ETC Extends Training Program to SAM Electronics
ETC announce that it has now partnered with SAM Electronics to provide ECDIS training for the CHARTPILOT and ECDISPILOT, complementing SAM’s successful cooperation with Safebridge for online training, and thereby expanding SAM’s ECDIS training capabilities.
ETC, the ECDIS Training Consortium, is a joint venture of training partners working under the patronage and control of MSG MarineServe GmbH, a sister company of Safebridge, to deliver courses that implement the identical ECDIS training program, adhere to consistent quality standards and are audited externally on a regular basis. ETC will use its established worldwide network to provide conventional, face-to-face, ECDIS training to meet local needs and improve the service to its global customer base.
As a result of these agreements, all possible methods of delivering training are available to the shipping community for the SAM ECDIS equipment: the highly interactive, web-based training (WBT) at any location with a good internet connection and the fully qualified, off-line, PC solution for on-board usage, both from Safebridge; alternatively, classroom or on-board training, both of which can be delivered by one of the current number of globally located ETC partners.
What does it mean, in practice, to fit ECDIS in a ship? Given that the SOLAS carriage implementation requirements are already in force, there are a number of aspects to be considered. Equipping a vessel with ECDIS is far more than just having the hardware installed on the bridge by the manufacturer’s service engineers: it also requires that the ship operator, apart from adapting the company and ship ISM procedures or contracting with a suitable chart supplier, makes the necessary arrangements for the proper and timely training of the crew on the installed ECDIS, as one of the most important requirements to comply with legislation.
“Our experience fully supports the guideline of the British Admiralty, which states that a six month advance period should be calculated as a minimum before ECDIS is de facto ‘fitted’, which means that ship and crew are fully ready for ECDIS operation” said Prof. Becker-Heins, the instigator of the ETC training initiative. “In addition to SAM Electronics, other reputed ECDIS manufacturers, such as Danelec Marine, Imtech Marine, JRC, Martek Marine, NavicoSimrad, Raytheon Anschütz, Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine and Chartworld, have also placed their trust in the ETC training network”, he added.
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