If the certificates are more diluted one must start putting restrictions on trade area, I would not have felt safe going off watch, in midwinter north sea with 40 knot winds and 7 meters significant wave height 10 meters from the drilling platform, and the person who replaces me got the dp certificate on a 100 ton crewboat.
One can solve it with that one must have 30 days familiarization on all new types of vessels working on.
[QUOTE=Aaron Smith;133743]Long time listener, first time caller here. As indicated by my profile, my name is Aaron Smith and I am the Executive Director of the OSVDPA.
I just wanted to briefly post here to thank everyone in their interest in the Authority and its work. One of our main goals at OSVDPA is to provide a responsive and user friendly alternative to existing DPO certification systems. Thus, my email is included on my profile, please feel free to contact me at any time with questions, concerns, comments, or criticism. We understand that our DPO certification system will only be successful if it supported by the mariner, thus, we welcome your comments and will do our best to ensure your concerns are answered.
First, I want to assure everyone that the OSVDPA has no intentions of degrading safety or lessening the standards of DPO certification. As many above have noted, our system will only be useful if it accepted by the oil majors, and they will not accept anything that does not meet or exceed the level of competency set by the Nautical Institute. Thus, it does us no favors to lay out a system that isn’t at least as rigorous as the NI system.
But we don’t want to just meet the NI standard, we aim to improve upon it. One of the ways we intend to improve upon the NI’s system is by requiring both experience (sea-time) and the passing of assessments (think of this as a blending of the NI and DNV schemes). In our mind, experience is of vital importance, but experience does not automatically equal competency (I’m sure many of you can think of examples of this fact). Over the course of the last year, we have discussed this philosophy with the oil majors, industry associations, and the Coast Guard and they are in general agreement that a mix of experience and assessments are necessary.
That said, we will prove a pathway toward DPO certification for those who have been excluded from the NI scheme. In our mind, there are hundreds of mariners that use DP technology on a daily basis that because of the vessel they serve on or the paper in their binders cannot access a NI DPO certificate. Such requirements do the mariners no favor and are doing nothing to improve safety in our industry. Whether the NI likes it or not, these mariners will continue to operate DP systems, as such, we believe we must include them in our system to ensure they receive proper training and can be certified as safe operators of DP systems.
Second, I want to very clearly state, the OSVDPA will not create employment restrictions. We are here to provide an option for mariners, As an option (as opposed to a monopoly), we have to be attractive to mariners. I don’t need to tell anyone on this forum that mariners hate fences and career dead ends. Considering this fact, building fences would lessen our attractiveness and our ability to succeed as a certification system. For this reason, the informal working group that created the OSVDPA started to have conversations with the NI and DNV about reciprocal recognition of each others certificates last summer. These conversations are continuing and will continue until the OSVDPA is able to ensure that every OSVDPA certificate holder is able to take that certificate and work anywhere their license credential allows them to work.
I promised you I’d be short, so I’ll only make one more point. We are not OMSA. The OSVDPA has a separate Board of Directors, By-Laws, and is registered under different Articles of Incorporation with the Louisiana Secretary of State. Moreover, our By-Laws require that our Board of Directors must have representatives of training providers on the Board at all times.
Again, thank you for your time and your feedback. Please let me know if you have any questions or comments, and I look forward to working with you.
Sincerely,
Aaron Smith[/QUOTE]
OK, fair enough.
How does your scheme not cheapen my NI certificate that I earned almost 14 years ago? I get the whole problem of 100ton guys not being able to get a cert, but I’m not in love with the idea of ABs, etc. getting some sort of certification if they can’t drive the boat if the system goes sideways.
Stand by, I think CAPS LOCK and a pointy stick is inbound!
My only concern has been the talk of letting AB’s attain a DP license like the used to be able to do with the NI. I’m sorry but there is to much at risk to let somebody with out an officers license be in control of a vessel when in DP mode.
I want guys with 100 ton license and those on unclassed boats getting a license. At the end of the day it’s the same thing as what the CG gives us. A license just means that person is qualified to do something, if they are actually capable of doing the job is something else and will always be.
