International Journal

on Marine Navigation

and Safety of Sea Transportation

Volume 3

Number 3

September 2009

339

1 INTRODUCTION

For many years there have been numerous efforts

undertaken to standardize the language used for

communication at sea between ships in different sit-

uations, between ships and VTS shore stations or be-

tween ships and helicopters in case of rescue opera-

tions.

These efforts were considerably speeded up by

various disasters at sea where the lack of effective

communication was evident like in the case of the

“Scandinavian Star” or the “Estonia” where com-

mands for evacuation were given in different nation-

al languages, which took a long time and resulted in

heavy loss of life.

The early attempts were made by prof. Peter

Strevens from Wolfson College, Cambridge and

Captain Fred Weeks from Plymouth Polytechnic

who developed message markers and published

“Seaspeak” and “Wavelengths”. Both handbooks

were introduced and used in nautical colleges and

maritime universities in different parts of the world.

At the same time the Canadian Coast Guard Col-

lege in Nova Scotia started work on the Anglosea

project and soon three video tapes covering St. Law-

rence Seaway, The English Channel and Ship Repair

in La Spezia were produced. They helped not only in

practical training of the students by providing exam-

ples of communication on board ship in different

parts of the world but also in raising the awareness

of the importance of clear and unambiguous com-

munication for the safety of the vessel, her crew and

her cargo.

Way back in 1973, the IMO Maritime Safety

Committee, at its twenty-seventh session, agreed

that where language difficulties arise a common lan-

guage should be used for navigational purposes and

that language should be English. As we could see

from numerous examples of disasters at sea, it was

not always the case in practice.

In consequence of the IMO Maritime Safety

Committee’s decision, the Standard Marine Naviga-

tional Vocabulary was developed. It was adopted in

1977 and after being used in nautical colleges and

maritime universities it was revised and amended in

1985.

The amended version was widely used both in

maritime education and training institutions ashore

and on board ships.

But accidents and disasters at sea have still been

happening so there was a need for a more compre-

hensive version of the Standard Marine Navigational

Vocabulary to improve communication among mul-

ti-lingual crews on board different ships.

In 1992, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, at

its sixtieth session, instructed the Sub-committee on

Safety of Navigation to work on a more comprehen-

sive standardized safety language than the SMNV

1985, taking into consideration the changing condi-

tions of modern seafaring and covering all major

forms of safety-related verbal communication.

In 1997, the IMO Maritime Safety Committee, at

its sixty-eighth session adopted the Draft IMO

Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP)

developed by the Sub-committee on Safety of Navi-

gation.

Following the trial period at various maritime and

training institutions, the Draft IMO Standard Marine

Communication Phrases was amended at the forty-

sixth session of that Sub-committee.

Towards Standardized Maritime Language for

Communication at Sea

B. Katarzynska

Gdynia Maritime University, Gdynia, Poland

ABSTRACT: The paper deals with attempts of international community at standardizing the language used

for communication at sea. Key terms include Seaspeak, Wavelengths, Anglosea project, International Stand-

ard Marine Vocabulary, Standard Marine Communication Phrases, MarEng project materials.

340

Many of the remarks were taken into account by

the organization and the IMO Standard Marine

Communication Phrases were given final considera-

tion at its seventy-fourth session.

In November 2001 the IMO Standard Marine

Communication phrases were adopted by the As-

sembly as resolution A.918/22

Under the international convention on Standards

of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for

Seafarers, 1978, as revised 1995, the ability to use

and understand the IMO SMCP is required for the

certification of officers in charge of the navigational

watch on board ships of 500 gross tonnage and

more.

This requirement sparked off the development of

various teaching materials in many parts of the

world. Among them is the multi-media project

called MarEng, which is one of the EU projects in

the Leonardo da Vinci programme.

It is a multi-media teaching and learning tool

aimed at improving the knowledge of Maritime Eng-

lish of not only distance learners on board ships but

also both the students and the teachers at nautical

colleges and maritime universities all over the

world.

Gdynia Maritime University in Poland is one of

the material-making partners to the MarEng project.

