Wärtsilä has become the latest major marine company to specify MARIS hardware and software as part of its product specific training.
The MARIS ECDIS900 system is to be installed at the Wärtsilä Land & Sea Training Academy Subic, the engine company’s instruction centre in the Philippines.
The agreement is part of a standard cooperation offer from MARIS to provide cost effective product-specific solutions to leading training schools/institutes world-wide. It covers certification, ‘train the trainer’, yearly maintenance of software, software upgrades, documentation, charts and other digital services.
MARIS Deputy Chief Executive Corporate, Steinar Gundersen, said: “Shipping’s governing bodies have expressed clear expectations that the new technology playing a key role in meeting regulatory standards for ECDIS is deployed through close cooperation between manufacturers and training institutes.”
Mr Gundersen cited the January 1, 2012 entry into force of the revised STCW Convention and Code, which includes new requirements relating to training in modern technology such as ECDIS. “The market demands product-specific training on the ECDIS equipment that officers will use,” he said.
MARIS ‘courseware’ is augmented by refresher courses to ensure competency levels wherever the training is delivered. MARIS supports its offering through Manufacturer Training Certification.
“We aim to help owners with their internal training and to be partners with the leading training organisations to ensure that the external services they offer are efficient and user friendly,” said Mr Gundersen.
MARIS Director Asia Pacific, Bhupesh Gandhi, said that the new cooperation was the latest example of the supplier’s prioritisation of training agreements in Asia. He said the company expected regional shipowner uptake of ECDIS to expand by around 20%-30% in 2012.
“Most crews are truly international and, given the importance of the Philippines as a source of maritime labour, the agreement with Wärtsilä Subic is a landmark in our drive to ensure that good and standardised ECDIS training on MARIS systems is available in as many locations as possible,” he said.
MARIS-certified product-specific training is already available in a number of key markets for crew training. Mr Gundersen said that the company expected to have agreements in place in all major maritime markets by the end of 2012.
“This and similar agreements reflect the fact that, as a company, we see training as equally critical to the successful delivery of ECDIS as a navigation tool as hardware, software, chart readability and technical support.”