Major players in the maritime industry welcome new ISO standards which improves the safety for all seafarers. So far only one independent service provider with personnel operating worldwide has been 3rd party certified by Bureau Veritas according to the ISO PAS 23678 standards for certifying personnel.

When it comes to safety on board, inspections carried out should not only be a matter of trust. Therefore, a new recognized international standard comes in handy.

– A professional approach to training, strictly defined standardized procedures and strict evaluation of the technician’s knowledge will ultimately lead to a safer environment for our customers – the seafarers, says Ivo Vatavuk, Technical Director at Antipiros, a Croatian Authorized service provider for servicing lifesaving appliances as well as other safety equipment.

At the Amsterdam based shipping company Spliethoff, Fleet Statutory Certification Manager Joann Persaud also sees the clear benefits of the ISO PAS 23678 standards, published in 2020 as a result of the new IMO–resolution 402(96), following the development of an internationally recognized standard for certification of personnel, working with inspections of life saving equipment.

SECURITY AND TRANSPARENCY
– From a shipowner’s point of view the 3rd party certification creates security and transparency. Both which makes my job somewhat easier in the sense that I have 3rd party proof that the engineers are certified against the standard. I don’t have to dig to make sure they are, says Joann Persaud. She is responsible for the statutory lifesaving inspections on board 67 of the ships in the Spliethoff Group fleet, which in total consists of more than 100 vessels.

For many years Joann has been using the authorized service providers (ASP) around the globe, whose engineers are all trained and certified by the Danish company CRALOG, which is the first organisation that has 3rd party approval to train and certify ASP personnel to a recognized international standard in accordance with the new IMO resolution regardless where they are located.

– We use 35 engineers, all certified by CRALOG, attending our vessels in several countries. For several years I have often experienced misunderstandings in the sense that some surveyors would think that the personnel we were using, were not appropriately certified to a recognized standard. The ISO PAS 23678certification makes it easier for me to eliminate such misunderstandings or answer questions during port state control and audits. There is a QR code on both the technician’s certificate and on each statement of fitness. The QR code makes it possible to refer any questions to the CRALOG website which in return resolves misunderstandings. This system is extremely user friendly and time saving and takes the burden somewhat off me. This also reduces the ambiguity surrounding the resolution, Joann Persaud explains.

A uniform interpretation of the resolution MSC 402(96) is one of the goals of the ISO PAS 23678 standard. Since January 2019, one year before the new standards was published, CRALOG has implemented this certification program at the company’s own academy in Denmark, where they train, educate and certify personnel from all over the world in mandatory inspections of life saving equipment of all makes and types.
 
A CLEAR FRAMEWORK  
– The intent of the new ISO standards is to provide a clear framework to establish competency for personnel employed by independent authorized service providers or manufacturers when acting as service providers on an internationally accepted basis, says Ian Fleming McCurdie, Managing Director at CRALOG.

Not only has CRALOG been the first worldwide to certify personnel in accordance with the new recognized ISO/PAS 23678 standards, but also to be certified by a 3rd party, Bureau Veritas, according to this standard. Thus, proving that when CRALOG perform the training of personnel in close collaboration with the Maritime and Polytechnic University College MARTEC in Denmark, the personnel is properly trained according to the international standards by a professional approach to training and certification as this is the core product of both MARTEC and CRALOG.

LONG–TERM EXPERTISE
– CRALOG has set up a remarkable operation. Their training courses are conducted by professionals that have in–depth knowledge and long–term expertise in the field of lifeboat inspections. Their training centre is well equipped with a huge amount of equipment from different manufacturers and port facilities for real life interactions with all types of lifesaving equipment. We are positive that our technicians are evaluated strictly by professional assessors and that the knowledge that they receive at CRALOG will stick with them for life. Their certification software database go.cralog.com for issuing the statement of fitness is a breath of fresh air we’ve been waiting for. Well organized, accessible, and easy to use, says Ivo Vatavuk, Antipiros.

He emphasizes another advantage of the CRALOG Academy as well. An advantage, which the manufacturers of life saving appliances fail to meet.

– It’s so much better to have loads of different equipment of all makes and types at one place, so that technicians can get familiarized with it, compare it and learn about it right there and then rather than to have it scattered all around the world in a number of training courses that take place at different locations and years apart, says Ivo Vatavuk.

ABOUT:

• CRALOG is an internationally 3rd party certified training academy and service provider authorized in inspections of all different make and type of launching appliances, lifeboats and their release gear. 
• With a fine–meshed network of 360 highly qualified and experienced certified personnel in over 70 ports in 36 countries CRALOG offers an authorized service provider anytime and anywhere. C
• RALOG is authorized by the administrations of Bahamas, Belgium, Denmark, Liberia and Panama along with service suppliers’ approvals from e.g. ABS, BV, CNK, DNVGL, KR, LR and RINA according to the latest Unified Requirements from IACS. 
• CRALOG is the first independent authorized service provider in the world which certified their personnel according to new ISO standards being able to inspect all different make and type of launching appliances, lifeboats and their release gear.
• CRALOG is the first Authorized Service provider in the world that have its own Training Academy 3rd party certified by Bureau Veritas to fulfil ISO/PAS 23678 in its entire.