Admiralty is offering 100 bridge officers around the world the chance to win a place on a generic ECDIS training course.
If you are a qualified bridge officer working on international trading ships, and have not yet received generic ECDIS training, you can apply for your chance to win a place on a generic ECDIS training course based on the IMO Model Course 1.27 (Operational use of ECDIS).
But why, you might ask, is ECDIS training important?
The mandatory carriage of ECDIS will fundamentally change the way that mariners navigate.
Introduced by the IMO, the ECDIS Mandate requires most large passenger, tanker and cargo ships to fit ECDIS on a rolling timetable that begins in July 2012.
The integration of ECDIS into bridge operations for primary navigation is expected to make navigation simpler, safer, and more efficient. It is the bridge officers using ECDIS confidently and competently who will make these benefits possible.
In addition, bridge officers are also required by STCW (Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping) to be competent to carry out their duties. So ECDIS training on ships equipped with ECDIS is effectively mandatory too.
“We need to support bridge watchkeepers to ensure they are prepared for a new era of navigation,” explains Chief Executive of the UK Hydrographic Office and Admiralty, Ian Moncrieff CBE. “Clear and properly accredited training will ensure they have the skills to make digital navigation a success, improving both the safety of life at sea and efficiency on the bridge. We hope our promotion will contribute by starting that process for 100 mariners.”
For more information on Admiralty’s training promotion and to register for your chance to win, please visit https://admiraltytraining.admiralty.co.uk/.