Loland is also collaborating with the Maritime Events Limited and the Regional Maritime University in Accra, Ghana to organise the second African manning and training conference in Ghana next month.

According to the master mariner and consultant, the moment African countries begin to act consciously against corruption in their educational system to correct the negative impression that Africans are going about with fake certificate, the continent will become an alternative source of maritime labour in the world.

Speaking with The Guardian on the forth coming conference in Ghana, Loland said there are negative impressions about African countries in foreign countries, adding that the negative impressions have hitherto made it impossible to recognise the maritime workers even those who acquired their certificate genuinely.

“African countries lack qualifying educational institution and this coupled with the impression about Africa by other countries. There are pirates in Somalia, there is militancy in Nigeria, and you can not see negative things about other countries. There is this impression about low educational standard, there is no international shipping company in Africa, the existing ones are into coastal operations”

Fielding questions on the need to employ the available and qualified seafarers in Africa by foreign ship owners, Loland said those who have genuine qualification would need to defend their certificate and to tell the world that they have been trained to international standard

“If you are qualified and can prove it, you will get a job. There should be no fear about employment. One way to prove it is showing papers and the other is to express ability. All these should be accepted internationally”, he said

The Norwegian maritime consultant, who took a clean swipe at the African maritime sector, lamented that the continent has a viable coast line only very few of the citizens are in the international maritime labour market

He said the continent of Africa has a long way to go in the attempts to meet up with advanced maritime nations, adding that within the continent seafarers are still being looked upon as inexperience and with low level of education

“When I talk to ship owners here they said Nigerians lack experience, they said the country lacks educated seamen. Many Nigerians go to Ghana for training because the Nigerian certificates are not recognised by other countries. Africa has a long coast line but only few Africans are in the international seafarers market. Why are there few Africans on board ships? What can we do to change this? How can we create jobs? We can improve Africa as an area where you can take seamen from”.

Continuing, he said: What I am seeing personally is a long, long way to go for Africa,” adding that countries in the continent would need to begin to organise properly, put in place a system to avoid fraud and corruption which are in all countries but more in magnitude in Africa, they will need to come up with proper documentation. They will need to eradicate a situation “when if you go to school and you can say I have so much money, can you give a certificate,” Africa doesn’t have a specialised maritime institution, I mean the institution that can go into the specifics in maritime”

Commenting on the Ghana conference, he said it was on training and manning, adding that those things that would make Africa an alternative source of manning and crewing would be looked into with the view of finding out the problem area for correction so that the country could become a viable place to source maritime labour in the world.

“The conference in Ghana is about maritime training and manning, to make Africa a new continent for seafarers and maritime crewing source

The foreign master mariner, who said he has been involved in the training of the youths from the Niger Delta, as seafarer lamented the continue domination of the seafaring business in Africa by the Indians and the Philippines

“Today most crew comes from Asia and former east block countries. Only very few from Africa. What we will like to achieve with conference is to make Africa a new continent for the supply of crew vessels, we want to find out the requirement to become a sailor, what are the shipping companies are looking for? Why Africans are not being taken as sailors by ship owners? Is there anything wrong with educational system or is there anything wrong with the impression about Africa? When we asked these questions, then we have to find answers as to the reasons why Africana are not involved. The Philippines are dominating. The other countries are India, China”

The second maritime manning and training conference in Ghana is expected to be chaired by former Executive Director of O. T African Lines, Mr. Asoma Banda. According to the organisers, the event billed to begin on March 10, is targeted at ship owners from the continent.

This is the first private initiative aimed at generating interest in the maritime issues especially maritime labour matters. The first of the conference took place in Abuja about four years ago and was attended then by the Secretary General of the International Organisation. It was organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the defunct National Maritime Authority, now National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (source: www.ngrguardiannews.com).

The Maritime Education Summit will promote discussion and extensive networking among maritime educators and administrators, industry leaders, and regulatory personnel. As Maritime Education Summit prepare the next generation of maritime professionals for careers at sea and ashore, there are many critical issues to consider in charting a course for the future. This conference will seek to address the most important of these issues.

The Summit will also convene a Maritime Workforce Panel led by representatives from major maritime corporations and from the national shipping unions. Breakout sessions will follow focused tracks on maritime training, strategy and administration, and general education. Specific topics scheduled for presentation include the critical, current-day issues of piracy, port security and emergency response. Participants in the conference will also be given the opportunity for a first-hand view of the Academy’s Advanced Shiphandling in Manned Models training program.

