Experts insist training must improve in the wake of Lamma ferry disaster

Radar training for seafarers should be brought up to date and made easier to access in the wake of the Lamma tragedy, the manager of the city's only government-subsidised training school for sailors said.

The failure of coxswain Chow Chi-wai to read his vessel's radar was cited as one of the reasons for the deadly collision with the Sea Smooth a year ago today. Captain Nigel Pryke, the British maritime expert advising the commission of inquiry into the accident, recommended that more training in radar use be offered to local seafarers.

But Captain Tony Yeung Pui-keung, manager of the Maritime Services Training Institute, said the only radar course recognised by the government is a seven-day version targeted at coxswains of franchised ferries, which contains outdated material and may not be suitable for captains of smaller boats.

"It is too difficult for many other captains, and it requires students to learn radar plotting, which is outdated," Yeung said.

Since the tragedy, the institute has started offering one-day refresher courses in safety and radar operation and three-day radar-operating courses. The courses have been well received, he said, but without government recognition there is little incentive for seafarers to take part.

"We have local coxswains and fishermen on the course. They found they could apply the knowledge to daily operations," he said. "We hope the radar skills could be acquired by more people in the industry by offering the course, but as it is not a mandatory or recognised course, there's little incentive for people to take it."

He urged the Marine Department to review and update the content of the seven-day course and recognise the shorter course.