self-improvement plans of participants are considered.

The first ever attempt at fully autonomous dock-to-dock operation has been tested and demonstrated successfully at the end of 2018. The revolutionary shift is feared to have a negative impact on the safety of navigation and the getting of real-time situation awareness. Especially, the centralized context onboard could be changed to a distributed context. In navigation safety domain, monitoring, control, assessment of dangerous situations, support of operators of decision-making support system should be implemented in real time. In the context of autonomous ships, decision-making processes will play an important role under such ocean autonomy, therefore the same technologies should consist of adequate system intelligence. At the same time, situation awareness is the key element of the decision-making processes. Although there is substantial research on situation awareness measurement techniques, they are not suitable to directly execute quantitative processing for the situation awareness of autonomous ships navigation. Hence, a novel quantitative model of situation awareness is firstly proposed based on the system safety control structure of remotely controlled vessel. The data source is greatly limited, but the main result still indicates that the probability of operator lose adequate situation awareness of the autonomous ship is significantly higher than the conventional ship. Finally, the paper provides a probabilistic theory and model for high-level abstractions of situation awareness to guide future evaluation of the navigation safety of autonomous ships.

Marine oil spill response operation requires extensive vessel manoeuvring and navigation skills. At-sea oil containment and recovery includes both single vessel and multi-vessel operations. Towing long oil containment booms, several hundreds of metres in length, is a challenge in itself. Boom deployment and towing in multi-vessel configurations is an added challenge that requires precise coordination and control of the vessels. Efficient communication, as a prerequisite for shared situational awareness, is needed in order to execute the response tasks effectively. In order to gain and maintain adequate maritime skills, practical training is needed. Field exercises are the most effective way of learning, but especially the related vessel operations are resource-intensive and costly. Field exercises may also be affected by environmental limitations such as high sea-state or other adverse weather conditions. In Finland, the seasonal ice-coverage also limits the training period to summer seasons as regards the vessel operations of the Fire and Rescue Services. In addition, the sensitiveness of the marine environment restricts the use of real oil or other target substances. This paper examines, whether maritime simulator training can offer a complementary method to overcome the training challenges related to the field exercises. The objective is to assess the efficiency and the learning impact of simulator training, and the specific skills that can be trained most effectively in simulators. This paper provides an overview of learning results from two oil spill response pilot courses, in which maritime navigational bridge simulators together with an oil recovery simulator were used. The courses were targeted at Fire and Rescue Services responsible for near shore oil spill response in Finland. The competence levels of the participants were surveyed before and after the course in order to measure potential shifts in competencies. In addition to the quantitative analysis, the efficiency of the simulator training was evaluated qualitatively through feedback from the participants. The results indicate that simulator training is a valid and effective method for developing marine oil spill response competencies that complements traditional exercise formats. Simulator training provides a safe environment for assessing various oil containment and recovery tactics. One of the main benefits of the simulator training was found to be the immediate feedback the spill modelling software provides on the oil spill behaviour as a reaction to the response measures.

Simulator-based training assumes a very important role in the maritime domain, particularly in the education of Officers Of the Watch (OOW). In the Portuguese Navy, most of the cadet’s skills as future OOW rely on the success of this training. Beyond theory and technical training, the development of non-technical skills is a key factor for obtaining officers capable of identifying and solving problems. To optimize the training and development of non-technical skills, using the Portuguese Naval Academy Simulator, a previously designed Behavioral Marker System model was further assessed. The revised model, which comprises new parameters such as the effectiveness of the task, was validated through a set of simulated sessions, where 11 instructors and 48 students participated. After each session, data was collected with questionnaires and focus group discussion, focusing on the quality and usability of the model and on the design of the scenario. The results show that the revised model, positively addresses the limitations found on the previous version, and it has received encouraging feedback from both instructors and cadets. This new model is now under implementation in all the Naval Academy course programs, and future research aims to digitalize the behavior markers.

Over the past 25 years, the role of simulators has increased dramatically within Dutch Maritime Education and Training (MET) in parallel with new educational insights like competency-based learning. Research demonstrated that the learning efficiency for certain competences is higher in the simulator instead of that made during sea time. Relevant trends and developments that will affect MET in the future relate to maritime innovations, safety, simulator developments, human factors and didactic insights. Both sea time and simulator training contribute to the development of competencies, each having specific benefits and drawbacks. Within a balanced training program the optimal combination of on board experience, and simulator practice with online and offline learning, leads to an effective development of competences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study determined the level of assessment of subjects with CBT (Computer-Based-Training) application among marine engineering students of John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University-Molo, Iloilo City. The participants in this study were the randomly selected one hundred and thirty-three (133) marine engineering students of JBLFMU-Molo, Iloilo City who had taken subjects with CBTs. The present study employed quantitative-qualitative research design by Creswell (2013). Results reveal the following: (1) review with CBT or CBTR review is the mostly utilized subject because this is needed in the marine engineering licensure examinations; (2) level of assessment of CBTs is excellent; (3) no significant differences in the assessment of CBTs were found out among marine engineering students as classified according to different variables such as academic performance, students’ classification, type of students, and section.