The Maritime Education Summit will run concurrently with the spring meeting of the Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee (MERPAC). Established by the Commandant of the Coast Guard in 1992, the 19-member group advises the Secretary of Homeland Security on issues affecting and regulating merchant mariners. Attendees of the Maritime Education Summit are welcome to attend the meeting.

Founded in 1891, Massachusetts Maritime Academy is the oldest continuously operating maritime academy in the United States and supports 1200 students in several undergraduate majors and two graduate programs. Located an hour away from both Boston and Providence, it is one of seven maritime academies in the country and part of the Massachusetts State College system. The Academy’s curriculum is continually evolving in response to trends and innovations in the maritime industry. MMA’s philosophy of “Learn, Do, Learn” encapsulates the combination of hands-on and classroom learning.

For more information on the Maritime Education Summit: Trending and Pedagogy for the Future, visit www.maritime.edu/educationsummit or email educationsummitinfo@maritime.edu. MMA Contact: Kristine Esdale / Director of Annual Giving / telephone: (508) 830-5269. On the WEB: www.maritime.edu (source: www.maritime-executive.com).

University of the Philippines professor Lucia Palpal-latoc Tangi came to this conclusion after in-depth interviews with a dozen women seafarers, most of whom are working as bar waitresses, utility and massage therapists on passenger and cruise liners.

The discrimination of women seafarers, Tangi claimed, begins from the recruitment stage, when women applicants are already judged based on their youthfulness and beauty, and not on skills.

“Experience is a plus but not imperative, especially when the applicants have a pleasing personality,” Tangi said.

Her conclusion has rattled the male-dominated seafaring industry.

“If there are women seafarers [working in freighters or tankers], there will be just a handful of them,” Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) director Alejandro Padaen was quick to reply during the presentation of Tangi’s paper last September.

Padaen said people should not be misled by government figures that say there are about 6,619 Filipino woman seafarers, since most of them work in passenger liners or cruise ships, both types of which are demanding both men and women to either serve passengers or run the ship.

Working in freighter or cargo vessels is far different from working in passenger and cruise liners, Padaen said. He also said freighter or cargo vessels can only employ between 21 and 23 crew members per sail.
Padaen, however, added that this does not mean there’s no harassment onboard. He assumed that women are too scared to come forward and report the case.

“In my three-year stint as director for POEA’s adjudication division, I encountered just one case.”
Padaen said the case involved a male seafarer stealing the undergarments of his coworker onboard.
That male seafarer, whom he declined to name, was suspended without pay for two years because of the violation.

Safeguards to prevent sexual harassment of women

The four female graduates of MAAP, one of the country’s premier institutions for the seafaring industry, last July are just the latest group to join the increasing number of women in the seafaring industry.
Established a decade ago, MAAP is headed by the local labor union Associated Marine Officers’ Union of the Philippines, private sector Danish Shipowners Association, International Transport Workers Federation, International Maritime Employee Committee, and the Filipino Association of Mariner’s Employment.
All graduates of the school are scholars and handpicked by the principals themselves. This means that all of their graduates will be future officers and will not be given menial jobs.

According to school president Eduardo Ma. Santos, they are treating their women students the same as males.

But there are “safeguards” to prevent them from being sexually harassed by the others, Santos said.
For one, hazing, which he said is usually practiced in other maritime schools, is prohibited.
Students are segregated according to their floors, and students are prohibited from going to floors other than their designated area.

“Women seafarers organize their own symposia on sexual harassment for prevention,” Santos, who is a former Philippine Navy chief, told the OFW Journalism Consortium.

“But there is no discrimination [of gender]. They will take their shipboard training the same as everyone else,” Santos said in a telephone interview.

He added that the name of a seafarer accused of sexual harassment will be disseminated to all maritime agents and vessel operators.

“In the symposia, they always instruct the women to always lock their doors when brushing teeth. Women are also encouraged to cite ways they could avoid harassment or abuse.”

According to Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) executive Siony Flores, addressing women’s concerns onboard a vessel could be as simple as giving them adequate facilities since they have a different biological makeup from men.

Flores, a career PPA employee, was the one of those who established gender and development points in the ports, a sector in the industry considered dominated by men. “We’re only talking of equity on the available resources and not equality,” the PPA Corporate Communications director said.

