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Akademi Laut Malaysia (ALAM) will
be strengthening its role to become the regional
training hub for LNG, Petroleum and Chemical
shipping personnel, with the launching of the
institute’s first e-Learning package on LNG
Shipping Cargo Operations by the Chairman, Datuk
Shamsul Azhar bin Abbas on 11 August 2007.
“The training programme is aimed at producing
competent officers to effectively and
efficiently manage the cargo operations onboard
the technologically-advanced LNG ships. We are
developing the programme with Teledata Marine
Systems, Singapore, a subsidiary of Teledata
Informatics, India,” said the Chief Executive
Officer of ALAM, M Adthisaya Ganesen.
Years of practical experience gained from
operating the fleet of LNG ships of MISC Berhad
has made it possible to develop the e-learning
programme with the IT expertise of Teledata
Marine Systems to meet the demand for trained
manpower for the LNG fleet.
The LNG e-Learning programme covers six modules,
namely basics of LNG, LNG equipment, LNG support
systems, LNG operations, LNG security and LNG
commercial. The developed programme is designed
to meet both DNV’s and SIGTTO’s standards, i.e
“Competence of Shipboard LNG Cargo Operations”
and “Guidance and Suggested Best Practices for
the LNG Industry in the 21st Century”
respectively.
The programme offers great opportunity for
seafarers interested in the LNG shipping to
learn about LNG cargo operations as well as for
those already in the LNG shipping to enhance
their knowledge, said Ganesen.
The e-Learning programme coupled with simulator
training would make it easier for the seafarers
to acquire the competency standards required to
safely carry out LNG cargo operations onboard.
“In fact, the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO) has adopted our detailed
teaching syllabus on LNG simulator training as
its model course,” said Ganesen.
Ganesen also said ALAM was focusing on upgrading
its facilities to accommodate a bigger intake
for its cadetship programme in line with MISC’s
fleet expansion plan and also to cater for the
shipping industry’s manpower needs. For this
year a total of 94 cadets from Diploma in
nautical Studies and six cadets from Diploma in
Marine Engineering graduated from ALAM.
The graduated are sponsored by MISC Bhd (68
graduates), the Public Service Department (9
graduates), American Eagle Tankers (14
graduates), Smit Lloyd (2 graduates), Yayasan
Felda (4 graduates) and three self sponsored
students.
For a start, ALAM had increased its student
intake in July 2006 with the recruitment of 378
cadets, which is 63 per cent increase from the
previous intake.
For this July 2007 intake, MISC and it’s group
of companies will sponsor about 440 cadets for
both nautical as well as marine engineering
courses with another 80 from other sponsors
including Public Services Department, said
Ganesen.
“ALAM’s education and training in Melaka and its
branch campus in Terengganu is focused on
maintaining the regimentation system,
continuously improving and upgrading the
curricula and beefing up the faculty both in
quality and quantity,” he said.
ALAM’s courses not only meet the standards but
also exceed the requirements of the IMO’s
Convention on the ‘Standards of Training,
Certification and Watch keeping for Seafarers
1995’. Its curriculum has been accredited with
the internationally recognized Det Norske
Veritas (DNV) SeaSkill Certification and as such
its graduates are accepted for shipboard and
other maritime services worldwide.
Ganesen said ALAM will continue to develop
strategic alliances with reputable academic and
maritime training institutions in an effort to
continuously upgrade its capabilities and
quality of its maritime education and training.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed
with the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA)
which provides a benchmarking capability for the
enhanced curricula developed at ALAM.
“The seafarers’ training academy, in a move
aimed at meeting MISC's expansion into the
energy and offshore sector has also teamed up
with several local institutions of higher
technical learning including University of
Technology Malaysia (UTM), Institute Petroleum
Technology of PETRONAS (INSTEP), University
Technology of PETRONAS (UTP) and SIRIM, with the
aim of enhancing the training curricula for the
development of management trainees for Fleet
Management Services and junior engineers for
Offshore Business Unit,” said Ganesen.
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