1 The Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), at its
seventy-eighth session (12 to 21 May 2004), received reports by the
Secretary-General pursuant to regulation
I/7, paragraph 2 of the International Convention on Standards
of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW Convention), 1978, as amended. The reports
were in respect of those STCW Parties, whose information had not been
fully evaluated previously and in time for them to be considered by
MSC 77 (30 May to 8 June 2003). A list of the STCW Parties which had
communicated information that demonstrated that they were giving full
and complete effect to the relevant provisions of the Convention at
that session of the Committee, together with those which had previously
been confirmed by MSC 77 (30 May to 8 June 2003), MSC 76 (2 to 13
December 2002), MSC 75 (15 to 24 May 2002), the Committee's first
extraordinary session (27 and 28 November 2001), MSC 74 (30 May to
8 June 2001) and MSC 73 (27 November to 6 December 2000), was promulgated
by means of MSC/Circ.1092 dated 5 June 2003.
2 MSC 78 noted that, in preparing the reports
required by STCW regulation I/7,
paragraph 2, the Secretary-General had solicited and taken into account
the views of competent persons selected from the list established
pursuant to paragraph 5 of section A-I/7 of
the STCW Code and circulated as MSC/Circ.797, as revised from time
to time.
3 In accordance with STCW regulation I/7, paragraph 3, MSC 78 confirmed further STCW
Parties, additional to those listed in MSC/Circ.1092, which had communicated
information demonstrating that they were giving full and complete
effect to the relevant provisions of the STCW
Convention, as amended. The list at annex contains those
STCW Parties confirmed by the Committee at its seventy-third, seventy-fourth,
first extraordinary, seventy-fifth, seventy-sixth, seventy-seventh
and seventy-eighth sessions. The Committee noted that, as the
process of communicating and evaluating information is continuing,
further Parties may be added to the list at annex at subsequent meetings.
4 The Committee draws the attention of maritime
administrations, shipowners, ship operators and managers, ship masters
and other parties concerned to the following:
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.1 not all of the STCW Parties listed at annex
provide seafarer training, and some of those Parties listed may only
provide a limited range of training; and
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.2 the fact that a Party is listed in the annex
does not relieve those concerned of their obligations under the STCW
Convention.
5 As Parties are entitled to accept, in principle,
certificates issued by or on behalf of Parties identified in the list
at annex, and a position on that list is one of the necessary measures
used by many Administrations for the issue of endorsements in compliance
with STCW regulation I/10, the
attention of port State control officers is drawn to the fact that
this circular was issued on 20 May 2004 and, therefore, some seafarers
may, for practical reasons, not hold certificates with such endorsements.