Communication at sea: SMCP

Nearly 80% of transport accidents at sea are the cause of a human error, and this continues to be so despite the many advances in technology. The sea is an international work field and people of many nationalities work in it. This means that it is also an multilingual business. This causes a lot of communication problems and even larger mishaps and accidents.

To improve this there have been several initiatives led by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). These include the International Safety Management (ISM) Code and an International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW).

The STCW requires that crew, especially officers, should be able to operate in the English language and use the SMCP, the Standard Marine Communication Phrases.

In a multilingual crew, with often low levels of English, knowing the SMCP phrases will not be enough to make friends or to have a normal social interaction in the English language on board. That is why it is also very important to learn English outside the range of the SMCP to have a nice and normal social life with your fellow crew members, based on the use of English.

The objective behind SMCP is that everybody can use and understand this type of English, whatever nationality or native tongue the user may have. This is of particular importance in the light of the increasing number of internationally trading vessels with crews speaking many different languages. That is also why the standardized SMCP must be precise and simple. This will avoid confusion and error.

Anything that may lead to misunderstanding what is meant in communication must be avoided. A piece of information should leave no room for interpreting anything else than the sender of this piece of information intends to communicate. The misunderstanding of vital information can lead to further risks and mishaps.