Robert Pickersgill, minister of transport and works, listens keenly to a point being made by George Toma, a representative from Transa, the company that supplied the software for three simulators provided to the Caribbean Maritime Institute on Monday. Looking on at right is US Ambassador to Jamaica, Sue Cobb, while Kingston Mayor Desmond McKenzie is partially hidden at third left. Wayne Ellis, technical project manager, is partially concealed at far left. (Photo: Wayne Chin)

THE Caribbean Maritime Institute (CMI) officially received three training simulators, Monday, which will allow it to offer additional courses to its students.

"The simulators will allow the institute to carry courses not offered before, such as bridge team management, piloting training, global maritime distress and safety system training, as well as automatic radar plotting and electronic chart display training," said Wayne Ellis, technical project manager at the CMI's Palisadoes Park headquarters.

The simulators were assembled last month but officially commissioned on Monday. The Institute's over 300 students, along with Maritime companies, will use them in their training. Three hours of training on the simulators will be equivalent to one hour at sea and will help students fulfill the number of training hours needed to be licensed.

On Monday, the CMI received:

*a professional navigational bridge simulator -- which replicates the Kingston Harbour and other courses, allowing real-time docking and navigation training without potentially damaging a real vessel;

*an engine room simulator -- replicating emergency scenarios; and

*a liquid cargo handling simulator -- allowing training for transiting oils and other liquids.

The simulators cost a total of £440,000 and were purchased with a grant from the European Development Fund and a loan from the Caribbean Development Bank. Their acquisition forms part of an ongoing multiphase expansion at the CMI, which is funded by a 1.96 million euro grant secured from the European Union in 2000.

Additional plans involve building a classroom and a library. Last year, the CMI received some 40 computers along with purchasing the simulators.

"The CMI is undertaking a massive reorganisational exercise to strengthen its ability to expand its programme and meet the needs of the current and future students," said transport minister, Robert Pickersgill at the commissioning. "A spin off (of the expansion) is the recreation of new opportunities in the region. We foresee the institute being called upon for more consultancy services to new and emerging maritime entities."

In June, Jamaica was listed among 113 countries which have given full support to global standards of training and safety in maritime affairs. These standards are part of the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) for seafarers. Other regional parties to this convention are Trinidad & Tobago, Barbados, Venezuela as well as Antigua & Barbuda.

Jamaica's successful inclusion on the list, published by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), was mainly due to educational programmes at the CMI such as the officers in charge of navigational (OICN) courses. The IMO is an agency within the United Nations and its mandate is to ensure that countries have safer shipping and cleaner seas.

The STCW Convention, to which the OICN programme is aligned, is the first internationally-agreed Convention to address the issue of minimum standards of competence for seafarers. The training simulators are designed to meet the requirements of the STCW Convention.

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