Yards Moving Forward - GL Group

Drills, Drills, Drills!
As early as June, IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos predicted that 2006 would
be a bad year for ship safety. A number of tragic accidents have undermined the vast
improvements made in recent years by passenger ferry operators.
nonstop had the opportunity to talk to Gerasimos
Strintzis, Managing Director of Hellenic Seaways, during the
POSIDONIA, about optimizing the safety standards on passenger
vessels. His recommendations are crystal clear:
“Training, training and more training is the best remedy
against the consequences of fire, flooding and navigational
errors.” A well-trained crew can make all the difference in
ensuring that the emergency is resolved and the passengers
come to no harm.
“The safety standards required on passenger vessels are
well regulated by the ISM Code and SOLAS. Hellenic Seaways
is constantly conducting exercises. At least once a week, there
is a drill on board the 31 passenger vessels in our fleet. Each
drill focuses on a different emergency, because the blind repetition
of a single scenario does not improve the competence
of the crew; on the contrary, it prevents the detection of pos-
30 nonstop 3/2006
sible shortcomings in other areas. All drills are conducted
under realistic conditions. However, the passengers on board
our modern fleet are blissfully unaware of the stringent training
and requirements the crews have to fulfil.”
Gerasimos Strintzis, who has turned Hellenic Seaways into
the leading coastal ferry operator in Greece, adds that a certificate
for fire-fighting and life-saving appliances is required from
each seaman. “When a crew member changes to another ship,
we take great care in ensuring that his place is filled by a person
with the same qualifications in maritime safety.”
Part of the training concentrates on giving the crew the necessary
confidence in dealing with emergencies. “A crew member
who is inadequately trained in fire fighting will hardly be
enthusiastic about following orders during a real fire.” The drill
produces the confidence that the fire fighting equipment actually
works. A crew member who knows how to operate in fire