Effedua appreciates FMoT, NIMASA as Academy completes fresh professional seafarer training on engine room simulator operation
…Unveils 12 simulator-based training programmes
The Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron in Akwa Ibom, has completed a first-of-its-kind professional seafarer training on Engine Room Simulator operation.
At a certificate presentation ceremony which held on 19th January, Rector of the Academy, Commodore Duja Effedua (Rtd.), commended and encouraged the seafarers for completing the course in Radar Navigation, Radar-Plotting and Use of ARPA (RNRPA).
Effedua used the opportunity to appreciate the Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMoT) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for making highly significant commitment to the development of the academy.
According to the Rector, “This journey establishing academic excellence in the Maritime Academy of Nigeria is founded on the support it gets from the FMoT and NIMASA.
“Our efforts in ensuring we are at par with our counterparts in the global maritime scene began in 2018 with the procurement of world-class training facilities and installation processes.
“We can proudly say that the Ministry has been solidly behind our management’s quest to ensure full realisation of the transformation as specified by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).”
The rector expressed confidence that the continued support of the ministry and NIMASA would sustain the academy’s new status as a remarkable maritime education and training institution in the world.
He disclosed that with NIMASA’s approved, the academy now has 12 simulator-based courses for the training of seafarers in their professional development.
This development, Effedua noted, would save Nigeria of foreign exchange that would otherwise have been spent in other countries, when Nigerians paid so much for these courses abroad.
One of the trainees, an ex-cadet of the academy and a 3rd engineer, Patrick Audu, was quite elated by the quality of the training programme, particularly for reasons of the facilities.
Audu’s words, “I must say that I am very impressed at the new look that my alma mater is wearing, it is quite impressive. I was here as a Cadet in 2014, I know how it was back then, coming back to see the level at which the institution has been transformed is quite encouraging.
“ I want to appreciate the management of the Academy for putting this in place and I want to tell them to ensure it is sustained. I also want to encourage my colleagues in the industry to come and get trained at the Academy instead of going abroad to spend money on a course they can get at the Academy and at a cheaper rate.”
With the acquisition of the most-modern simulators, the academy now offers the following 12 courses: Ship Simulator & Bridge Teamwork (SSBT); Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) General Operators Certificate (GOC) Course; Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS); Radar Navigation, Radar Plotting and Use of ARPA (RNRPA); Liquid Cargo & Ballast Handling Simulator (LCBHS); Bridge Watch-Keeping Preparatory Course (BWPC); Engine Room Simulator (Operational Level) Course (ERSOL); Engine Room Simulator (Management Level) Course (ERSML); High Voltage Course (HV); Auxiliary Engine Familiarization Course (AEFC); Boiler Familiarization Course (BFC) and Engine Room Watchkeeping Preparatory Course (ERWPC).
