From a small beginning about 5 years ago, IMTC has today emerged as one of the finest maritime training centres in India especially in the area of Post-sea competency enhancement courses. Renowned maritime training institute IMTC added another feather in its illustrious cap. Mr. B. Brende, Hon. Minister of Trade and Industries, Norway, inaugurated IMTC's Norcontrol AutoChief Main Engine Manoeuvring and Control Simulator on February 7, 2005. Also present on the momentous occasion was Mr. G. S. Sahni, Director General of Shipping, Government of India, who conducted his first-ever visit to the institution. Capt. Y. Sharma, Head of IMTC, led all the dignitaries to an exhaustive tour of the state-of-the-art premises. The following are the excerpt of the speeches by the key attendees.
Capt. Y. Sharma, Head of Training, IMTC;
"We welcome all the assembled dignitaries including Mr. Schjerven and Mr. Brende. DG Mr. Sahni has been expressing his intention to visit our premises since quite some and today, that day has finally arrived. Close attention is paid to all the aspects of a training programme at IMTC and the unveiling of the AutoChief-4 Simulator is another step in this direction. We wish to provide cutting-edge technology in maritime training and develop competencies across the board in the entire industry.
The IMTC training centre has some of the best possible aids and indigenously designed facilities - with contributions from our faculty, our clients/customers and vendors. In fact, in close association with the industry, we have been creating courses to cater to different genres - navigation, IT, engineering, cargo in the technical fields and management, quality systems, commercial aspects in the non-technical fields.
By themselves, the latest additions to our arsenal and equipment don't ensure transfer of knowledge. The transfer depends on the capabilities and skills of our faculty. The experienced faculty at IMTC besides sharing their own knowledge and experience are able to draw the best from the participants thus creating a synergy in any training programme. They have backed their knowledge, experience and acumen by creating cost-effective training packages.
Optimum number of participants and sufficient equipment/ workstations allow each participant to work independently thus gaining confidence. The faith of our parent organisation, Wilhelmsen Maritime Services, will guide us fulfil our aspirations of taking seafarers to the highest possible levels of competencies.
We are also keen on the development of the 'shipboard trainee' system through effective strategic collaborations."
Mr. Dag Schjerven, President and CEO, Wilhelmsen Maritime Services, Oslo;
"Very often, I get a feedback from different parts of the world that Indians are amongst the most competent officers in the industry. More 3,000 Indian officers are earning accolades for their good work in the shipping business. They bring in more than $20 million worth of foreign exchange to the country every year. As far as the Wilhelmsen Group is concerned, we have in our offices 400 Indians on our roster across 16 offices. Indians constitute the second largest nationality after Norwegians. In fact, I would say that there are as many Indians as Norwegians. This speaks volumes of their dedication, competence and loyalty. In fact, I guess that we are one of the largest employers of Indian seafarers.
After the opening up of the Indian economy, Barber International, our group company, was one of the first to 'hoist a flag' in this country.
We went on to re-establish Barber Ship Management Pvt. Ltd. in 1997 and signalled our commitment while acknowledging the contribution of India to the global maritime community. Since then, we have crossed several landmarks in India. We are offering every possible maritime industry service and Barber has become the most sought after employer in the country as well as the world. Our employees have a sophisticated enviable reputation.
In 1996, Barber created a joint venture company with an Indian firm to create what is called: Barber Forbes Ship Services Ltd. It offers agency and marine services in all the major ports of the country. It has offices in New Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. In 2001, we opened the doors for Barber Marine Services that worked directly under the Oslo office's supervision. It is involved in project management, vessel designing, new building supervision, technical collaborations, condition assessment and gauging all kinds of chief operations amongst others. They also look after port development, quality inspections in safety and security. In 2003, we founded the Ship Management division and this was inevitable considering the technical expertise of the Indian officers. We have great ambitions from this division and it has already chalked up several milestones within a short span of time. In 2004, Barber Purchasing Department came into India to source spares and ancillary parts for all our global requirements. It operates in close liaison with our Oslo office. In fact, a 16-member team in India handles more than $75 million worth of annual procurement.
In 1998, our training division, IMTC was started and it soon grew from strength to strength. Its expansion led to the benefit of the maritime community. Soon, IMTC moved into its new state-of-the-art premise and had access to the best in terms of faculty, training tools and techniques. We believe that IMTC has done full justice to developing and constructing a variety of effective training courses. It is well recognized as offering high quality training. It has a consistent track record and has offered courses to the global shipping fraternity - seafarers from Russia, Croatia, Far and Middle East.
IMTC offers world-class maritime services at a cost-effective price commensurate with the local environment. Bringing the AutoChief-4 Simulator to India within such a short time span is no small feat. In fact, it is a record of sorts. This shows that the Wilhelmsen Group is committed to making investments in India."
Mr. B. Brende, Hon. Minister of Trade and Industries, Norway;
"I am deeply impressed with IMTC’s unveiling the Norcontrol AutoChief Main Engine Manoeuvring and Control Simulator in India. It’s a great feeling to be part of this momentous occasion in the presence of luminaries and dignitaries from the Indian and Norway shipping world. After all, it’s always better to prepare for the future. This initiative, and several others taken in the last few months, shows that the Indian Government, the Shipping Minister and the Director General of Shipping are very focused on enhancing the various facets of the shipping business in.
