vts communication

7/25/2019 VTS Communication

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Training of VTS Communication Competence Using the IMO SMCP(Peter Trenkner, 2015)

This contribution is meant, inter alia, to lift inhibitions from, say, less experienced teachers of

Maritime n!lish or ne"comers to our community "ho mi!ht consider it too demandin! to

create their o"n trade related exercises or to do exercises like the one described belo"#

A) Introduction

1 $eneral remarks

The follo"in! is an example of

ho" to produce a close to real life exercise on a selected item of %T& 'ommunication

reuirin! a minimum of technical euipment, and

ho" to apply this exercise in classes to acuire the communication skills istenin! and

&peakin!#

*n order to clearly and exemplarily illustrate the methodical intentions in+ol+ed "hich are

based on the conception of socalled 'ontentbased *nstruction ('-*).'ommunicati+e

an!ua!e Teachin! ('T), a +ery restricted area of external communication has been chosen,

i#e# %T& 'ommunication (/eportin! on "hen enterin! a %T& area) "hich may be expanded

follo"in! the same methodical approach#

The exercise hereafter is thou!ht to be done "ith nautical students at (pre) intermediate,

intermediate or ad+anced le+el#

2 Technical euipment reuired and other sources

ne P' for text processin!

T"o recorders (one for producin!.recordin! the exercise t"o are needed in class for

the final sta!e of the exercise)#

ne commercial radio recei+er

sufficient number of '3s, MP4 capacity to record.copy the exercise and to record

the performance of the students in the final sta!e of the exercise#

ne microphone#

'opies of the *M &M'P, ondon 2002, &ection 1.#1#1, for each student#

*M Model 'ourse 1#2, /estricted perator6s 'ertificate for $M3&&, ondon 1778 *M Model 'ourse 1#25, $eneral perator6s 'ertificate for $M3&&, ondon 1779

(or any other manual on %:; radio procedures)

< Thematic =et"ork on Maritime ducation, Trainin! and Mobility of &eafarers

(MT=T), >P 9 (Task 9#1) ? ;rame"ork for the production of Maritime n!lish

syllabuses and materials (prepared by '# 'ole and P# Trenkner), 2001

4 Technical kno"led!e reuired from the instructor

To perform the follo"in! exercise efficiently and successfully the Maritime n!lish teacher

should ha+e a basic technical kno"led!e of %:; callin! procedures (for details see *M

Model 'ourse 1#2)# To properly apply these procedures ? and this must not be

underestimated ? is one of the preconditions for an efficient +erbal communication on radio# *t

is in my personal +ie" not too much askin! from a lecturer in Maritime n!lish to ualify in


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this respect# ny"ay, it is one of the tasks of the Maritime n!lish teacher to check "hether

the %:; callin! procedures are applied as prescribed#

n excellent "ay to ensure that the maritimetechnical back!round of an exercise like the one

belo" is free of errors or mistakes and that it reflects uptodate standards is @t"inni!@ "ith a

correspondin! @technical@ lecturer# This t"innin! or close cooperation has at least t"oad+anta!es for both the lecturersA The @technical@ collea!ue may acuire additional Maritime

n!lish competence and the Maritime n!lish lecturer may do so in the field of maritime

technolo!y ? all this to the ad+anta!e of the students (if your are interested in a more detailed

insi!ht into this problem, see < MT=T)#

B) Producing the exercise

1 &ettin! the scene

The situation pro+idin! the back!round of the exercise is like thisA +essel namedMV Monro

Bonavista/L4JZ(all names in the exercise are fictitious) "ants to enter Shangrila Port# Thename of the ship is relati+ely lon! and consists of t"o "ords this has been done on purpose

to teach the students ho" to spell names like this or to check "hether they are able to do so# *n

order to ha+e a clearcut end of the exercise the +essel "ill not enter Shangrila Portas she !ot

different orders# The +essel is obli!ed to report on at the correspondin! %T&'entre called

Shangrila Traffic.

