MISCOMMUNICATION IS ONE OF THE MAJOR CAUSES OF MARITIME ACCIDENTS: THE IMPORTANCE OF MARITIME ENGLISH TEACHING IN THE MARINE ACADEMIES

Autori

  • Eirini Nektaria Trikoili Maritime English Language Teacher, Merchant Marine Academy of Kalymnos, Greece
  • Dimitrios Papazoglou Merchant Marine Engineer Teacher, School of Higher Vocational Training, Kalymnos, Greece

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.46827/ejel.v11i3.6791

Ključne reči:

miscommunication, maritime accidents, maritime safety, Maritime English pedagogical recommendations

Apstrakt

Language constitutes a fundamental component in ensuring maritime safety. Despite the fact that maritime English is the lingua franca onboard, misunderstandings still occur very often, posing significant risks to nautical safety. Miscommunication has been widely recognized as one of the major causes of maritime accidents, often leading to collisions, grounding and loss of life. The multinational nature of crews with diverse linguistic backgrounds further exacerbates communication challenges onboard vessels. Although International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions require seafarers to possess very good English skills, inappropriate communication among them leads to marine accidents. This article explores the role of miscommunication in such accidents and highlights the importance of Maritime English Education in marine academies. Through a review of relevant literature and analysis of three major real accident causes, this paper aims to demonstrate that ineffective communication -especially via VHF radio and onboard coordination- remains a persistent safety issue. The maritime accident investigation reports reveal that ambiguous communication and insufficient English language proficiency remain significant contributing factors to maritime incidents. Taking into consideration the fact that Maritime English is a mandatory part of the education of officers in all training institutions worldwide, this paper concludes with pedagogical recommendations for improving communication competence among seafarers, especially during emergency situations, so as to mitigate accidents. Ultimately, the main goal of maritime English must be to reduce significantly communication-related maritime accidents through concrete and pedagogically grounded recommendations, thereby contributing to enhanced safety of life at sea. The study contributes to understanding the interconnection between Maritime English language training and maritime safety, proposing the development of more effective training programs to address the linguistically complex demands of maritime environments.

Biografije autora

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    Eirini Nektaria Trikoili is an English language teacher. She received her Bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Portsmouth, UK and her Master’s degree in Applied Linguistics and Teaching English as a Foreign Language from the same university. She also holds a Certificate of Teaching English as a Foreign Language to Adults from the same University. She was active in teaching English as a foreign language in the private sector from 2005 to 2013. From 2014 to 1017 she taught at public high schools. Since 2018, she has been teaching Maritime English at the Marine Academy of Kalymnos, Greece.

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    Dimitrios Papazoglou is a Merchant Marine Engineer Teacher. He graduated from the Merchant Marine Academy of Macedonia. He has a Teaching Certificate from the School of Pedagogical and Technological Education (ASPETE) of the University of Ioannina and a Master’s degree in Energy Investments and Environment from the University of Western Macedonia. From 2013 to 2024, he taught Merchant Marine Engineering in Technical and Vocational High Schools. Since 2024, he has been working at the School of Higher Vocational Training (SAEK) in Kalymnos.

Reference

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Preuzimanja

Objavljeno

2026-06-14

Broj časopisa

God. 11 Br. 3 (2026)

Rubrika

Articles

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