Flores added they encourage women to organize, especially since the government provides them funding for gender and development projects, as mandated by Women in Development and Nation Building Act.
The law states that at least 5 percent of the budget of an agency goes to gender projects.

But private-sector initiatives for the protection of women are a different matter, she admitted, since resources are “scarce.”

Santos, however, balked when asked if the measures of the maritime sector to prevent harassment of women onboard a vessel are already institutionalized.

Women battling exploitation

IN her working study titled “Pinays On Board: An Exploratory Study on the Working Conditions of Filipino Women Seafarers,” Tangi said women have to battle exploitation, discrimination and sexual harassment when onboard a vessel.

Eleven out of the 12 respondents of the study worked onboard luxury liners and only one worked onboard an oil tanker, Tangi said in an e-mail message to the OFW Journalism Consortium.

Tangi categorized those working in cruise liners and a freighter vessel as both seafarers, but they are differentiated when they go onboard, as the latter type of vessel requires highly skilled, more physically enduring jobs.

A seafarer, she said, refers to any person who is employed or engaged in any activity onboard a seagoing ship navigating the foreign seas other than a government ship used for military or noncommercial purposes.
Thus waitresses, utility and massage therapists are considered seafarers as well.

The study, however, made apples-and-oranges comparisons.

For one, she opined there is discrimination of salary between male and female seafarers.

The women she interviewed said they only earn between $50 (for massage therapist) and $1,000 a month as basic salary. But they can earn between $2,000 and $4,500 a month from tips alone.

Tangi then compared the salary of male seafarers, which she said are more into professional, technical and labor-intensive job onboard.

A ship captain and the ship engineer, depending on the type of vessel, can both earn between $5,200 and $10,000 a month, while the other officers can earn about $2,400 and $8,400 a month.

“The research depicts the systematic discrimination of women in the maritime sector. Since women are assigned to positions or jobs which are reflective or related to their reproductive and nurturing roles, they tend to receive lower pay,” she wrote.

“Women seafarers manage to augment their income through tips and through part-time jobs, such as doing the laundry and cleaning the cabins of Western crew members,” she added.

Tangi faced the same hurdle that the government experience—the unavailability of data regarding women seafarers.

The POEA does not even give details on how many women are in cruise ships or freighter vessels.
Nongovernment groups like the Church-based Apostleship of the Sea (AOS) also do not have records of cases of sexual harassment onboard a freighter vessel nor discrimination issues of women.

“For sure, they will not come out,” said Maria Isa Yñiguez, AOS paralegal aide.

Another Church group, Scalabrini Migration Center, said it does not have any study on female seafarers and all of the data were from those gathered by the POEA.

Lack of protection given to women

TANGI also added points on the long-time debate on the current flag of convenience (FOC) system.
She said such system also put women more at risk since FOC-vessels do not give enough protection to women.

International Transport Workers’ Federation has been alone in its campaign for the abolition of the FOC system to protect the seafarers from exploitation and discrimination.

At the moment, more than half of the world’s merchant ships, as measured by tonnage, are registered under the so-called flags of convenience, more commonly referred to as “open registries.” Traditional reasons for choosing an open register include protection from burdensome income taxes, wage scales and regulations.
While this may be true to some open registries, it is difficult to substantiate generalized arguments against flags of convenience as the establishment of the system was sought by the vessel owners themselves.

In about more than 30 FOC states or nations, the most well known are Panama, Liberia, Bahamas, Malta and Cyprus. Together they control about 45 percent of the shipping tonnage, according to nongovernment group Greenpeace.

“Within the IMO, a treaty only comes into force if the ratifying states together represent the required shipping tonnage. That means that, in fact, FOC states have the power of veto in the IMO,” the IMO web site said.

Tangi said this is one of the things her study would focus on.

“I will be expanding my study to include the history on the deployment of women seafarers. I also intend to interview women from other departments, including engineers and officers, if I am lucky,” she said, adding that she will also interview ship owners to make her study more comprehensive.

“I want to include the entire three Bs in my study—the buyer, the business and the bought.”

Tangi said her study is supported by the views enshrined in the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.

The Philippines, as a signatory to the convention, has the duty to ensure that women’s rights are protected even in the maritime industry.

“We are not asking for special treatment for women. We are asking that women should be given an equal opportunity to integrate and excel in a field that they choose. Women’s rights are inalienable rights and should, therefore, be upheld and protected at all times.” (source: www.businessmirror.com.ph).

www.MaritimeJobSearch.com | Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering Jobs

The Government wants to open a major new centre of marine expertise – and Tyneside has been shortlisted as a possible location for the project.

