The first training course being offered is the STCW/95 GMDSS training course for Nigerian marine officers and seafarers. This course will be in line with the IMO STCW/95 GMDSS guidelines, the United States Coast Guard Model Course, and the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules and regulations as regards to the training standards and certification for seafarers.

The Nigerian mariner has been concerned for many years with regards to non-availability of a training centre or college for the GMDSS course. The cost of going overseas for the course is very expensive, over $3500 per student. This has resulted in a shortage of officers in Nigeria with the GMDSS certificate, as well as a loss of jobs to Nigerian officers and other seafarers. Another problem facing all marine officers as well as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and government is the 2002 deadline for GMDSS certification for all marine officers.

To assist the officers and other seafarers in the West African sub-region in meeting the required standards established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and to assist the Nigerian government in becoming compliant with the IMO "White List," we have established a "world-wide standard" maritime training school to teach the STCW/95 GMDSS course, among many other courses, to world standards.

Engineer Hugh Friday Nwaneri is the Managing Director of Elkins Marine Training International (Nigeria) Limited. Besides a lifetime of experience (see biography and Hu-Fy Systems Ltd. history), his preparation for the Nigerian initiative has included training in the United States and United Kingdom. Mr. Nwaneri has successfully completed the approved IMO and FCC GMDSS course that will enable him to teach and examine student mariners. Further, he has completed a Marine Training Administration Course at the Elkins Marine Training International worldwide headquarters in Petaluma, CA, USA, near San Francisco. He attended the Massachusetts Maritime Academy in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, the oldest and most prestigious maritime academy in the United States, where he completed the US Coast Guard model course for GMDSS. GMDSS Simulator Training was accomplished at the Seafarers Harry Lundeberg School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Maryland, followed by additional simulator training in Southampton, England, where he acquired the most advanced GMDSS simulator system for the Lagos training centre.

Among other courses, the center will be offering:

• General Operator's Certificate for GMDSS
• Restricted Operator's Certificate for GMDSS
• English Language for Mariners
• Basic Computer Training
• Radar Navigation, Radar Plotting and Use of ARPA
• Radar, ARPA, Bridge Teamwork and Search and Rescue
• Basic Firefighting
• Elementary First Aid / Medical First Aid / Medical Care
• Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR)
• Personal Survival Techniques
• GMDSS Coast Radio Station Operator's Course
• Vessel Traffic Services (VTS)
• Other STCW-Related Marine Training Courses

 

PO Box 2677 - Santa Rosa, CA 95405, USA
+1 800 821 0906 or +1 707 792 5678 --- Fax: +1 707 792 5677
E-mail: info@elkinsmarine.com