The Nautical Institute appealed to the maritime industry to help it get a copy of its free publication The Navigator onboard every SOLAS vessel to encourage the professionalism of watchkeepers.
The international professional membership organisation is reacting to concerns from the industry that casualties and near misses from navigational errors are increasing, and that navigational competence needs to be continually updated.
“Finding ways to increase the competence and professionalism of officers of the watch is one of the main concerns of our members,” Chief Executive Mr Philip Wake told a gathering of senior industry figures. “One of the ways we are working towards this goal is through our free publication The Navigator, which appears three times a year, highlighting some of the most important issues for them.”
He added: “In the year and a half since we began production, the publication has become a real success, with students, cadets and young officers telling us how much they appreciate it. But the challenge, as always, is getting the message to those people – and onboard those vessels – that will benefit the most.
“Now, thanks to the generosity of IFAN, the International Foundation for Aids to Navigation, we are in a position to put a copy on the bridge of every SOLAS vessel – potentially up to 100,000 magazines. In that way, we hope that watchkeepers will sign up to the digital version.”
Support for the project has also come from the insurance world, which is eager to promote safety. Steamship Mutual P&I sponsored a one-off translation into Greek of the first edition. Other languages may follow.
Chris Adams, Head of Loss Prevention from manager Steamship Insurance Management Services Limited (SIMSL), commented: “It is self-evident that improved navigational competence will aid loss prevention in relation to the incidence of grounding and collision that is currently of concern, and consequently the Club is very pleased to assist with this campaign. Copies of issues are available to download from the SIMSL website, and Members are encouraged to forward copies of The Navigator to their vessels.”
As well as distributing copies of The Navigator, The Nautical Institute is asking for feedback about the vessels the paper copies have been delivered to. “We need this information in order to secure future funding to continue distributing the publication on this scale. Any information helps!” concluded Mr Wake.
Signing up to be a distributor is easy. Just click here and click on the ‘Distributor’ button and fill out the short form, indicating name, address, and how many copies are required.
All issues are available to read as free digital magazines online by clicking here and can also be downloaded as PDFs. In addition, they will soon be available as free apps for Android, Mac and Kindle.
