Capt. Nikiteas was unanimously re-elected as the H.EL.M.E.T. committee’s chairperson for another 2 years.

The 2nd annual meeting took place online due to the COVID-19 pandemic limitations. The committee was briefed on the H.EL.M.E.T. progress within 2020 and has set the roadmap for 2021.

On 27/11/2020, a small group of H.EL.M.E.T. committee members came together to exchange opinions and expertise in shaping the training scheme of H.EL.M.E.T. Assessors. The scope of work included the following:
• definition of the assessors’ qualifications (prerequisites), focusing on more practical aspects such as skills, knowledge, attributes and attitudes
• means of assessing the H.EL.M.E.T Assessors
• certification and career development of H.EL.M.E.T. Assessors

On 26/11/2020, a small group of H.EL.M.E.T. committee members came together to exchange opinions and expertise in mapping a ship-shore interface and various interrelated areas, and its inclusion in the H.EL.M.E.T. framework.

The committee of experts were invited to rate their company’s SMS harmonization level with an extract of questions provided by Prevention at Sea from the H.EL.M.E.T. framework. This exercise, was based on the Delphi method and aimed to measure the industry’s current SMS manuals’ alignment with the H.EL.M.E.T. framework which entails the following:

1. availability of appropriate mechanisms / processes
2. SMS is fleet specific
3. responsibilities / accountabilities are clearly communicated
4. dissemination of information amongst the organisation (office/fleet) is successful
5. critical thinking / “open” dialogue is promoted
6. building awareness and skills evaluation
7. continuous improvement
8. recognition of the importance of the human element in promoting a safe business culture within the organisation
   The results were converted to weights and have been implemented in the H.EL.M.E.T. questionnaire.