The first step was taken to reduce corruption risks in the training and certification of seafarers: the Government approved the updated procedure
According to UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development), in 2021 Ukraine ranked 6th in the world in terms of the number of working seafarers. This is more than 4% of workers in the global maritime industry.
Therefore, the scale of corruption in the certification of sailors is also impressive. That’s about $100 million a year. When criminals make money from corruption risks, Ukraine not only remains without qualified sailors, but can also lose $4 billion. foreign currency income, because that is how much the sailors transferred every year before the beginning of the full-scale aggression of the Russian Federation.
Due to the fact that third parties have unauthorized access to the Register of seafarers’ documents and demand bribes for document verification, as well as falsify test results to obtain permits, the International Maritime Organization can restrict the work of Ukrainian seafarers and even cancel diplomas issued in Ukraine.
That is why the NACP prepared a special research “Corruption risks in the field of training and certification of sailors of Ukraine”. Based on it, a joint action plan was developed with the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine to eliminate these risks. The text of the study can be found at the link.
What are the common corruption risks identified by the NACP?
After analyzing the procedures in the field of training and certification of seafarers, the NACP identified several of the most common corruption schemes, including:
- unauthorized blocking of the function of entering seafarers’ certificates into the state register for the provision of illegal paid services by private companies;
- falsification of the results of computer testing to confirm the competence of seafarers;
- blocking the process of confirming the specialist’s competence due to the seafarer’s experience;
- members of the State Qualification Commissions abused their powers.
What needs to be changed to reduce corruption risks?
- to adopt the Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine “On the approval of the Regulation on the ranks of the command staff and the procedure for their assignment and some issues regarding the training and certification of seafarers”, which will include safeguards against fraudulent actions;
- to reorganize the structures of institutions involved in the process of training and certification of seafarers;
- stop illegal electronic applications to which third parties have unauthorized access.
What are the results of joint work?
- The Ministry of Infrastructure developed a draft resolution “On the approval of the Regulation on the ranks of the command staff and the procedure for their assignment and some issues regarding the training and certification of seafarers”, which took into account the recommendations of the NACP;
The first step towards reducing corruption risks has already been taken. Today, December 30, 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the updated Regulation on training and certification of seafarers. The NACP welcomes this decision and continues to work on the elimination of corruption schemes in this area.
