Month: August 2014

MARITIME & ENGINEERING COLLEGE NORTH WEST POISED TO HELP EMPLOYERS TACKLE SKILLS SHORTAGES

Lisa Jacobs

Fears that UK industry is failing to tackle widespread skills shortages and that skill sets are falling short of employers’ expectations can be avoided if business leaders and training colleges work more closely together, according to the head of one of the region’s major engineering training centres.

Terry Weston, Skills Director at Maritime & Engineering College North West (MECNW), a Mersey Maritime Group Company, warned: “The effect of skills shortages is already being widely felt in today’s workforce. While it will take some time to adequately address this issue, it is vital that the process gets underway. Employers need to work with colleges like MECNW to upskill existing staff and invest in accredited apprenticeship training to ensure they are able to meet current and future demand.”

He added: “MECNW experience proves that tailoring each apprenticeship model for the individual employer works, being prepared to abandon traditional models of delivery, protecting the entry level requirements to ensure better candidates, and extensively engaging the employer in the direct training of the apprentice.”

He was responding to a recent survey by the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) in its ninth annual Engineering and Technology: Skills & Demand in Industry report, which revealed that companies are hiring at the fastest rate for 16 years and yet skill sets are falling short of employers’ expectations.

The IET report revealed that over half of employers (51%) were recruiting engineering staff this year and were finding it difficult to meet demand. Out of those employed, 44% of engineering, IT and technical recruits did not meet employers’ expected standards.

Mr Weston said: “A recent Ofsted inspection of MECNW commented that many of our first and second year apprentices are working at levels not expected of them until their final year. This supports our view that apprenticeships work, can contribute in a more timely way and more importantly, support the wider skills gap solution.”

Mersey Maritime Brings Big Names to Merseyside

Lisa Jacobs

Next month, local businesses will have the opportunity to discuss the future challenges faced by the shipping industry in Liverpool with Mark Robertshaw, Bibby Ship Management’s Managing Director of the Isle of Man office and Commercial Director, at Mersey Maritime’s networking event “Face-2-Face”. In addition to being the guest speaker, Mark Robertshaw will be exploring hot topics and industry trends.

Taking place on the 2nd September, the “Face-2-Face” event brings key industry figures to the heart of the shipping industry to network and create stronger local business relationships.

Face-2-Face and other industry events run by Mersey Maritime have brought big players to Mersey Maritime’s HQ in recent months, such as: Maria Damanaki, EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs; Esther McVey MP, Minister for Employment; Sir Michael Bibby, Managing Director of Bibby Line Group; Gary Hodgson, the Chief Operating Officer for Peel Ports Group; Vice Admiral Sir Tim McClement KCB OBE, Chairman of Protection Vessels International; to name a few.

The industry forum for members, prospective members and stakeholders from the maritime, logistic and energy community meets monthly at Mersey Maritime to collaborate and network.

The forum, which is supported by funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF)[see editor’s notes] covers news updates, informal networking, two-way discussion, the building of collaboration networks and stronger local supply chains and a guest speaker presentation.

The event is regularly oversubscribed so business people wishing to attend are advised to reserve a place by contacting Mersey Maritime on tel: 0151 647 4747.

Global Marketing Systems Applauds Early Moves Towards Responsible Recycling Around the World

Debra Massey

Global Marketing Systems, Inc (GMS), the world’s largest cash buyer of ships for recycling, has welcomed the announcement that German owner, Hapag-Lloyd, will no longer sell vessels to recycling yards that do not comply with strict environmental regulations and guidelines.

Dr Anil Sharma, President and CEO of GMS, applauds a company of this stature taking the lead with its ship recycling policy and says: “It will be good to see, well ahead of proposed regulations entering in force, many more companies following this example by providing their ships with Inventories of Hazardous Materials and by ensuring that their ships are recycled in line with the guidelines of the IMO’s Hong Kong Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, 2009.”

“This will ease the entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention because recycling yards around the world will realise the need to be prepared and to invest in safety and environmental protection improvements.”

Dr Sharma advises caution, however, in managing what is effectively a whole new way for the industry to do business. “At this early stage, shipowners must target their custom towards recycling yards in all areas of the world, including India, China and Turkey. Whilst there are yards in, for example, China, that now comply with many regulations, we feel it important for the industry to recognise that there are many more recycling yards around the world, and in particular India, that are making moves to implement meaningful and incremental improvements in processes, and thus driving a groundswell of support for the Convention.”

