On 28 May, FAIRPLAY-98 served as more than a working vessel. She became the venue for a meeting that could make a real difference in the daily lives of our seafarers.
Representatives from the Federal Maritime and Hydrographic Agency (BSH) came on board with a shared agenda: to find concrete ways to simplify and streamline the process of applying for certificates of competency, the official qualifications that seafarers need to work at sea.
Why Certificates of Competency Matter
For anyone outside the maritime world, certificates of competency might sound like routine paperwork. For a seafarer, they are anything but. These documents certify a crew member’s qualifications and are a legal requirement for working aboard vessels in international waters. Getting them issued, renewed, or transferred involves navigating regulations set at both national and international level and the process has not always been straightforward.
For a company like FAIRPLAY, operating across 24 European ports with crews from different flag states and backgrounds, the administrative load around certifications is significant. Any improvement in the process has a direct impact on how quickly crew members can take up new roles and how much time our HR and crewing teams spend managing paperwork instead of supporting people.
A Constructive Exchange on Board
The meeting brought representatives from both sides together with a practical focus: identify where the process creates friction, and start working out what can be done about it.
The conversation was open and constructive. Together, we discussed how the cooperation between FAIRPLAY and the BSH can run even more smoothly in the future, and how the processes for applying for and managing certificates of competency can be simplified, to the benefit of all parties involved, and most importantly, our crews.
No decisions were finalised on the day, and that was never the intention. A working meeting like this is valuable precisely because it creates space for honest dialogue: specific cases on the table, constraints understood on both sides, solutions built together rather than around each other.
What Comes Next
We are confident that this meeting marks an important step. The willingness to engage, to listen, and to work toward practical improvements was clear on both sides. We look forward to continuing the exchange with the BSH and to translating the discussions into real changes our seafarers will feel.
Good maritime operations depend not only on what happens at sea, but on the support structures that allow qualified, experienced crew members to do their work. Getting certificates of competency right is part of that.
