Stena, Sonangol Launch Training Facility in Angola

The Centro De Formação Maritima De Angola (CFMA) was officially launched on August 27 by top management from Sonangol, the Angolan public sector energy company and the Stena Group of Sweden. The CFMA is a world class maritime training facility, the first of its kind in Angola and the most modern maritime campus in Africa.

The campus will be an internationally recognized center of excellence, linked through Stena to leading maritime institutions in Europe and Asia in order to deliver marine education, training and certification to Angolan seafarers in order to satisfy Sonangol’s and Angola’s future requirements for marine expertise.

The maritime campus is built on a green field site close to Sumbe on the coast approximately 360 km south of Luanda and is completely self-contained. Up to 200 students per year will have the opportunity to study at the center, starting with the first year in Angola and the second year in Glasgow.

Stena and Sonangol are already cooperating through the Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool, which since 2005 operates a pool of large crude oil tankers (today 23 vessels) from four offices worldwide. In 2008 a second partnership was formed between Stena and Sonangol Shipping to design, create and build the center, which will be managed from the outset by the maritime faculty of City of Glasgow College, one of Europe’s foremost maritime training institutions.

"The development of the Maritime Training Center has been a natural step for Stena Bulk in our close relation with Sonangol where education has been one of the fundamental questions since we started our Joint Venture through Stena Sonangol Suezmax Pool," said Erik Hånell, CEO Stena Bulk. “The investment in the project by Sonangol and Stena will ensure the long term success of the project, and will also bring added value by employing people from the surrounding area, and therefore contribute to the local economy and infrastructure to the benefit of the life condition of the local community.”.

Northern Marine Management, a Glasgow based wholly owned Stena Company, led the project management team responsible for the design, build and preoperational phase of the CFMA, and delivery of the state of the art Campus. City of Glasgow College will ensure compliance with the highest maritime academic standards and lead CFMA to develop Angolan STCW certification and support IMO “white list” accreditation.

Attending at the opening were the owner and CEO of the Stena Group, Dan Sten Olsson as well as Erik Hånell, President and CEO, Stena Bulk, Claes Davidsson, Chairman Northern Marine Group and Kevin Slade, Director, Northern Marine Management. Sonangol management included Miguel Baltazar, President of the Sonangol Academy and head of Sonangol Shipping Mark Heater.

Important milestones :
•Formation of AMTSL, a Stena/Sonangol Shipping Joint Venture company specifically formed to design and build CFMA – November 2008
•Construction General Contractor Mota – Engil was appointed on May 17, 2010.
•The City of Glasgow College contract was signed on August 19, 2010.
•Laying the Foundation Stone Ceremony April 6, 2011
•Full completion of campus works December 2013
•First intake of cadet trainees on January 19, 2014

The intake of Cadet Trainees for Sonangol Shipping will be the first of a stream of highly skilled and internationally qualified Angolan seafarers for Sonangol and the local maritime and offshore industries. During the first five years trainee numbers will be progressively increased with the potential to also offer many short and specialized courses to the wider maritime industry. A major component of the program will be to develop Angolan professional maritime academic staff that will eventually be fully responsible for managing and operating CFMA.

AMTSL will continue to provide oversight, guidance and direction to CFMA, with strategic funding where necessary, to ensure all training delivered by the Angolan College is of the highest international standard. The ultimate aim is to not only provide the academic basis for Angola to join the “White List” of Countries assessed by IMO as being able to deliver training to STCW standards, and thus able to issue Maritime Certificates of Competency in its own right, but to a standard recognized by all as the equivalent to those of the leading Maritime Nations.

CFMA is already a member of the Stena Association of Maritime Institutes (STAMI), a group of eight of the World’s leading Maritime Training Institutes who educate and train Stena’s seafarers and who are committed to leading and sharing excellence in maritime competence and certification.

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