Personnel Development News

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) said its board of directors has appointed Robert Ekse as president of the firm. Ekse will assume the position from current president and chief engineer, Brian King, who is retiring after 33 years of service. King will remain active in EBDG projects in a limited capacity, accepting the role as principal emeritus."Brian will be deeply missed, but his many accomplishments will be a reminder of his contributions to our industry…

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Brian King as President - Chief Engineer. King will have direct supervision of the business and affairs of the company. He will be responsible for advancing EBDG's major strategic objectives while leading the team on planning, business management, engineering, personnel development and sales.Since joining the company in 1988, Brian has made numerous contributions to the organization including developing engineering standards…

The United Nations Security Council on Monday expressed its deep concern over piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea, and stressed the importance of a comprehensive approach — led by States of the region, with international support — to address the problem and its root causes. Issuing presidential statement S/PRST/2016/4, the Council strongly condemned acts of murder, kidnapping, hostage-taking and robbery by pirates in the Gulf, and underlined the importance of determining any links between piracy and armed robbery at sea, and terrorist groups in West Africa and the Sahel subregions. It encouraged regional organizations — including the African Union…

Senior leaders from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Australian Federal Police signed a Memorandum of Understanding Friday at U.S. Coast Guard Headquarters to highlight common missions, interests, capabilities, and opportunities for collaboration. The memorandum seeks to benefit the U.S. - Australia partnership by strengthening maritime cooperation, promoting personnel development, and fostering research into civil maritime law enforcement. Coast Guard Vice Adm. Charles D. Michel, deputy commandant for operations, and Andrew Colvin, commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, signed the memorandum. “This agreement allows the Coast Guard and the Australian Federal Police to combine our strengths in common missions, interests and capabilities,” said Michel.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service have signed a memorandum of understanding to highlight common missions, interests and capabilities, along with opportunities for collaboration for mutual benefit. The MOU is intended to benefit the U.S. and Australia partnership by strengthening maritime cooperation through the sharing of information needed for maritime domain awareness activities. Also, it will encourage and promote cooperation in the areas of personnel development, research and other areas relating to civil maritime law enforcement operations.

The U.S. Coast Guard and the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to highlight common missions, interests and capabilities, along with opportunities for collaboration for mutual benefit, Tuesday. The MOU will benefit the U.S. and Australia partnership by strengthening maritime cooperation through the sharing of information needed for maritime domain awareness activities. Also, it will encourage and promote cooperation in the areas of personnel development, research and other areas relating to civil maritime law enforcement operations.

Altogether, 35 apprentices and 13 graduates of dual study courses were handed their diplomas at a graduation celebration tin Plant 2 of Tognum subsidiary MTU Friedrichshafen GmbH. Steffen Besserer, head of personnel development, praised the achievements of the young job starters. "You can all be proud of having reached the very first milestone on your career path. The next challenge is to put the knowledge that you have acquired into practice in the years ahead." The chance to gain job experience is being offered by MTU…

Workshop and seminar rooms have been developed on two floors of the former residence of the VULKAN owners. On Wednesday, July 3, 2013, the Mayor of the city of Herne and the owners and Executive Management of the VULKAN Group cut the blue ribbon to inaugurate the Hackforth Academy, the new advanced training center. More than 30 guests from the sectors of politics, economics and science gathered to attend the festive inaugural celebrations. The Hackforth Academy is the new internal advanced training institute of the VULKAN Group that is situated at the registered office of the Herne business.

Bibby Offshore’s newest division, Bibby Remote Intervention Limited (BRIL) Recently increased its workforce following the creation of two new positions. David Howe joins the firm as project director and Robin Longstaff as survey manager. BRIL was established at the end of 2011 to manage the increased market demand for ROV services and has since expanded from support of the company’s own vessels and diver-less intervention services to external clients. The past 12 months has seen staff numbers rise considerably…

The shipping industry is investing in training. Newly released statistics from the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS), which celebrated its centenary in 2011, show shipping bucking the trend in terms of cuts to training budgets. While recent figures from the Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) revealed a fall of 20 percent in training budgets in 2011, ICS examination registrations are up 44 percent. The ICS 2012 figures for the number of examinations being undertaken are in sharp contrast to the downbeat maritime industry forecasts for the medium to long term. The ICS is experiencing a record year in examination registrations with 5,838 already confirmed, compared to 4,061 in 2011.

“2008 was generally still a very good year with impressive 8.4% growth. In autumn, however, gloom also spread to our sector, which has been so used to success in the last five years,” reports Dr. Alexander Nürnberg, chairman of the German Engineering Federation (VDMA) – Marine and Offshore Equipment Industries at the association’s press conference in Hamburg. “We had expected a consolidation of the  shipbuilding markets, which had been very overheated up to mid-2008. But no one could foresee the actual massive impact of declines in orders…

Crowley Maritime Corporation is continuing the expansion of its newly formed marine personnel department through the appointments of Scott Craig, director, West Coast/Alaska and Margaret Reasoner, director, East Coast/Gulf. Craig will have responsibility for the Seattle, Long Beach and Anchorage crewing locations that service operations from southern California to northwestern Alaska encompassing more than 70-crewed vessels and 800-plus mariners. Reasoner will have day-to-day responsibility for more than 65-crewed vessels and approximately 1,200 mariners in locations from Lake Charles, Lou.

David C. Hanby, Jr., President & COO McDonough Marine shares with readers of MarineLink.com his insights on key market drivers for the coming year. What legislative/political issue do you count as the most important for the marine industry in the next few years? DH: Effective funding of infrastructure improvements of the waterway facilities our industry depends on to provide efficient, safe, environmentally friendly transportation of our nation's commodities. While the government seems determined to increase the tax burden on our industry…

Following the recent launch of Wärtsilä's Land and Sea Academy (WLSA) for training all categories of seafarers to today's high skills and competency needs; Wärtsilä is pleased to announce its first major seafarer competence and career management development contract. The specialized chemical logistics provider, Odfjell ASA has signed a four-year contract with WLSA to develop and implement comprehensive training and career path solutions for their seafarers. WLSA will provide Learn@Sea(TM) service which will enable Odfjell to utilize state-of-the-art competence management infrastructure and advanced training logistics support. By partnering with WLSA, Odfjell will be able to optimize its competence and career management program thus achieving the best value and results of their investments.

Electronic Design, Inc. (EDI), designs and manufactures shipboard control and monitoring systems, training and simulation systems, and related products for large and small ships; both commercial and military. In 1997, EDI was chosen to participate in the U.S. Navy's Smart Ship project, and was awarded a contract to completely retrofit the hardwired Machinery Plant Control and Monitoring System (MPCMS) aboard an amphibious troop carrier (LSD 47), with a state-of-the-art, processor-based, software system using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. Smart Ship was conceived in 1996 by the Navy to evaluate its future with respect to manpower and cost. It was clear COTS technology and reduced manning were essential elements.