Government to modernize seafarer training centers
JAKARTA (JP): The government signed a US$53.8 million contract on Tuesday to modernize the training centers for Indonesian seafarers so as to ensure they comply with the requirements set out in the Standards of Training Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) convention.
The Ministry of Communications said in a statement that the project would be undertaken by Ship Analytics International Inc., who had won the tender for the modernization project.
The contract was signed in a ceremony on Tuesday by Purnomosidhi, the head of the ministry's Education and Training Division, on behalf of the government, and by Alan J. Pesch on behalf of Ship Analytics. It was witnessed by the Minister of Communications, Agum Gumelar.
Funding for the project was obtained from a soft loan extended by U.S. Exim Bank, and that the project was expected to be finalized in 2002, the ministry said.
The contract would involve the procurement of training equipment, including simulators, laboratory equipment and computers for training centers in Jakarta, Semarang, Makassar, Surabaya and Barombong in South Sulawesi.
It would also include upgrading the training of Indonesian instructors and technicians in the United States so as to be able to impart their skills here in accordance with the standards set out in the STCW convention, the ministry said in the statement.
"The project has been given priority so that Indonesia can retain its 'white list' status," the ministry said, referring to a list of countries that are members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and have fully implemented the STCW convention.
The convention, which was issued in 1978 and was amended in 1995, was drawn up so as to ensure that the education and training of seafarers in the use of aids to navigation, ship equipment and devices was sufficiently comprehensive and was kept satisfactorily up to date.
The convention, which finally came into effect on Feb. 1, 1997, was issued by the IMO, the United Nation's agency responsible for improving maritime safety and preventing pollution from ships.
It was ratified by Indonesia through a presidential decree on Dec. 4, 1986.
As a consequence of Indonesia's ratification, Indonesian sailors were required to abide by the standards outlined in the convention or be disqualified from employment on foreign vessels.
The IMO requires all ratifying members to implement the standards by 2001.
Some 20,000 Indonesian seamen work on foreign vessels-- or about half of the total number of Indonesian seamen -- and were threatened with losing their jobs this year because their skills were considered not up to the standards mandated by the convention.
The IMO's recognition of Indonesia's implementation of the STCW late last year gave a reprieve for the nation's seamen, and a breathing space in which to gradually bring their abilities up to the standards required by 2002.
Besides the loss of jobs, if Indonesia failed to get onto IMO's white list, Indonesian shipping companies would have to hire foreign nationals to man their fleets, which would add to the cost of their operations.(tnt)