Sie sind auf Seite 1von 2

PODCAST

My name is Leonardo Araujo, I am 26 years old, I am from Catia la Mar, Vargas


State, Im taking English 7 and my specialty is Marine Facilities.

In this PODCAST Im going to explain why English is the language of the sea
and the importance of effective communication on board.

English is important because it has been established as the language for seafarers.
The crew members on board may be from different countries and may speak different
languages. In addition English helps to unify communications, thats why English
established itself as the lingua franca or the common language for seafarers who do not
share a native language. This spread of one originally ethnic language can be traced to
British colonialism and later to the economic and political power of the United States.

Nowadays it is well known; all around the shipping industry; that English is the
main and only language that should be used in any type of maritime communication. A
proper English language used on board ships can reduce the barriers of good
communication between crew members and most of all can lead (lid) to a better
communication ship-to-ship and ship-to-coast.

Most of maritime accidents happen due to human errors and these occur especially
because of bad communication. This is a result of not using standard Maritime English
that should be well known by all crew members of a ship. To avoid any possible
misunderstanding, the communication from ship to ship and from ship to shore has been
standardized.

A study called LANGUAGE BARRIERS AND MISCOMMUNICATION AS A


CAUSE OF MARITIME ACCIDENTS made by MERCHANT MARINE ACADEMY
OF MACEDONIA shows that one way to identify the types of human errors relevant to the
maritime industry is to study marine accidents and determine how they happen. This study
shows some examples of maritime accidents.

One of them is The Honduras registered vessel Alte Weser," occurred (ocurr) in
May 2nd 1995, this vessel was sailing with a German master, a Lithuanian chief officer and
a Polish crew. The Lithuanian officer could not speak English fluently. He did not
understand the technical instructions for the operation of the navigation equipment of the
vessel. That was one reason why he grounded the vessel in the Great Belt. The resultant
sinking of the ship caused the death of the master.

IMO analyses reports of casualties and accidents in order to see if there are any
lessons to be learned for the future. Many accidents are found to be due Communication
difficulties, due in part to cultural differences but also due to language barriers.
Effective communication is an essential ingredient to safe and efficient ship
operations. In an operational situation such as fighting a fire, it is important that those
involved can communicate efficiently. The international community has chosen the
English language as the medium for that communication and IMO has developed a standard
vocabulary and the training tools to deliver it. The Standard Marine Communication
Phrases (SMCP) is a set of key phrases in the English language, supported by the
international community for use at sea and developed by the IMO. They aim to explain:
external communication phrases ship to ship & ship to shore communication, and
onboard communication phrases communication within the ship. The aim of the SMCP
is to reduce the problem of language barriers (barriers) at sea and avoid misunderstandings
which can cause accidents.

In conclusion, the international community has chosen the English language as the
medium for communication onboard ships, no matter the country of origin or the native
language of the seafarer, the use of a standardized language allows a global understanding.
This is the main reason why teachers of maritime English instil in young maritime students
the appropriate skills and knowledge to ensure that failures of communication are no longer
cited as a cause of maritime accidents.

Das könnte Ihnen auch gefallen