A new and highly structured approach transforms how ship operators evaluate crew readiness in an industry where the human factor remains the most significant risk and opportunity. The Behavioral Competence Profile Report, developed through the SHIPScraft methodology and powered by the Soft Screen Soft Skills Analysis platform by Greek co PYLI NET, offers a game-changing framework for verifying seafarers’ soft skills, mental readiness, behavioral competence and leadership potential — not just for tankers, but for all types of ship operations.
From Compliance to Cognitive Fitness:The Rise of Behavioural Verification
Traditionally, maritime recruitment and training have focused on technical certifications, STCW compliance, and physical medical fitness. However, recent incidents across the industry — from collisions to miscommunications and onboard crises — have pointed clearly to one truth: soft skills, decision-making, stress resilience, and emotional awareness are just as critical to safety and performance.
The new Profile Report addresses this gap. It is a comprehensive, quantified evaluation that verifies the behavioural proficiency of seafarers before embarkation. It’s a holistic process which covers four interlinked layers:
- Personality Analysis (using the SHIPScraft typology: 4Ps, MBTI, Diamond’s Personality Value and Corporate Trust)
- Quantifying 26 Soft Skills: resilience, adaptability, communication, problem solving, integrity, and leadership.
- Screening for Mental Health Readiness, including self-consciousness, resilience, health anxiety, levels of risk, depression, suicide, stress tolerance, motivation, fatigue risk, concentration difficulty, Dementia with Subjective Cognitive Decline, possibility of having ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Screening on Cognitive Ability equal to IQ, and Screening of Cognitive Domains.
- Measure Seafarers’ Behavioural Competency with positive and negative behavioural indicators.
What sets this process apart is that it does not rely on subjective judgment. It uses a personal data-driven approach and accepts a self-complete procedure, a 15-minute digital tool. It is not a psychometric test. It’s a mathematical process in which the SHIPScraft algorithm uses these acceptances to quantify the seafarers’ soft skills, which can measure their behavioural scores. In addition, the method can be mapped as a tailor-made process against a set of industry-ready thresholds.
It researches and calculates the minimum percentage a seafarer should have for each critical and essential soft skill to function and be effective on a specific type of vessel.
Anchored in INTERTANKO’s Framework – Expanded for All Vessels
The behavioural standards used are directly aligned with the INTERTANKO Behavioural Competency Framework (A1–F6), covering:
- Team Working cluster (A1–A4) evaluates seafarers’ ability to actively contribute to a collaborative, inclusive, and emotionally intelligent crew environment under routine and high-pressure conditions.
A1: Participation with a Positive Attitude reflects the individual’s willingness to enthusiastically engage in shared tasks, foster open communication, and encourage team cohesion.
A2: Inclusiveness and Consideration of Others assesses how well the seafarer respects and values diversity, promotes psychological safety, and acknowledges different perspectives onboard.
A3: Supporting Others measures the readiness to assist colleagues during demanding situations, demonstrating empathy, solidarity, and a collective approach to operational challenges.
A4: Conflict Resolution focuses on managing disagreements calmly and constructively, using emotional control, active listening, and a solution-oriented mindset to defuse tension and strengthen team unity.
Together, these behavioural dimensions verify the individual’s capacity to integrate into a dynamic crew structure with professionalism, emotional awareness, and human-centred discipline — an essential foundation for any vessel’s safe and efficient shipboard operations.
- Communication and Influencing cluster (B1–B4) assesses a seafarer’s ability to convey information effectively, foster mutual understanding, and influence others through clarity, respect, and reasoned engagement.
B1: Shared Understanding evaluates how well the individual ensures that operational plans, intentions, and situational updates are communicated, verified, and understood across the team.
B2: Style of Communication focuses on the appropriateness of language, tone, timing, and medium, measuring the ability to adapt communication to different crew members, situations, and cultural contexts.
B3: Feedback reflects the individual’s openness to receiving and giving feedback in a constructive, non-defensive manner, promoting a culture of continuous learning and mutual respect.
B4: Persuasion measures the ability to influence others not through authority or pressure, but through sound reasoning, credibility, and emotional intelligence, encouraging agreement and behaviour change when needed.
This cluster confirms whether seafarers can sustain effective communication loops, motivate safe action, and contribute to a transparent, cooperative onboard environment — key factors in operational coordination and leadership across all maritime operations.
- Situation Awareness cluster (C1–C3) focuses on a seafarer’s ability to accurately perceive, interpret, and respond to changes within the vessel, the external environment, and the temporal flow of operations.
C1: Awareness of Vessel Systems and Crew evaluates the individual’s attentiveness to system states, alarms, routines, and behavioural cues from fellow crew members, ensuring that technical and human indicators are continuously monitored and reported.
C2: Awareness of the external environment measures vigilance in recognizing navigational hazards, weather conditions, vessel traffic, port requirements, and external communications and integrates these into the operational picture.
C3: Awareness of Time assesses the ability to anticipate future developments, manage time-sensitive operations, and align actions with broader schedules, contingencies, and unfolding risks.
Collectively, these behavioural competencies ensure that the seafarer is not only technically observant but cognitively present and anticipatory.
He is capable of maintaining mental models that enhance safety, situational clarity, and decision-making in fast-evolving maritime contexts.
- The decision-making cluster (D1–D4) evaluates the seafarer’s ability to identify problems accurately, generate solutions, assess risks, and take informed, timely action while maintaining accountability for the outcomes.
D1: Problem Definition and Diagnosis focuses on collecting relevant information, correctly defining the problem, and seeking input from appropriate sources when needed.
D2: Option Generation measures the capacity to propose multiple, realistic responses to a situation, challenge existing assumptions, and think creatively under constraints.