The other partners include:

− University of Antwerp, Institute of Transport and

Maritime Management in Belgium

− University of Antwerp, Department of Business

Communication in Belgium

− University of La Laguna, School of Nautical and

Sea-related Studies, English and German Linguis-

tic Studies, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

− University of Helsinki, Department of Translation

Studies in Finland

− Aland Polytechnic, The Aland Maritime Institute

in Mariehamn, Finland

− Sydvast Polytechnic, School of Maritime Studies

in Turku, Finland

− Latvian Maritime Academy in Riga, Latvia

− University of Turku, Finland

Centre for Maritime Studies in Turku has been

the co-ordinator of the MarEng project and the Lin-

gonet company Oy in Turku has been responsible

for the task of putting the material and the inter-

active exercises into a multi-media format.

The MarEng project is an international project

aiming at promoting the Maritime English compe-

tence of the people working in various maritime pro-

fessions in different parts of the world so the intend-

ed users include those actually working at sea as

well as those studying and working in a wide range

of sea-related areas.

The MarEng project started in November 2004

and was completed in May 2007. Its final product is

a web-based Maritime English learning tool in the

form of an organised database of various Maritime

English teaching and learning materials and a CD-

rom.

The MarEng materials can be used online in the

college classroom, in distance learning and for self-

study purposes. There are a number of recorded texts

and exercises of different types which the students

are encouraged to do. Some parts of the MarEng ma-

terials are also available in the PDF format. The en-

tire MarEng tool has been available on the Internet

since April 2007, free of charge. It can also be

downloaded from the website http://mareng.utu.fi

The MarEng materials produced so far are suita-

ble for different language levels namely the interme-

diate level and advanced level.

Intermediate level materials cover the following

sections:

1 In Port

2 Welcome to a Modern Port

3 Loading the MS Marina

4 The Ship and her crew

5 Leaving port

6 In the Fairway

7 Heavy Weather

8 Mayday Mayday

9 The crew and its tasks

10 At Sea – changing the watch

11 Survival in an emergency

12 Helicopter Rescue

13 An Encounter with the Coast Guard

The MarEng learning material in the intermediate

section is based on the idea of a virtual ship on a

voyage from the port of Santander in Spain to the

port of Kotka in Finland, calling at a number of ports

on the way. During the voyage, the crew of the mv

“Marina” faces a number of routine situations as

well as some unusual ones in which Maritime Eng-

lish is used both on board ship and in port loading

and discharging operations.

Most of the texts have been recorded as well as

numerous vocabulary and grammar exercises have

been provided. There are clear instructions on how

to use the programme and the students can listen to

recordings as many times as they wish to do so.

There is also a section on maritime glossary with

explanations in each of the sections.

Advanced level materials correspond to the topics

covered in the intermediate level sections and in-

clude:

− Port Operations

− Shipping and Maritime Management

− Cargo Handling

341

− Vessel Types

− The Engine Room

− Cargo Space

− Port State Control

− Vessel Traffic Services (VTS)

− Ice Navigation

− Weather

− Radio Communication

− Radio Medical

− SMCP

The materials have been evaluated and tested by

Advisory Partners including:

− APEC Antwerp/Flanders Port Training Centre in

Belgium

− Finnish Ship Officers Union in Finland

− National Board of Education in Finland

− Latvian Maritime Administration in Riga, Latvia

− BORE Oy in Finland

Those interested in using the MarEng programme

online are welcome to visit the webpage of

the MarEng project at http://mareng.utu.fi or visit

our computer laboratory where the MarEng pro-

gramme has been downloaded on all the computers

and see for themselves how the programme works

and how can it be used in class.

Using the MarEng materials in practice will hope-

fully improve the knowledge of Maritime English

among the multi-lingual crews resulting in better

communication on board multi-national vessels, in

more efficient port operations and safer navigation.

In conclusion, I would like to say that a follow-up

to the MarEng project is now under way. It is called

the MarEngPlus project and is going to cover the el-

ementary level Maritime English materials.

The MarEngPlus project started on 1

October

2008 and will be completed by the end of 2010. It is

also partly funded by the EU Leonardo da Vinci

programme.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

IMO Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary, IMO 1977,

London

IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases, IMO 2001,

London

“Using the MarEng project in practice” – a workshop at the

IMEC-20 conference, October 2008, published in the IMEC

-20 conference proceedings