An ardent proponent of green ship recycling, GMS formed part of the deliberations leading to formulation of the Hong Kong Convention. Through its Responsible Recycling initiative, and its in-depth experience on the ground, GMS has seen first-hand that yards cannot make the necessary improvements alone and that they need to work in partnership with shipowners to develop environmentally sustainable solutions that the industry can be proud of.

At the forefront of this commitment, GMS appointed Dr Nikos Mikelis to the role of Non Executive Director, with the remit of assisting GMS in developing synergies with ship recycling facilities and ship owners that are committed towards green and responsible ship recycling. Dr Mikelis has pursued a long and distinguished career in shipping wherein most recently he was the Head, Marine Pollution Prevention & Ship Recycling Section for the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Dr Mikelis explains: “We work with recycling yards in India, for example, that are currently implementing improvements to safety, to environmental protection, and to social welfare.”

“The owners of these yards need – and deserve – to be supported by the custom of quality shipowners, so that their businesses can prosper and so that they can become examples to be imitated by the rest of the recycling industry in their country. If, on the other hand, these yards are not positively favoured by the socially responsible shipowners, then how will safety, environmental and welfare improvements be fuelled in the countries that need them most?”

Concluding, Dr Mikelis stresses: “The only way that international standards for ship recycling will make sense in the future is for the standards to be implemented and enforced globally, so that a single international standard applies to ship recycling, in the same way that there is one MARPOL standard for pollution prevention for all ships, regardless of flag or area of operation. The same must happen to ship recycling and for this reason, all socially responsible recycling yards – wherever in the world they are located – deserve the industry’s support.”

Notes to Editors

• Global Marketing Systems, Inc (GMS) was founded in the USA in 1992 after it started acquiring naval vessels for scrap from the US Maritime Administration in Washington DC and has since grown into becoming the world’s largest Cash Buyer of ships for recycling.

• Over the years it has succeeded in helping to modernize the ship recycling industry and, through its efforts, has done much to strengthen the credibility and transparency of the global demolition sector.

• GMS is the world’s FIRST ISO 9001 certified Cash Buyer with a proven track record spanning over two decades. And with more than 2,500 deals under its belt, it has grown to become the leader of the ship recycling industry.

• Many of the world’s largest ship owners sell their vessels exclusively to GMS. In 2012 alone the company recycled over 16.5 million DWT (ie roughly 300 ships) or nearly one third of the world’s fleet sold for recycling

• GMS has invested considerable resources into green recycling and continues to support ship recycling yards around the world in both an advisory and financial capacity. Recently, with technical assistance of GMS, four ship recycling yards in Bangladesh were able to obtain Certification for ISO 9001, 14001, 18001 and 30,000.

• GMS is also the FIRST and ONLY Cash Buyer to develop a Green Ship Recycling Program (GSRP) together with Germanishcer LLoyd (GL) to meet the highest standards of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in the ship recycling industry. GMS continues to lead the ship recycling industry with innovative and practical solutions. Over the years, it has become the acknowledged ‘voice’ of the recycling industry in international fora.

• GMS has offices in the USA, Germany, Dubai, China, Singapore, and Japan as well as exclusive representatives in all five of the major recycling markets including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China and Turkey

For Further Information Please Contact:

Elaborate Communications
Debra Massey
Website

01296 682356

www.gmsinc.net

MECNW RECOGNISED BY OFSTED FOR ‘OUTSTANDING’ WORK WITH EMPLOYERS & LEARNERS

Lisa Jacobs

Maritime and Engineering College North West (MECNW), a Mersey Maritime Group company, has been praised in a preliminary report by Ofsted that positions the college as Merseyside’s leading provider of Engineering Apprenticeships. Key clients of the college include Cammell Laird and Peel Ports.

The news comes at a time when the college has recently announced that it is set to double in size and accommodate up to 500 apprentices. It also coincides with Merseyside’s £2bn Superport programme which is due to open late 2015. The Liverpool2 container terminal is set to create 56,000 new jobs over the next decade for Maritime Logistics and Energy sector.

Mersey Maritime Group Chief Executive Jim Teasdale said: “The whole team has worked extremely hard in recent years to make MECNW the training centre of choice for engineering apprentices and it’s incredibly satisfying to see that effort recognised by Ofsted.