D3: Risk Assessment and Option Selection examines how the seafarer weighs the risks and benefits of each alternative and chooses the most appropriate course of action, particularly under operational pressure or ambiguity.
D4: Outcome Review assesses whether the individual critically evaluates the results of their decisions, learns from the process, and adjusts future behaviour accordingly.
This cluster confirms whether the seafarer can apply sound judgment and structured thinking, combining experience and analytical reasoning to lead or contribute to safe, effective decision-making in routine and high-stakes maritime scenarios.
- Results Focus cluster (E1–E6) assesses a seafarer’s personal drive, resilience, adaptability, and commitment to achieving high-quality outcomes — even in challenging, changing, or uncertain conditions.
E1: Initiative reflects the willingness to take proactive steps, identify needs, and act without waiting for instruction.
E2: Determination measures persistence in pursuing goals, overcoming obstacles, and maintaining progress under pressure.
E3: Flexibility evaluates how well the individual adjusts behaviour, plans, and goals in response to shifting circumstances or operational demands.
E4: Emotional Toughness focuses on remaining composed, focused, and functional during stress, setbacks, or emergencies.
E5: Accountability and Dependability assesses how consistently the individual meets commitments, honours responsibilities, and performs without constant supervision.
E6: Commitment to Continuous Improvement reflects the willingness to learn from experience, embrace feedback, and actively seek ways to improve personal and team performance. Together, these competencies confirm that the seafarer can execute tasks and is motivated, self-regulated, and growth-oriented, contributing to a culture of high standards, resilience, and continuous Improvement on board any vessel type.
- The Leadership and Managerial Skills cluster (F1–F6) assesses a seafarer’s capacity to lead people, manage resources, uphold standards, and ensure operational continuity in routine and high-pressure maritime scenarios.
F1: Setting Direction measures the ability to provide clear expectations, align team efforts with long-term objectives, and translate vision into actionable strategies.
F2: Empowerment evaluates how well the leader fosters autonomy, encourages development, and promotes open communication, trust, and shared ownership among crewmembers.
F3: Authority and Assertiveness reflects the confidence and presence required to take command, make timely decisions, and create an environment where challenge and feedback are welcome, but responsibility is never abdicated.
F4: Providing and Maintaining Standards assesses the individual’s ability to model high ethical behaviour, enforce policies, and introduce improvements while maintaining consistency.
F5: Planning and Coordination focuses on the ability to organize tasks, delegate effectively, align resources, and communicate intentions clearly, adapting as necessary.
F6: Workload Management addresses the leader’s capacity to balance operational demands, distribute tasks fairly, monitor crew wellbeing, and recognize signs of overload or fatigue.
This cluster confirms that the seafarer is not only operationally capable, but can also lead with clarity, integrity, emotional intelligence and strategic foresight — essential qualities for safe, effective, and human-centred leadership in any shipboard environment.
Behavioural Competence Scoring Framework: Measuring Readiness Through Positive and Negative Indicators.
These are broken down into positive and negative behavioural indicators, supported by weighted soft skill mappings and measured with the quantified soft skills. There are five (5) levels of results on positive and negative Indicators. These are:
Positive Indicators
85%- 100% Exceptional: Strong positive attitude.
75% – 85% Exceeds Expectations: Performs above average.
70% – 75% Meets Expectations: Competent and safe to work.
65% – 70% Needs Improvement: Below the desired standard.
45% -65% Un-satisfaction: Does not meet behavioural standards.
Negative Indicators
(-80%) – (-100%) Critical Risk: High probability of dysfunction.
(-75%) – (-80%) Risk: Needs Improvement and monitoring.
(-70%) – (- 75%) Caution Zone: Safe to work.
(-60%) – (-70%) Minor Concern: Acceptable with minor observations.
(-45%) - (-60%) No Risk: Minimal or negligible risk level to create a problem.
These results are a behavioural “X-Ray” of the individual and a readiness verification showing where the crew member stands relative to operational and safety requirements, especially under stress or dynamic conditions.
While INTERTANKO’s original framework was designed for the tanker segment, this behavioral verification process can be now successfully adapted, unless of tanker vessels, to any other kind type of vessel.
Such as dry cargo bulk carriers, container ships, LNG vessels, ro-ro, offshore support vessels, ferries, coastal ships, tugboats, passenger ships, cruise ships and any other type of vessels, where cognitive workload, multicultural team management, and fatigue risk are equally critical.
A Tool for Safety Leaders, Not Just HR
The Profile Report is far more than an HR screening tool. It allows masters, superintendents, crewing managers, and safety officers to:
- Make informed embarkation decisions
- Identify crew members with high leadership potential
- Support targeted training and coaching
- Prevent cognitive fatigue and psychological risk factors
- Elevate the ship’s behavioural safety culture from reactive to proactive
This holistically integrated approach positions behavioural competence as a core pillar of safety management, alongside technical maintenance and procedural compliance.
Toward a Standardized, Ethical, Human-Centric Future
The shipping industry is steadily moving toward performance-based vetting, and behavioural data will be a key component. With tools like the Soft Screen application of PYLI NET, behavioural competence is no longer anecdotal or hidden—it is measurable, reportable, and improvable.
As more companies adopt the model of “Soft Screen Soft Skills X-Ray” across vessel types and flags, a new standard is emerging—one that defines crew readiness not only by rank or license but also by who they are, how they think, and how they lead in moments that matter most.
Because accidents in shipping are mainly due to human factors, the ship’s safety and the seafarers’ lives do not begin when the alarm sounds, but long before the seafarer even boards the ship.
By Dr. Ioannis Patiniotis
Financial Director,
Carras (Hellas) S.A. www.pyli-net.com