2 3raftin! the script

=o" the teacher has to mobilise his.her ima!inati+e faculty to draft a scenario "hich the

officer mi!ht face in reality, or, a !ood idea, s.he @t"ins@ "ith a @technical@ instructor to

Bointly create a proper maritime context# (remark for specialistsA Shangrila Trafficenters into

a dialo!ue "ith the +essel and does not apply the *M /eportin! Procedures, e#!# M/P)#

3ue attention should be paid that the *M &M'P are used "here+er practicable since it is one

of the prominent tasks of the exercise to teach.learn the phrases# The script belo" is also the

key to the exercise for the teacher, it "ill not be handed out to the students#

The script * ha+e drafted and recorded looks like this (the part of the students in italics does

not appear on the tape)A

4 The script

VTS Communication eporting on

Name/Call Sign of yor vessel! MV Monro Bonavista/L4JZ "MV#. $o %ant to re&ort on at

Shangrila VTS'Centre calle(Shangrila Traffic "ST#. $o have to res&on( to Shangrila Traffic

sing the information in yor han(ots. Ma)e se of the *M+ SMCP %herever &ractica,le.

The correct V- calling &roce(res have to ,e a&&lie(.

Shangrila Traffic is tal)ing to yo from the lo(s&ea)er. Shangrila Traffic %ill a((ress yo

%ith yor call sign ,ecase the VTS o&erator (i( not get the fll name of yor vessel in yor

initial call.

&TA %essel call si!n CDE ? +essel call si!n CDE ? +essel call si!n CDE


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this is &han!rila Traffic ? &han!rila Traffic ? &han!rila Traffic

d+iceA 'han!e to %:; 'hannel 7, please# o+er

M%A Shangrila Traffic this is MV Monro Bonavista/L4JZ

n(erstoo(. Changing to V- Channel 01. over


on V- Channel 01. over

&TA %essel call si!n CDE this is &han!rila Traffic

Four fla! sate is &imland, correctG

d+iceA &pell the name of your +essel, 'aptain# o+er


$es2 yo are correct2 Sir. My flag state is Simlan(.

* s&ell the name of my vessel! Mi)e'+scar'Novem,er'3omeo'+scarnet %or(! Bravo'+scar'Novem,er'5l&ha'Victor'*n(ia'Sierra'Tango'5l&ha

call sign! Lima'for'Jliett'Zl o+er

&TA M% Monro -ona+ista.CDE this is &han!rila Traffic

HuestionA >hat is your position, pleaseG o+er


5ns%er! My &osition is a,ot 6 nm soth of ,oy 7elta 1. over


There are three +essels in a line from the =orth to the &outh, 'aptain#

HuestionA >hich of the three are youG o+er


5ns%er! * am the sothernmost of the three vessels. over


>ell, 'aptain, * still ha+e a problem to locate you#

d+iceA lter your course for 25 I to the = for identification# o+er

M%A Shangrila Traffic this is MV Monro Bonavista/L4JZn(erstoo(. 5ltering my corse for 689 to the N: for i(entification. over


J, fine, * ha+e located you on my radar screen no"#

>hat can * do for you, 'aptainG o+er


My (estination is Shangrila Central Port.

;estion! *s a ,erth clear for me< over



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* see, 'aptain, in this case * need to kno" some more information, 'aptain#

Huestion 1A >hat is your draft for"ard and aftG

Huestion 2A >hat is your car!oG o+er

M%A Shangrila Traffic this is MV Monro Bonavista/L4JZ5ns%er =! My (raft for%ar( is 1.68 m2 my (raft aft is =>.6> m.

5ns%er 6! My cargo is 6 ?6= 6>@ containers2 no (angeros goo(s . over


ho is your a!ent in &han!rila, 'aptainG o+er

M%A Shangrila Traffic this is MV Monro Bonavista/L4JZ5ns%er =! My last &ort of call %as Lsan in Aorea.

5ns%er 6! My agent in Shangrila is SinoTrans Limite(. over


J, 'aptain, "ait a moment, please#

*nformationA Four orders ha+e chan!ed#

d+iceA Fou ha+e to proceed to /udon! 'ontainer Terminal, berth no# 1#

'ontact /udon! Traffic on %:; 'annel 94 for further information#

3id you !et it, 'aptainG o+er


n(erstoo(. My or(ers have change(.

Procee(ing to 3(ong Container Terminal2 ,erth no. =0.

Changing to V- Channel for 3(ong Traffic.

Than) yo for yor assistance2 Sir. Doo( %atch. ot.

