Page 18: of Marine News Magazine (May 2014)

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INSIGHTS

How do you see the certifi cation process proceeding?

Do you see it as a simulation based assessment; will it involve a certain amount of verifi ed sea time or, a combination of the two?

As I said, there’s a lot of good in both the Nautical In- stitute and DNV systems. Specifi cally, we see that the NI’s sea-time-based model has produced generations of highly skilled DPOs. Alternatively, much can be said of DNV’s assessment-based and simulator-heavy system. We want to blend the two models into one that uses simulator train- ing, and a dedicated sea-time component; one that actu- ally requires the prospective DPO to have his hands on the chrome. While the OSVDPA system uses a sea-time require- ment, we also understand that experience does not necessar- ily equal competency. For this reason the OSVDPA system also includes classroom, simulator, and onboard assessments.

Through this blending of certifi cations systems, the OSVD-

PA believes that our system will not only provide high cali- ber DPOs, but will also pass muster with any vetting body.

OSVDPA held its fi rst board meeting only on March 12th, charting the course toward a new dynamic positioning operator (DPO) certifi cate specially de- signed for the offshore service vessel industry. What do you see as the timeline going forward?

Currently, the OSVDPA Board of Directors and the

Technical Advisory Council, a group of mariners and training providers that work within the DP industry, are crafting our certifi cation system. As previously stated, as the pieces of this system are fi nalized by the Board of Di- rectors, they will be released for comment. We are seek- ing this early input to ensure that each component of the

OSVDPA certifi cation system has a broad base of support before the system as a whole is fi nalized. We hope to com- plete this process by the end of the summer and start cer- tifying DPOs sometime in the third or fourth quarter of 2014. The OSVDPA welcomes comments and even criti- cism, so anyone interested in more specifi cs should con- tract me directly at: [email protected] 18 MN

May 2014

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