Further development of the maritime training in the Marshall Islands

The purpose of the paper is to establish the need for a fisheries and nautical training centre in the Marshall Islands for the training of fishing boat crews, merchant marine officers and ratings. An in-depth study of the current training facilities for fisheries and other maritime personnel is made. The study discusses the problems of the present training system and highlights the demand and job opportunities for Marshallese seafarers. The paper identifies the need for better training and examination systems to upgrade present standards with the particular objective of achieving the safe and pollution free operation of ships in Marshall Island waters. A detailed description is provided of the proposed training programmes for fisheries and merchant marine personnel, together with the structural changes required for such developments. As the current training centre is utilised to train fisheries personnel only, a proposal for expansion of the present fisheries training establishment is made in the paper with a view to incorporating training facilities for officers and ratings of merchant vessels. The proposal is aimed at meeting the requirements of various international maritime conventions and technological changes in the maritime field