SHIPPING ISSUE - SPECIAL SURVEY THE CRUISE INDUSTRY

Watching a very dramatic reconstruction of the sinking of the "Estonia" on television this week, I was sad that survivors said "There was no question of 'women and children first!' Everyone was concerned with saving themselves". There were very few children or elderly people saved. This made me think. If young and fit people had not saved themselves, but had stayed to help the weaker ones, with the ship sinking so quickly, there might have been no survivors at all.

To maximise the chances of survival in an emergency we need to think things through in advance and not be taken by surprise. People who know me will realise that there is a training message here. Videotel's package Basic Instincts - Passenger Mustering & Crowd Control explains what I mean: wherever crowds gather there is also the potential for danger and disorder if an emergency should happen. This is when basic human instincts come into play, leading to fear, anger/aggression. The training video package, based on the requirements of the STCW Code, is intended to help those crew members of passenger cruise ships, Ro-Ro, and passenger ferries to understand how basic human instincts come into play in emergency situations. Using role-play portraying typical characters found in many crowds, it shows what to look out for and how to muster passengers and manage crowds safely.

It would be nice if the media interviewed only brave people who, with no thought to their own safety, help other people in emergencies. Sadly news reporters, like lawyers, look for someone to blame - even if the people they focus upon do not know all the facts and put the blame on innocent people. Dealing with the media is also something for which you can prepare yourself. A Videotel client told us that the Master of one of their ships which was involved in an emergency, handled the press with great skill, giving the just the right information and not getting carried away with speculation of what might have happened. His senior shore management admired what he did and said "Well done! How did you learn to do that?" He replied "I studied the Videotel package Crisis Communication - You and the Media.” The amount of interest shown by the public in marine emergencies, particularly if environmental pollution or loss of life is involved, means that most companies have now developed special communications plans to help deal with a crisis. By using a reconstructed emergency at sea as an example, Masters and ships' officers are helped to be aware of what their role is within a company plan and to familiarise them with ways of dealing with the media which will assist in maintaining a positive image for their company. The package explains what information journalists are usually looking for, and explains the methods they can employ to get results. It is stressed that co-operation with the media is more beneficial than hostility or no comment.

Although the examples above highlight the need to prepare for the times when things go wrong, most of our time at Videotel is spent trying to help people to get things right. There are so many aspects to training for the cruise industry, all the hotel services, special environmental issues, dealing with people including the elderly and infirm, etc All this in addition to the navigation, seamanship and engineering that all ships require.

The managers and superintendents of Videotel client companies operating passenger vessels have thought long and hard about the training they should be doing. We have drawn together their advice and put together our recommendations of training packages for passenger ships.

I would welcome your views: mail@videotelmail.com