C /ecordin! the script

>hen recordin! the script onto a '3, in MP4, etc#, on!"the part of the %T&'entre Shangrila

Traffic has to be spoken and time !aps left "hich the students, actin! as the +essel, ha+e to fill

in "ith their responses#

The speaker should be a ualified Maritime n!lish teacher.speaker# &.he needs not

necessarily be a nati+e n!lish speaker to cut a problem short "orth discussin! in len!thA

ess than one out of ten deck officers in the "orld merchant fleet is an n!lish 1 speaker,

so our "illbe deck officers "ill happen to meet him.her or them only once in a "hile#

Technical ad+iceA

Fou ha+e to prepare one recorder to record the readout script +ia microphone (do not for!et

to s"itch on the microphoneL) and a second one to pro+ide back!round noise, the latter you

may obtain from a normal, commercial radio recei+er as "ell# mon! the euipment * usethere is a sound track full "ith back!round noise from the na+i!ation brid!e of a ship ?

a+ailable to you on reuest "hich * run simultaneously to my recordin!# This back!round


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noise plays an important part as it adds a touch of reality to the exercise students accept and

feel that ? by the "ay, && recommends this kind of approach, too#

*t may be some"hat tricky to find the appropriate len!ths of time !aps for the responses of

the +essel, i#e# the students# &ometimes the !aps are too lon!, often they are too narro"# The

len!th you choose should also take into account the student6s le+el you "ill meet# * freuentlyha+e to record my exercises at least t"ice to find a middle course neither bein! o+er

demandin! nor underdemandin!#

5 :andout to (pre) intermediate students

The handout !i+en to (pre) intermediate students is based on the abo+e script, but the

students only ha+e the calls of &han!rila Traffic in their handouts, not the complete

messa!e, and the part of M% Monro -ona+ista.CDE is replaced by clues "hich the

students ha+e to use !i+in! the correct response# :ere you ha+e to find a "ordin! "hich

differs from the one reuired pre+entin! the students from Bust copyin! the clues# This

problem can be a+oided if the clues are !i+en in the students6 nonn!lish mother ton!ue#

The handout for (pre) intermediate students may look like thisA


Name/Call Sign of yor vessel! MV Monro Bonavista/L4JZ "MV#. $o %ant to re&ort on at

Shangrila VTS'Centre calle(Shangrila Traffic "ST#. $o have to res&on( to Shangrila Traffic

sing the information in yor han(ots. Ma)e se of the *M+ SMCP %herever &ractica,le.

The correct V- calling &roce(res have to ,e a&&lie(.

Shangrila Traffic is tal)ing to yo from the lo(s&ea)er. Shangrila Traffic %ill a((ress yo

%ith yor call sign ,ecase the VTS o&erator (i( not get the fll name of yor vessel in yor

initial call.

&TA %essel call si!n CDE ? +essel call si!n CDE ? +essel call si!n CDE

M%A 'confirm %hat the VTS o&erator reEeste(

an( then call again on the V- Channel a(vise(

&TA %essel call si!n CDE this is &han!rila Traffic

M%A ' confirm yor flag state an( s&ell the name of yor shi&


M%A ' tell the VTS'Centre that yo are near ,oy 712 more &recise! 6nm to the soth of it


M%A ' inform the VTS o&erator that yo are the sothernmost


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M%A ' confirm the a(vice given ,y the VTS'Centre


M%A ' tell the VTS o&erator that yo are ,on( for Shangrila Central Port

' as) the VTS o&erator %hether they have a ,erth for yor vessel


M%A ' yor (raft for%ar(! 1.68 m2 yor (raft aft! =>.6> m.

' yo carry t%o thosan( eight hn(re( an( t%enty'one 6>@ containers

' yo have no (angeros cargo on ,oar(


M%A ' yo came from Lsan2 Aorea

' yor agency in Shangrila is SinoTrans Limite(


M%A ' confirm the information an( the a(vice given ,y the VTS o&erator

' close the conversation a&&ro&riately

:andout for ad+anced students

There is one problem "ith the exercise based on the handout abo+e as far as the learnin!

effect is concernedA 'ertain students may "ell do most parts of the exercise merely renderin!

the clues in n!lish "ithout botherin! too much "hat the %T&'entre said#

&tudents at a hi!her le+el can be expected to complete a more demandin! exercise# The

handout !i+en to ad+anced students a+oid the problem mentioned before# They ha+e to follo"

the %T& turns, ha+e to consider, select and ans"er appropriately#

nd here is the handout !i+en to those students# The clues !i+en in hand"ritin! may also be

in the nonn!lish mother ton!ue of the students# The students ha+e !ot fi+e minutes to !et

prepared before the exercise from the tape startsA


$o have &t (o%n in han(%riting (etails "see ,elo%# %hich the VTS'Centre might as) yo

%hen yo re&ort on2 it may %ell ,e that not all of these (etails %ill ,e reEeste(.