The quality of any ship can be determined by the quality of its human capital and enterprise. The simulator training module will help improve the quality of Indian seafarers as well as help maintain safety of the environment and the business.
Also, I am impressed with the statistics provided by the IMTC team as to how the institution is progressing by leaps and bounds. It is mind-boggling: 15,000 training decks every year; 4,000 certificates and 1,800 courses. These figures highlight the growing demand for quality maritime training in India and IMTC is well-positioned to capitalize on this boom. Needless to say, we are well acquainted with the quality of Indian officers and are very satisfied with their attitude for gaining more knowledge and experience."
Mr. G. S. Sahni, Director General of Shipping:
"It is true that I wanted to visit the campus of IMTC since quite some time. I must say that I am impressed with what I have seen today. The state-of-the-art facilities are one of the best that we have today in the country. I will request other aspirants to take a close look at these facilities and emulate the same in their ventures. It is delightful to note that Indian seafarers are held with such high esteem in the global shipping context.
Truly, India's strength is its enormous and trained manpower. However, this is true not just of the shipping business but in other businesses too. In fact, more than 130 maritime training institutions have the capacity to train more than 10,000 people every year. There is a shortage of educated and trained manpower in the global shipping industry and India is well positioned to cater to these pressing requirements.
I shall urge the maritime industry constituents to come up with innovative solutions to help channelize India's raw talent into the global maritime community; especially any effort to facilitate job creation and employment in the maritime business.
India has a strong age-old tradition in maritime training. Formal maritime training was started as early as 1912 when the first private sector institution came into being. Soon, the Government set up premier institutions such as T. S. Rahman, T. S. Dufferin, T. S. Chanakya and T. S. Rajendra. Even today, the cadets and officers trained in these institutions evoke a feeling a respect and many of them are placed all around the globe bringing laurels to their country.
In the near future, we have plans to start the Indian Institute of Maritime Studies, the first maritime university in the country and probably the first of its kind in the world. At this very moment, a group of Government-appointed teams are working on creating and upgrading existing facilities and infrastructure required for the above project. Once it starts functioning, all the maritime training institutions can get affiliated or accredited to it. This will benefit students and officers who can go on to pursue higher studies in terms of post graduation or doctorate degrees.
As far as IMTC is concerned, I am aware of the progress made by it in recent times. It has certainly set high standards of training and excellence. I commend Capt. Sharma and his team for doing such a wonderful job. I am thankful to them for extending their services and support for various Government initiatives. Truly, the Wilhelmsen Group has created a great institution in India that has attracted the attention of people from all over the world."
Mr. Hoshang Dastur, Head of Department, IMTC;
"Most marine engineers are familiar with main engine maintenance, repair, overhaul and control systems but certain grey areas do exist with regard to the Manoeuvring Systems. There is a need to develop specific training, as understanding of the main engine is critical. There are aspects such as simulation and actual product specific training that need to be offered. The answer lies in creating an objective-based training that will enhance the expertise and confidence. More awareness is needed about the existence of such sophisticated training aids and shipping companies should take advantage of the fact that it is available at their doorstep in Mumbai. The AutoChief-4 is a Main Engine Manoeuvring and Control System. Manufactured by Kongsberg Maritime (formerly NORCONTROL) of Norway, it is a 4th generation system and is one of the most commonly found remote control systems on board vessels today.
About 2,500 vessels worldwide are installed with this system. It is designed to remotely control all the essential functions of a Main Engine; viz., Reversing, Starting, Speed setting and Stopping. It also provides additional safety features such as Automatic M/E shutdown / slowdown as may be required. It consists of Bridge and Engine Control Room Control Panels, Telegraphs, a Safety Panel and a Governor Control Panel. Each of these performs specific tasks towards controlling the M/E safely and efficiently.
IMTC has, in the past, received repeated feedback from the participants of various other courses; that it should procure and develop training on the AutoChief system. Thus, IMTC have procured a Full-mission AutoChief 4 simulator, which incorporates all the actual equipment and panels used on board together with a mimic main engine. This AutoChief 4 simulator at IMTC is the only one of its kind outside of Europe. There is one in Norway and another in Greece. A proper understanding of this system and its functions is critical to safe and efficient engine manoeuvring and running. These aspects are not so easily conveyed thru' textbooks. IMTC believe that simulation and training on the actual product is the answer. The objective is to build the engineers' confidence in being able to operate the system, fully understanding its capabilities and limitations and also to troubleshoot the system when required and to remove any fear / hesitancy in the engineers' mind while performing the above operations.
The AutoChief 4, together with the NABCO system simulator (another commonly found M/E Remote Control System and which is already present at IMTC) places IMTC in a unique position - to be able to provide product specific training in M/E control systems existing on a large majority of vessels (nearly 80 per cent of the world fleet).
I hope more and more shipping companies recognize the importance and effectiveness of this course. It would certainly go a long way in reducing Main Engine Manoeuvring control and circuit related problems onboard."