New York: The first Personnel Certificate in Canada is awarded to Tim Bishop, based on DNV's Standard of competence for ships’ superintendents. The standard is a module of the global system for evaluating officers and crew competence, DNV SeaSkill.

Tim Bishop is an Operations Supervisor, working for Provmar Fuels Inc., a Hamilton, Ontario based shipowner.

"It is a great pleasure to issue the first DNV Personnel Certificate in Canada. This is a milestone for the delivery of SeaSkill services tailored to meet the human competence needs of successful and forward looking shipowners,” says Blaine Collins, DNV regional manager Maritime, North and South America.

The superintendent’s skills and competence play a critical role in ship management. As the maritime industry faces increasing changes, it also faces new risk realities which put requirements on enhanced competence. The person’s ability to identify hazards, analyse risks, identify and evaluate options and take action determines the flow of the shipping process, although the role of the superintendent is not regulated.

Due to the importance of this position, DNV has developed a globally applicable competence standard covering all significant responsibilities; standard of competence for ships’ superintendents. It is developed through committees of experts from various parts of the maritime industry in various parts of the world, and defines the key competences required to successfully serve as a superintendent.

This personnel certification is now used at test centres globally, and is a part of DNV SeaSkill which provides global standards, tests and certification services related to competence development in the maritime industry. The services are aimed at organisations and individuals connected to ship owners, management companies, cargo owners, yards, suppliers, maritime training centres and maritime authorities. They are organised in three service lines:

• Competence Management Certification - In order to turn goals into results, it is necessary for organisations to have a system in place to manage planning, development and monitoring of competence. Continuous improvement, with defined processes and benchmarking should be the aim.
• Training Certification - As part of its total commitment to competence development, DNV SeaSkill provides certification of training programmes. The certification is available to academies and training providers as the basis for developing training courses and programmes.
• Personnel Certification -Along with competence management and quality training, it is necessary to independently test and verify the competence of individuals, in relation to specific jobs or positions. DNV SeaSkill offers the industry the necessary tools and expertise to evaluate the competence of individuals.