MTSA Training Course Update from Maritime Commons

Maritime transportation security act training course update -

On May 28, 2015, the following was posted on the Coast Guard’s Maritime Commons blog, at http://mariners.coastguard.dodlive.mil/2015/05/28/5282015-maritime-transportation-security-act-training-course-update/:

“The Coast Guard is pleased to see the large number of maritime industry employees who choose to take part in the voluntary Maritime Transportation Security Act Training Course Program, choosing to attend courses reviewed and approved via a Coast Guard accepted Quality Standard System, or QSS.

The Coast Guard was informed that one of the accepted QSSs, Det Norske Veritas – Germanischer Lloyd, has withdrawn from certifying FSO, CSO, MSLEP and FPSSD courses. The American Bureau of Shipping is a QSS organization accepted by the Coast Guard and continues to participate in the certification process of these courses.

Additional information can be found on the Coast Guard’s facilities webpage.

Effective security training for maritime industry professionals is critical to the success of the nation’s security efforts. As the Coast Guard continues to develop regulations to establish comprehensive FSO training requirements, maritime industry employees with security duties are strongly encouraged to take approved courses.”

Here are some take-aways from this post:

1.  At this point, ABS is the sole course certifier for FSO, CSO, MSLEP and FPSSD.

2.  The Coast Guard continues to “strongly encourage” maritime industry employees with security duties to take approved courses. Because the new regulation mandating training is not yet in effect, strongly encourage is all they can do, but a word to the wise ought to be sufficient.

Persons who are hoping  that the Coast Guard may grandfather any FSO currently serving or who has received any sort of FSO training (4 hours? 2 hours?), and only require new FSOs to become certified under the new regulations, should probably take a look at the communications that have come out from CG-FAC supporting approved courses.