Fairway 30 - Royal Institute of Navigation

incident the emergency situation was badly handled by the ship’s crew and there are
plenty more examples of this problem occurring, including the 1990 Scandinavian Star
ferry disaster which claimed the lives of 158 people.
Although the Standard Maritime Communication Phrases (SMCP) were in place in 2002
when the tanker broke up off northern Spain, communication procedures broke down in
the heat of the crisis — contributing to its deadly effects. MarTEL can solve many of
these problems and make a difference to the maritime community. It will offer a new and
innovative approach to maritime English language testing across the European Union,
that is free of charge.
At first maritime English may not seem to be of great importance; however the issue
takes on greater significance when one considers the fact that 75% of seafarers presently
employed aboard merchants ships or at work in most European Ports do not come from
European Union countries, and have been educated in institutions outside of the Union
thus are not fluent or even able to speak English at all.
Merchant shipping is an international industry and accurate communication is vital. It is
widely accepted that English is the language of the sea, therefore a seafarer’s ability to
communicate to an acceptable standard of English is essential.
The MarTEL project, which was supported by the Leonardo da Vinci programme, has
created a standard form of maritime English at three different levels, complete with
teaching and online testing facilities. The standards are at Cadet, Officer and Senior
Officer Levels.
It has been developed by a consortium of highly experienced European partners, each
from a different but related background that complements the project perfectly. The
consortium includes maritime universities and training institutions as well as private
companies which have specific experience or expertise in the project’s area.
The project’s standards are being transformed into internationally recognized
qualifications and the first months in 2010 proved to be a productive period in evaluation
and piloting of the MarTEL, with the official launch of the standards to take place in
spring 2010 with expected improvements in safety at sea for European seafarers in the
near future.
More information about the MarTEL Maritime Tests of English Language are available
at www.martel.pro
Dr. Martin Ziarati, Director, Centre for Factories of the Future
Mr. Steven Carpenter, Journalist, Centre for Factories of the Future
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