Unless a ship’s crew is properly trained to operate its ballast water management system (BWMS) “it costs money in servicing and broken parts and gives the captain a headache in running the ship,” the chief executive of Norway-based Optimarin, Tore Andersen, told BWTT. “There is no issue if you run the system correctly, as set out in its operating manual.”
He was reflecting on lessons learned during the company’s shipboard type-approval tests carried out on board the 50,000 dwt bulk carrier Saga Future, owned by the Norway-based NYK Line subsidiary Saga Shipholding (Norway).
For these tests, the ship’s crew had been fully trained and their feedback was positive. “The crew said that once they have learned how to use it, it is an easy operation.” But when that knowledge is passed on to subsequent crew, “then you get a different answer.”
In response to this, Optimarin is working with the ships’ manager, Anglo Eastern Ship Management in Hong Kong, to provide shore-based training on its BWMS. A system was installed at Anglo Eastern’s training centre in Mumbai, followed by another in its centre in Manila, which went into use during March.
These installations will not be just for Anglo Eastern’s use, however. “The idea is that we can offer training to all our customers at these two schools,” Mr Andersen said.
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