Maritime English put to the test! The feasibility and desirability of setting global standards for Maritime English: a survey-based study

As the lingua franca at sea, English has been designated by the International Maritime
Organization (IMO) as the language for professional communication on board merchant navy
ships navigating in international waters. The “use of English in oral and written form” and
“the use of IMO Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP)” are listed as
requirements in the IMO International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification
and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW), 1978, as amended1. Under the umbrella of English
for Specific Purposes (ESP), Maritime English has carved out a niche for itself within the
maritime curriculum and, over the last two decades, has become a source of diverse research.
Notwithstanding the key role of communication on board, seafarers display a wide variety of
English-language ability, ranging from non-existent to fluent. This anomaly is the result of a
number of factors, most significantly mother-tongue, country of origin or residence and
educational background. An inability to use (Maritime) English clearly hinders the seafarer’s
performance on board. Despite the maritime sector’s ambition to reduce the number of
accidents attributable to the human factor, evidence shows that poor English language skills,
combined with a lack of (inter)cultural awareness amongst today’s multilingual, multi-ethnic
crew, still exist, often leading to miscommunication and, sometimes, to fatal accidents.
In contrast to the aviation sector, where passing a test of aviation English is a mandatory
requirement for pilots, the maritime industry has no such system. IMO offers guidelines for
the teaching, learning and assessment of Maritime English but, to date, has shied away from
supporting universal proficiency testing.
This thesis sets out to examine the feasibility and desirability of setting global standards for
Maritime English. A survey distributed to deck officers in the Belgian fleet provides data on
linguistic and (inter)cultural aspects of communication on board. The survey includes a
section dedicated to IMO SMCP. An analysis of the data reveals the key factors with a
negative influence on communication. The ensuing discussion reflects on the specific profile
of the respondent group and how this impacts the data. Extrapolating the data to the
international maritime community generates conclusions about whether setting global
standards for Maritime English would prove advantageous or not.