What does EMSA do to ensure seafarers are properly trained?

EMSA carries out inspections in Maritime Education and Training (MET) Institutions of Member States and Third Countries. The main purpose is to verify the ways they are implementing the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention (quality of systems and procedures set in place, operating methods human resources and equipment. The inspections not only ensure the STCW standards are properly applied but also enable the organisations to identify areas which may need improvements. At the end of each inspection, EMSA prepares a report for the European Commission which is then taken into account in deciding what recommendations should be made to the country concerned. Ultimately, should the deficiencies be considered unacceptable, the European Union may choose to prevent a country from supplying seafarers to European flagged ships