Shipping remains one of the safest modes of transport; however, thousands of accidents still occur each year, the majority involving human error. Key contributing factors include education, training and working conditions. The higher the quality of education and training received by seafarers, the safer shipping becomes.

While many seafarers operating in EU waters are educated, trained and certified in Europe, EU-registered ships are often crewed by nationals of non-EU countries. This must be considered when determining how best to ensure that crew members on EU-registered ships are appropriately educated and trained.

EMSA has been assigned two main tasks in this area: inspections in non-EU countries and visits to Member States and EFTA States.

Maritime administrations and maritime education and training institutions in more than 80 countries are currently visited or inspected, covering over 90% of seafarers operating in EU waters, as well as those serving on EU-registered ships worldwide.

Directive (EU) 2022/993 includes a specific procedure for assessing compliance with the requirements of the International Maritime Organization’s STCW Convention (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping) by non-EU countries, a possibility opened under Regulation I/10 of the Convention. The assessment, conducted by the European Commission, enables the wider recognition at EU level of certificates of competency and proficiency issued by non-EU countries. The European Commission, assisted by EMSA, evaluates the systems implemented in non-EU countries on behalf of EU Member States in line with the STCW Convention. All assessments are carried out within a maximum ten-year cycle to ensure that, in addition to the occasional evaluation of newly proposed non-EU countries, those already recognised at EU level are periodically reassessed. The inspections conducted by EMSA provide the basis for these assessments.

Before travelling to a non-EU country, EMSA conducts a detailed analysis of the national provisions adopted to implement the STCW Convention and Code. Upon arrival, and in coordination with the national authorities, inspections are carried out of national maritime administrations and a sample of maritime education and training institutions. These inspections allow EMSA to verify the systems in place, including the quality standards systems, the procedures applied and the human and technical resources available. This ensures that the requirements and standards laid down in the STCW Convention are properly implemented and consistently applied. It also enables the identification of areas for improvement.

On average, EMSA inspects the systems of four non-EU countries annually.