The American Bureau of Shipping plans to set up a new training centre for seafarers in Greece it announced during Posidonia on Wednesday.
The Hellenic Ship Safety Center will use “new immersive training techniques, game-based learning and virtual reality environments” for the Greek shipping community.
The plans were unveiled during an event in the presence of Greek shipping minister Christos Stylianides and Intercargo chairman Dimitris Fafalios.
Seafarer education is a key concern in efforts to revive the country’s dwindling seafarer tradition. To highlight this drive, the government has declared 2024 and 2025 as years of maritime education.
“There is a lot of focus on technology-readiness timelines but what we need to focus on is people-readiness timelines,” ABS chief executive Christopher Wiernicki said.
The task of the centre will be to “prepare seafarers to handle a multi-dimensional industry with alternative fuels and emerging technologies. Decarbonisation advances that do not prioritise safety are not sustainable.”
At the forefront of training will be the handling of dynamic fuels, cyber security and hybrid battery propulsion.
“Just think about the degree of change faced by a seafarer today: dynamic versus static fuels, advanced electrification systems, innovative power trains, active energy efficiency devices, soon you can add carbon capture systems, the toxicity challenge of ammonia and further down the track maybe nuclear propulsion,” Wiernicki said.
“Clearly, the coming generation of seafarers will need to acquire a range of new skills and competencies, and the industry needs to invest in training and development to ensure that these skills are effectively transferred.”