If the plans are given the go-ahead, at least 150 highly-skilled jobs are expected to be brought here. The centre, called the Marine Management Organisation (MMO), will also act as a magnet to bring more firms to the area and boost employment further.

However, the North East is competing for the scheme with other parts of the country. Bids have been made by places including Plymouth, Carrick, the East Riding of Yorkshire, London, Lowestoft/Great Yarmouth and Merseyside.

Ministers are expected to announce their decision by the end of January.

But MPs and various organisations in Tyneside are in the process of lobbying for the project to be brought to this region.

Tynemouth MP Alan Campbell said: “I have met representatives at Defra and have presented our case for the MMO to come to the North East.

“There is a lot of competition for it. But we have a lot to offer and I believe Tyneside is the best place for it.

“We have a tradition of marine industry, whether it’s fishing or shipbuilding and ship repair, and increasingly wind farm and off-shore technologies.

“I have stressed the strengths of the North East with regards to the economy over the last decade or so. I have emphasised that our universities have strong marine departments and research bases.

“Indeed, Newcastle University has the Dove Marine Laboratory in my constituency.

“The benefits of the MMO will be great. There will be at least 150 high-value jobs, it will raise the profile of Tyneside and attract more firms and work in the marine industry. More jobs will follow.”

The MMO headquarters will be responsible for regulating all marine activities and help to enforce laws to protect coastal waters.

It will be a centre for marine management, planning, conservation and licensing.

Consultants have been involved in forming the shortlist of locations. The criteria of assessment includes the availability of labour market with appropriate skills, transport links and access to key stakeholders.

Mr Campbell added: “We have a strong lobby from the North East. Nick Brown, Minister for the region, and regional development agency One North East are among those campaigning for this project. This will be a real boost for Tyneside and will show the rest of the country what we have to offer.”

The MMO will be created under the Marine and Coastal Access Bill, which aims for better protection and development of the seas around Britain.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: “The effects of climate change and the increasing use of the sea by many competing interests mean we must look after our marine areas for future generations.

“This new system of protection and management of our seas will help to halt the decline in biodiversity and to create clean, healthy, safe, productive and biologically-diverse oceans and seas. And all of us will be able to walk along more of the length of the coast and get close to the sea right around England.” (source: www.chroniclelive.co.uk).

www.MaritimeJobSearch.com | Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering Jobs

Now he is to take the helm as manager of the new Emirates International Maritime Academy and his aim is to reconnect his country with its nautical heritage.

As an Emirati sailor, Capt al Hayyas ranks as something of a rarity these days, with few of his fellow countrymen looking to the high seas for a career.
He hopes the impending launch of the maritime academy will help change this.

“The UAE is a coastal state. Seafaring is nothing new to the country, but now people go to oil and gas and the police. We want to bring them back.”

He admits that much of the romance has been lost from seafaring over the decades. In today’s hi-tech world of quick turnarounds, time ashore is virtually non-existent.

“Things have changed,” says Capt al Hayyas, who during his 13 years at sea has served on a series of oil tankers for Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc) and British Petroleum.
“Before, ships spent a long time in port and the sailors enjoyed themselves. Discharging the cargo took time. Now you only spend hours in port and you stay on board. You don’t get the chance to leave the ship and most ports are in industrial areas.”

Instead, the internet and satellite TV are now usually available on board, wages are generous and shipping companies give long periods off work to compensate for time way from home.
“Before it was six months at sea, now it’s two to three months and then you get two months off,” he says. And employment conditions are likely to improve because there is a worldwide dearth of maritime officers. Capt al Hayyas believes the shortage will total 30,000 over the next decade.

The maritime academy will be part of the Dubai Maritime City Campus, which Capt al Hayyas will also manage, and which will include branch campuses of up to half a dozen overseas marine training institutions.
The campus will be within Dubai Maritime City, an ambitious industrial, office, residential and marina development on reclaimed land that is described as the world’s first purpose-built maritime centre.

The scheme, partly completed, is sandwiched between Dubai Drydocks, where huge tankers undergo maintenance, and Port Rashid, a stop-off for cruise ships and now home of the Queen Elizabeth 2, due to be converted into a hotel and based at the Palm Jumeirah.
According to Capt Jaafar bin Sidin, the director of both the academy and campus, the benefits of becoming a seafarer extend beyond a maritime career. Many sailors eventually decide to return to shore and find they are much in demand.

