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AMO joins U.S. unions, academies in signing LNG training agreement
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The standards were developed with input from the LNG industry in a working group facilitated by MARAD. The agreement is an element of MARAD's ongoing initiative to promote the employment of American mariners in the LNG trades. "The worldwide demand for qualified mariners, plus the growth in the LNG industry, provides a unique growth opportunity for U.S. merchant mariners and the U.S. maritime industry," said Maritime Administrator Sean Connaughton. "Mariners who meet these standards will be the best in the world," Connaughton said. AMO National President Tom Bethel attended the event in Washington, D.C., and signed the Liquefied Gas Mariner Training Standards Memorandum of Understanding for the union. During introductory remarks, Bethel commended Connaughton for his work in bringing the American maritime community together to promote opportunities for U.S. mariners in the LNG trades. "There is nothing but a good future for all of us," Bethel said. Bethel noted AMO signed an agreement in 2006 with Teekay Shipping Corporation, one of the world's leading tanker operators with a significant presence in the LNG sector, and is the only U.S. union with members currently working in the LNG trades. He added that AMO has a large pool of qualified officers with recent LNG experience and training. RTM STAR Center, a division of the AMO Safety & Education Plan, has provided AMO members with Coast Guard certified LNG tankerman person-in-charge training since 1998. This year, STAR Center expanded the program to include a Coast Guard certified LNG simulation course on the MPRI liquid cargo simulator. To date, RTM STAR Center has trained more than 300 AMO members as LNG tankermen and expects to have trained 50 AMO members on the MPRI simulator by the close of 2007. Additionally, STAR Center trained instructors from Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy and the California Maritime Academy on the MPRI simulator earlier this year in Dania Beach, Fla. The MOU signed June 5 marks the commitment of U.S. maritime academies and major seagoing unions to implement the uniform set of standards for liquefied gas training. Standardization of training in an internationally accepted set of competencies will make it easier for U.S. mariners to be employed on the worldwide LNG fleet. In his remarks, Connaughton highlighted the dramatic and ongoing expansion of the LNG industry and cited the growing demand for qualified mariners to work aboard LNG carriers. In January 2006, there were 194 LNG tankers worldwide and the expected number at the end of 2007 is 373, he said. "The expansion comes at a time when it's difficult to find qualified seafarers." The Liquefied Gas Mariner Training Standards Technical Working Group developed the training standards for U.S. mariners. Members of the group represented ratings from unlicensed to master and chief engineer, with a total of 218 years of sailing experience, 77 of which were on LNG vessels, as well as 177 years of experience in maritime training, 33 of which were in LNG courses. The standards built upon International Maritime Organization STCW requirements and were developed utilizing training guidelines from international groups, including the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators and Det Norske Veritas. The initial work on the standards was circulated within the LNG industry, which provided commentary and recommendations. "The industry was considered at every step of the way while orchestrating this document," said AMO member Chester Urban, an adjunct instructor at RTM STAR Center and instructor at the Maritime College of the State University of New York. Urban attended the ceremony June 5 and signed the MOU on behalf of SUNY Maritime College. In addition to AMO, MARAD and SUNY Maritime College, representatives of Masters, Mates and Pilots, the Seafarers International Union, the Sailors' Union of the Pacific, the Marine Engineers' Beneficial Association, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, California Maritime Academy, Great Lakes Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy and Texas Maritime Academy signed the accord. |
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