Due to a limited number of ships in Malaysia
Due to a limited number of ships in Malaysia, the country has now become an exporter of maritime cadets to international ships, said Marine Department director-general Datuk Captain Ahmad Othman.
“On a yearly basis, around 1,000 cadets from more than 30 maritime training institutions in the country need to clock in at least a year out at sea before they can take their qualification exams.
“There are currently 4,000 locally registered vessels, but only about half fulfil the criteria to take in cadets for training.
“Since there are not enough ships here to accommodate all the cadets, many must complete their training on international ships.”
Ahmad added that many of those who completed their sea time on international ships usually went on to work overseas as well.
He said this after opening the simulator training course organised by the International Maritime Organisation at the Malaysian Maritime Academy (Alam) in Kuala Linggi, near here, yesterday.
For the first time in Malaysia, 24 participating maritime trainers from Brunei, Cambodia, Myanmar, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam are taking part in a five-day course to learn how to impart knowledge using simulators.
Alam chief executive officer David Fredrick said the academy was proud to have been chosen as host for the course.
“Alam is ranked among the top 10 per cent of maritime training institutions in the world and offers a full range of maritime courses for prospective seafarers.
“During this course, trainers will get the chance to train on state-of-the-art simulators, including a full mission ship handling simulator, a full mission engine room simulator, a liquid cargo operation simulator and a distributed control system simulator to fulfil their training needs.”
