Fakes, Lies and Fraudulent Seatime

As it gets harder to find seatime, and with people increasingly unwilling to do what it actually takes to get it, faking certificates and indeed experience is a becoming a serious issue. An issue that has unfortunately been brought to the fore in the world of Dynamic Positioning (DP).

An article in the Spring edition of 6degrees form the International Dynamic Positioning Operators Association (IDPOA), looks at the fakes breaking the system and discusses cases of trainees ‘flogging’ their logs and even old hands getting a little creative with their time accountancy.

The Nautical Institute recently reported a number of cases of brazen DP fraud with trainees claiming faked time, with forged signatures and spurious seatime. IDPOA has learnt of other cases, not yet reported, of the mythical DP logbooks which spend more time at sea than their owners.

Action is being taken in the reported cases however there is much to be done to ensure that the professional community close ranks against these practices. Steven Jones, Executive Director of IDPOA said “As the currency of the DP certificate gains increasing market values, there is a danger of such problems growing further and we all need to work closely to ensure that it is clear that such conduct amounts to fraud, and is not acceptable”.

IDPOA wisely pointed out that DPO’s who gain their certificates without the requisite seatime pose a real danger to the safety of life at sea and the environment, as well as degrading the reputation of the DP profession and certification.

The seventh issue of 6degrees, the quarterly e-journal from IDPOA, isn’t just about whether DPOs are good, bad or indifferent. The comprehensive journal looks at issues affecting DP systems and what happens when something goes wrong as well as covering new ships and old problems, what makes a good DPO and its usual round up of the latest DP jobs and events.

6degrees is emailed directly to the inboxes of its ever growing membership of over 3,000 DPOs, Training Centres, Recruiters and Corporate Members, and to a database of over 50,000 mariners via IDPOA’s media partners.
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