3es&on( after each trn "FoverF#2 i.e. to each a(vice/Eestion of the VTS'centre%henever &ractica,le sing the *M+ SMCPG

5&&ly the corres&on(ing V- calling &roce(resG


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+nly res&on( to %hat the VTS'Centre %ill as) or a(viseG

$or tas) %ill start %ith a call of the VTS'Centre sing the call sign of yor vessel ,ecase the

VTS o&erator (i( not get the fll name of yor shi& in yor initial call.

The name of the VTS'Centre isShangrila Traffic.

=ame.'all &i!nA MV Monro Bona#ista$%&'(

;la! &tate.Port of /e!istryA Sim!and$onport

$ross Tonna!eA *+ ,-& gt 3ead"ei!htA .& +,& t

en!th o#a##A */01 00 m -readth o#a#A .01*0 m

max# 3raft A /01,0 m max# &peedA **1.0 2n

/adio uipmentA 3M4SS A.

ttentionA Be all ears which working channel will be advisedby Shangrila Trafc, we have to call anew on that

channel then.

ttentionAA We have to inorm Shangrila Trafc that ShangrilaCentral Port is our destination and ask whetherthey have a berth or us.

Present positionA bt. ! nm South o buoy "#.$Pay attention, it might be that the %TS o&eratorwants to know this' we are the southernmost othree vessels sailing in a (orth to the South line

there)

ast port of callA )usan, *orea

Present max# draft A +orward #. ! m- at /.!/ m

'ar!oA ! 0! !/1oot Containers,no dangerous goods

!ent in &han!rilaA SinoTrans )imited

&tatus of euipmentA everything 2*

C) Performing the exercise

1 Preparation of students

itherA The students are !i+en handouts "ith the *M &M'P, &ection 1.#1#1, and they are

expected to kno" them before the exercise is on the a!enda#


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r betterA The students "ill be introduced to the rele+ant terminolo!y and phrases by means

of methodically "ell thou!ht out precommunicati+e or e+en communicati+e exercises

offered in an appropriate context#

nyho", "hat matters is that the students hit the core of a correspondin! phrase, and the

teacher should not press them to kno", say, the site of each indi+idual comma "ithin a certainphrase#

2 The exercise

Technical arran!ementA

ne '3 player "ith the sound track containin! the part of the %T&'entre as described and

one recorder ha+e to be prepared# lan!ua!e lab can be used as "ell#

microphone has to be connected to the recorder (and s"itched onL)# The student should be

seated bet"een the recorder and the cassette player, the microphone bein! in from of him.her#

The student "ill be !i+en the correspondin! handout and has to listen from the '3 +ialoudspeaker to "hat the %T&'entre is !oin! to ask or ad+ise# &.he may use a sheet of paper

to put do"n notes#

The part of the %T&'entre and the responses of the student are simultaneously recorded +ia

microphone so that, "hen the tape is replayed, one can hear the %T&'entre and the

responses of the +essel, i#e# the student# ? this "orks out "ell# The disad+anta!e is that only

one student at a time can be in+ol+ed, the others ha+e to listen and to comment on his.her

performance after"ards in a follo"up# This disad+anta!e is o+ercome "hen a fully euipped

lan!ua!e lab is a+ailable "here the students can listen to the %T&'entre from the

loudspeaker and record their responses on their indi+idual tapes +ia the microphones in their

headsets#

t any case, the performance of the student(s) should be replayed in the class and comments

of the classmates in+ited unless this exercise is used as a test or part of an examination#

;inally, the students6 performance can be assessed and scored by the teacher if reuired at

his.her desk, ho"e+er, if you or your students "ant, you may refrain from recordin! the

studentsN responses and ha+e an immediate discussion on their performance in the classroom#

4 ssessin! and.or scorin!

The terms accordin! to "hich * assess my students6 performance read like thisA

'orrectness of terminolo!y and pronunciation

;luency of con+ersation and discourse

Proper application of %:; callin! procedures

deuate use of the *M &M'P

Please, try to create an exercise like this or.and do the one * ha+e demonstrated in your classes

? * "ill appreciate your feedback#

*f you are interested, you may also !et a full course (5The IMO Standard Marine

Communication Phrases in 4ia!ogues6) on reuest free of char!e (petren27t8on!ine1de ), a

ecturerNs Manual included, based on the principles mentioned abo+e titled#

vts communication

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