“We take pride in our ability to build strong relationships with our clients. Major employers both within and outside of the maritime sector choose MECNW for their engineering apprenticeship programmes, as do large numbers of smaller businesses from across the region. What brings them to MECNW is the knowledge that investing in high quality training and skills is key to future growth and that MECNW is increasingly their provider of choice.”

MECNW Skills Director Terry Weston said: “We are delighted with the Ofsted report which can only strengthen the reputation of the Maritime and Engineering College North West as a leader within the maritime sector for producing outstanding apprentices.”

BIBBY SHIP MANAGEMENT SECURES TWO MORE OFFSHORE CONTRACTS

Lisa Jacobs

Bibby Ship Management has further strengthened its position in the offshore oil and gas market with the securing of two new contracts.

Bibby Ship Management Singapore has been appointed as the technical and crewing managers for the OSX 2, an FPSO vessel, working in conjunction with overall project managers Tecnomar & Associates.

The office has also secured a contract with Global Samson to take over the management of two Platform Supply Vessels, the Ocean Turquoise 1 and another vessel which is currently being finalised.

The contract wins come on the back of Bibby Ship Management securing a contract to supply crew management services to Chevron North Sea’s Alba-FSU, and further demonstrate the company’s focus on servicing the offshore oil and gas market.

Chris Stone, Chief Operating Officer at Bibby Ship Management Group, said: “I am absolutely thrilled that, through these two new contracts, Bibby Ship Management is receiving recognition for providing exceptional service.”

Arvind Mohan, Managing Director – Singapore, at Bibby Ship Management Group, added: “It is a great privilege to have partnered with Tecnomar & Associates and Samson Global, both of whom are leading players in the offshore industry. We look forward to creating a long-term working relationship and partnership over the coming months.”

Ashwin Samant of Global Samson said: “The Ocean Turquoise 1 is a new building PSV and the largest in our fleet, and we are confident that Bibby Ship Management is up to the challenge of managing our vessels, considering their experience and professional services in the offshore and maritime sector. It is a partnership we look forward to developing”.

Paul Hopkins, Managing Director at Tecnomar & Associates said: “The collaboration venture with Bibby Ship Management is a key element going forward, in terms of how we execute this contract providing industry recognized professional services during the current preservation and FPSO hot stack lay-up phase. Quality, reliable support from the Bibby team in Singapore affords Tecnomar the opportunity to complement our in-house specialist energy sector technical services and offer the most comprehensive package available.”

BIBBY SHIP MANAGEMENT SECURES TWO MORE OFFSHORE CONTRACTS

Lisa Jacobs

Bibby Ship Management has further strengthened its position in the offshore oil and gas market with the securing of two new contracts.

Bibby Ship Management Singapore has been appointed as the technical and crewing managers for the OSX 2, an FPSO vessel, working in conjunction with overall project managers Tecnomar & Associates.

The office has also secured a contract with Global Samson to take over the management of two Platform Supply Vessels, the Ocean Turquoise 1 and another vessel which is currently being finalised.

The contract wins come on the back of Bibby Ship Management securing a contract to supply crew management services to Chevron North Sea’s Alba-FSU, and further demonstrate the company’s focus on servicing the offshore oil and gas market.

Chris Stone, Chief Operating Officer at Bibby Ship Management Group, said: “I am absolutely thrilled that, through these two new contracts, Bibby Ship Management is receiving recognition for providing exceptional service.”

Arvind Mohan, Managing Director – Singapore, at Bibby Ship Management Group, added: “It is a great privilege to have partnered with Tecnomar & Associates and Samson Global, both of whom are leading players in the offshore industry. We look forward to creating a long-term working relationship and partnership over the coming months.”

Ashwin Samant of Global Samson said: “The Ocean Turquoise 1 is a new building PSV and the largest in our fleet, and we are confident that Bibby Ship Management is up to the challenge of managing our vessels, considering their experience and professional services in the offshore and maritime sector. It is a partnership we look forward to developing”.

Paul Hopkins, Managing Director at Tecnomar & Associates said: “The collaboration venture with Bibby Ship Management is a key element going forward, in terms of how we execute this contract providing industry recognized professional services during the current preservation and FPSO hot stack lay-up phase. Quality, reliable support from the Bibby team in Singapore affords Tecnomar the opportunity to complement our in-house specialist energy sector technical services and offer the most comprehensive package available.”