IMO: IMO SMCP

Under STCW, the ability to use and understand the IMO SMCP is required for the certification of officers in charge of a navigational watch on ships of 500 gross tonnage or more.

The phrases are divided into part A and part B. Part A covers phrases to be applied according to the requirements of table A-II/1 (minimum competence of officers in charge of a navigational watch on ships of 500 gross tonnage) of the STCW Code, and may be regarded as the replacement for the Standard Marine Navigational Vocabulary, 1985. This part is enriched by essential phrases concerning ship handling and safety of navigation to be used in onboard communications. Part B lists other onboard standard safety-related phrases which, supplementary to part A, may also be regarded as useful for maritime English instruction.