“A ship is like a floating city – what a city needs, you need on board ship. Chief engineers, you find them in hotels. You can get captains in many different industries – some ex-seafarers become airline pilots,” says the 55-year-old Singaporean.
The opportunities for Emiratis and other GCC citizens are great, according Capt bin Sidin.

“The industry is expanding, so in terms of a career it’s something they should be going into now if they want to be holding the key positions in future,” says Capt bin Sidin.

While European and Singaporean ships now employ women, in the Middle East seagoing careers remain the preserve of men, says Capt bin Sidin. But on shore there are just as many opportunities for women.
“A shipping executive can be female, if you’re doing marine insurance you can be female.”

There are a wealth of maritime-related careers on land, in areas such as chartering, brokerage and logistics – jobs most people would not necessarily connect with the sea.

“The moment you mention maritime people think ships, but that’s only one side,” says Capt bin Sidin. “And now it’s up for grabs. There is scope for young people to make a good career from this.”
Among the courses to be offered at the campus will be ones leading to certificates of competency essential for professional licences required in seagoing careers. In addition, there will be non-seafaring academic courses, such as degrees in ship management and naval architecture. There will also be short courses in subjects such as ship safety that an on-board masseuse or singer may need to take. Finally, the campus is expected to offer training in recreational maritime activities such as jet ski operations.
Although several overseas institutions are likely to be based at DMCC, officials insist these will be strictly regulated to prevent duplication of courses.

“A lot of people are approaching us. We could fill the campus easily, but we’re looking at our partners carefully. We will only bring the best of the best,” Capt al Hayyas says.

Having such a specialised centre will reduce the need for shipping companies to send people overseas for training.
“If you want to renew a certificate, at the moment you have to travel to Singapore or Australia or Europe. We’re solving this problem.”

The maritime academy is ultimately funded by the Dubai Government.

“There is a commitment from the Government,” says Capt al Hayyas. “They have given us a piece of land in one of the most expensive developments.”

Courses are likely to start in July at the Port Rashid passenger terminal, which is being converted into a temporary college. The maritime academy is scheduled for completion by late 2011. By the time it reaches full capacity in 2016 it will have about 1,000 students.
Capt al Hayyas was trained under Adnoc sponsorship and at 18 he was sent as a student to Tyneside on England’s north-east coast.

“As soon as I arrived in Britain I spent a week in a sailing boat going to Swansea, Ireland, and the Isle of Man. It was my first time at sea. They were testing me,” he says (source: www.thenational.ae).

www.MaritimeJobSearch.com | Shipping, Transportation, and Engineering Jobs

Despite daily news of redundancy, the marine industry is booming and can’t recruit fast enough. To tackle the problem one North East College is launching a campaign to promote careers at sea.

South Tyneside College has produced a television advert, which highlights the benefits of working at sea from the excellent pay and conditions to the adventurous lifestyle.As well as a television campaign, the College will be using press and web-based advertising, direct mail, posters and flyers to get the message out to young people about choosing a marine career.

Anyone interested is being encouraged to come along to a marine open day at South Tyneside College to find out more. The event takes place on Saturday 7th February between 10am and 3.00pm at South Tyneside College’s Westoe campus.

Potential students will hear about the benefits of a career at sea from those working in the industry, and will also be able to test out their sea legs on the College’s marine simulation unit.

Head of the Marine College at South Tyneside, Gary Hindmarch, said:  “With potential earnings of up to £40k tax free and a chance to see the world, a marine career offers fantastic opportunities.

“We want to ensure that as many youngsters as possible are aware of the benefits and consider this as a viable career option.

“At the moment, skills shortages at sea mean that enthusiastic youngsters wanting a marine career are virtually guaranteed a job, so it’s a great time to sign up.

“And what better way to see if it’s the career for you than by having a go at piloting a ship yourself and talking to those already in the job at our open day.

“Hopefully this campaign will help to boost the number of new recruits entering the industry and go some small way to tackling the current skills shortage.” (source: www.stc.ac.uk).

