THE Fiji Maritime Academy hopes seafarers on local and foreign vessels enrol in numbers so the Certificate of Completion can be finished by the end of the year.
The Fiji Seafarers Certificate of Competency (CoC) will expire on December 31, 2016 so FMA has started doing the bridging courses so Fijians can meet the new regulation of Manila STCW 2010 as amended by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
IMO has given all local government/maritime authorities five years to comply with this amendment since 2011.
FMA executive officer Mohammed Taslim said they started with the bridging course for Class 4 and Class 5 management level at Namaka Campus on September 19.
“For Class 3 master/engineer (watch keeper) — operational level, the classes started on September 26 at FMA,” he said.
“FMA is ready to cater for all the seafarers serving locally and on foreign going vessels. Priority will be given to foreign going seafarers.
“Seafarers need to turn up and enrol. We can cater for as much as 40 students per class so if the students turn up in numbers there won’t be any issue in having all the Seafarers COC upgraded by December 31, 2016.”
The Coc is the most critical factor in the safe and efficient operation of ships and has a direct impact on the safety of life at sea and the protection of the marine environment.
The IMO Convention on STCW is a comprehensive set of international regulations intended to ensure the highest standards of seafarer competence are maintained globally.
New wide-ranging amendments to the STCW rules, agreed by governments in Manila in 2010, are intended to ensure STCW standards stay relevant, so seafarers can continue to develop and maintain their professional skills. In particular, numerous changes are now being introduced to take into account technical developments that require new shipboard competencies.