The NI makes it money from the classes. Part of your tuition goes to the NI. I don’t know if its in the form of a yearly check so the training center can say they are certified or every class a portion gets sent off.
[QUOTE=Bayrunner;133759]Stand by, I think CAPS LOCK and a pointy stick is inbound![/QUOTE]
I will just say that I have offered my comments already this subject and will maintain the cap lock button in an unpressed state…
for now…
we when go down for lunch the cooks come up and run the consoles, so at least with this new system they can can have a ticket
Nice to know that hole is the NI system had been plugged.
That’s it!? Come on CC, this is a perfect fight for your dog.
[QUOTE=RubberRhib888;133765]That’s it!? Come on CC, this is a perfect fight for your dog.[/QUOTE]
right now my dogs are tired and sore. Imma gonna put them up on my coffee table and pour me a shot of ol Rye!
I believe more people are unable to obtain an NI certificate because of time served on unclassed vessels than being restricted because of having a 100 ton license. The NI is actually still giving certs to 100 ton Captains without the proper stcw.
[QUOTE=coldduck;133769]I believe more people are unable to obtain an NI certificate because of time served on unclassed vessels than being restricted because of having a 100 ton license. The NI is actually still giving certs to 100 ton Captains without the proper stcw.[/QUOTE]
You know the funny thing about all this? These 100 ton boats would be more than 100 ton in most cases and the special OMSA DP certification not even needed if it were not for the USCG and GOM’s bastardized tonnage scheme. The entire thing is a joke on the USA’s corrupt classification and licensing system which no one else in the world even bothers to try and understand.
I’ve been a DPO since 1999 and I don’t see any advantage to OMSA handling my renewals in the future. DPO stock will go down.
It’s a simple question of the haves versus the have nots.
If you have a NI certificate, then to hell with everybody else.
If you don’t have it, and perhaps cannot get the right kind of post 2012 DP seatime, then you want an alternative similar to what the pre-2012 guys got.
[QUOTE=captaint76;133748]Aaron,
Thank you for posting to give us an idea about who you and OSVDPA are. When should ex expect to have a solid scheme in place and know the requirements?
Captaint76[/QUOTE]
Thank you again for the interest. Expect to see the system completed and published in the third quarter of this year. Again, please send any comments or questions my way.
The 100 ton thing is a non issue for a NI DP cert. In the current scheme, mariners with limited national endorsements can still get their NI cert so long as their seatime was DP class 1,2 or 3.
You’re right, and it has hurt the mariner more than it has helped. I was able to gain a lot of “big” boat experience on a "small " boat license though.
Do the oil companies specify two licensed officers on watch, or just two DPO’s? Of course you have a licensed officer regardless, but do they specify both be licensed? Obviously this isn’t the case on every boat on every charter but when so, what is specified for the two watchstanders more often than not?
[QUOTE=coldduck;133786]You’re right, and it has hurt the mariner more than it has helped. I was able to gain a lot of “big” boat experience on a "small " boat license though.[/QUOTE]
At least when I am at home fishing with my Mercury outboards with joystick with Skyhook control ( DP 0) I can now get DP seatime for that so I will get my ticket way faster, thankyou OSVOA
and my captain that will sign my logbook did his time on a proper DP system, the one on his Volvo Penta powered fishing boat, thats much more sophisticated than the Mercury one because they actually call it a Dynamic Positioning System.
BP requires two licensed officers with licenses appropriate for the vessel. No ABs or lesser level license is accepted.
a certain oil major told a PSV the other day that was scheduled to come out to us to go out regardless this was after the captain told them the DP system is not working and there is no body on board with a DP ticket.
He sent us the email…, our jaws dropped
[QUOTE=dredgeboater;133783]The 100 ton thing is a non issue for a NI DP cert. In the current scheme, mariners with limited national endorsements can still get their NI cert so long as their seatime was DP class 1,2 or 3.[/QUOTE]
Actually Since January 1, 2012 most (not all) mariners with the 100t license do NOT meet the STCW minimum to enter into the NI training scheme. Without an exemption from the NI these mariners cannot get a NI certification no matter what class vessel they work on.
OSVDPA is trying to work with mariners and NI to certify those who are not currently recognized by the NI.