Situated on a sprawling sea side venue at Uthandi, on the East Coast Road in the city, the institution will begin its first academic year in June 2009. Union shipping minister, T R Baalu, who was also present on the occasion, said the university has tied up with Dalian Maritime University for MBA in port management, with Shanghai Maritime University and Antwerp University for MBA in international transportation and logistics management, with University of Malta for a degree in maritime law and with Delft University, Netherlands for a degree course in dredging.The IMU is the first-of-its-kind central university set up by the Department of Shipping through an Act of Parliament. Headquartered in Chennai, the university will have regional centres in Mumbai, Kolkata and Visakhapatnam.

Though the country’s exports and imports account for 24% and 29 % respectively in the GDP, it accounts for merely one per cent of the world maritime business.

Speaking after laying the foundation stone, Karunanidhi used the opportunity to highlight the major projects and achievements of the UPA regime in the state. Thanking the UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and prime minister Manmohan Singh for agreeing to implement the Sethusamudram Ship Canal project, the DMK leader said he was ready to fight for the project, which is a dream of Tamils for over a century (source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com).

“We’ll continue to do everything in our power to ensure that we continue to deliver the very best education to all our students,” Gurnon said.

MMA recently installed solar-powered lighting around the campus to easy energy consumption. The Taylors Point school recently admitted the largest freshman class in its history. An executive-level Massachusetts Maritime Academy trio is headed for Shanghai Maritime University in China. Gurnon is accompanied by Professor Qi Chen from the Social Sciences Department, and Paul Kelly of Orleans, an MMA trustee.

Kelly recently returned from China where he coordinated security efforts for the Olympics. MMA secured private funding for this trip, and Kelly is paying for his own passage. “The entire trip will not cost taxpayers a dime,” said Chris Ryan, MMA communications officer.

The university in Shanghai is a public college with an undergraduate enrollment of 22,000 and 2,000 post-graduate students. Instruction is in Chinese and English. The university specializes in maritime industry business studies and offers course work in harbor-front industries. In collegiate and business circles, it is considered a leading edge maritime university in China (source: wickedlocal.com)

Another organization that has the same noble goals is the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU).

IAMU was founded by seven universities representing the five continents of the world (Representative Universities) in November, 1999, with a shared recognition of significance of maritime education and training in the rapid globalization of the international shipping arena. Since then, IAMU has significantly expanded its membership, and now boasts 50 institutions of the world’s maritime education and training universities/faculties, and The Nippon Foundation as its members, totaling 51 altogether.

Representative Universities at the time of foundation in 1999:

• Arab Academy for Science and Technology and Maritime Transport (Representing Africa);
• Australian Maritime College (Oceania);
• Cardiff University (Western Europe) [now replaced by Polytechnical University of Catalonia, Faculty of Nautical studies, Barcelona);
• Istanbul Technical University, Maritime Faculty (Mediterranean, Black Sea, ex Central and Eastern Europe);
• Kobe University of Mercantile Marine (Asia) [now transformed to Kobe University, Faculty of Maritime Sciences)
• Maine Maritime Academy (Americas including the Caribbean’s);
• World Maritime University (General representation).

All IAMU members recognize the significance of maritime education and training and note that:

1. The shipping industry is a service industry, in which human resources are the critical element;
2. It is only feasible to secure, and to preserve highly qualified human resources in the maritime industries through effective education and training; and
3. Effective education and training in the maritime sector derives from:
   • scientific and academic rigor;
   • development of a clear link between practical skills and management techniques; and
   • a focus on quality.

Based on these shared understanding, IAMU members cooperate each other and aim to attain the following goals:

1. To develop a comprehensive Maritime Education System for following generations;
2. To establish and effective Maritime Safety Management System for the international maritime community;
3. Prepare develop standardized Undergraduate Curricula and an International Certification System for Competency.

To attain above mentioned goals, IAMU implements such activities as:

1. To seek participation of as many qualified maritime universities/faculties as possible;
2. To maintain regular and ongoing communication and exchange among members;
3. To pursue measurable and worthwhile outcomes on specific subjects primarily through Working Groups;
4. To yield tangible results through Project System which invites rank and file IAMU members to present new project proposals;
5. To hold a General Assembly annually;
6. To publish through Editorial Board academic periodicals, news and summaries of activities, and research papers; and
7. To build international network of students of IAMU member institutions through IAMUS (Students) activities;

The next gathering of the IAMU is October 19-22, 2008. Planning is well underway for the 9th Annual General Assembly of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), with the theme Common Seas, Common Shores. Additional program elements will take place at Cal Maritime’s campus here in Vallejo, California.

ThinkMaritime.com will be there … are you?