Mauritius Maritime Training Academy Inaugurated

1.On 16 October 2007, Indian Union Minister of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways T.R. Baalu, inaugurated the state-of-the-art Mauritius Maritime Training Academy at Pointe aux Sables.

Speaking on the occasion, Thiru T.R. Baalu said that this Training Academy would act as a bridge to further augment the bilateral cooperation between the two countries. He said that in due course, apart from having experienced trainers, this Academy would have to conduct training for even deck and engineering officers and would also have to install a large number of training equipments such as lifeboats, life rafts and various types of simulators etc. To equip the Academy with all these necessary facilities, there would be need for tangible cooperation between India and Mauritius, Thiru Baalu added.

2.The building area is 2125 sq metres and comprises modern facilities, including

Two workshops.
A documentation center.
Five classrooms.
A conference room.
An auditorium of 280 sq meters, with capacity to accommodate 200 persons.

3.The courses conducted by the academy are as follows :–

Training course for grade certificate as Efficient Deck Hand (EDH) and Able Bodied Seaman (AB) as per ILO conventions.
Training for Seafarers forming part of a navigation/engine room watch as per STWC 78 as amended.
Basic safety training for Seafarers as per STCW 78 as amended.
Crowd Management, Passenger Safety and Safety Training for personal providing direct services to passengers.
Proficiency in crisis management and human behaviours training.
Training for skipper and Second Hand for Certificate of Competency for Local Fishing Vessels of 24 metres in length.
Training for Chief Engineer and Second Engineer for Certificate of Competency (COC) for Local Fishing Vessels of 24 metres in length.
Ad Hoc courses upon request from other Ministries and private sector as appropriate.

4.IMO support:

IMO delegated an expert Mr. Leslie Hemachandra for a period of three months from 01 March 2007 to advise on the organization structure of the Academy, the programme of courses, the syllabus and the training of staff of the academy.

5.Geography

Mauritius is located approximately 2000 kilometres to the south eastern coast of Africa and lies east of Madagascar on 20°5, 57.5E. The country covers an area of 1865km_ with 330 kilometres of coastline. Mauritius is 45km in width and 65km in length.