Fin24 reports that thousands of South African seafarers who faced being axed from the International Maritime Organisation’s "white list", can breathe easy again after the organisation agreed to shelve changes to the list for the next two years.  

This means the 5,000 SA-trained seafarers and SA flagged ships can continue to work in international shipping.  The IMO's backtracking occurred during a recent meeting of the organisation where several of the 80 countries that stood to be removed from the white list – including major maritime nations – raised serious concerns about the issue.  Sobantu Tilayi, acting CEO of the SA Maritime Safety Authority (Samsa), indicated on Monday that the IMO had conceded that the publishing of the white list had not followed due process.  "The white list is still there, but this process pushes the delisting two years away, so we will have time to comply and put something robust in place, as the IMO requires," Tilayi said.  The prospect of being axed from the white list emerged from amendments to the IMO's International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STWC) that sets the minimum qualification standards for masters, officers and watch personnel on seagoing merchant ships.  This STCW training is mandatory and no seafarers can work in international shipping unless they are trained in the convention.

• Read the full original of Melanie Gosling’s report on the above story at Fin24

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