Maritime training centre planned for SA

A STATE of the art maritime training centre is on the planning boards for Cape Town. A gift to South Africa from the A.P. Moller/Maersk Group of Denmark, of which Safmarine and Maersk Sealand are subsidiaries, the centre will house navigation bridge and engine room simulation equipment and aims to further enhance the maritime education and skills training of South African seafarers. Financing of the US$ 3 million (R28 million) project will be from Safmarine, its sister company Maersk Sealand and owner, the Danish A.P. Moller/Maersk Group. The centre is planned to be fully operational at the beginning of January 2003. Its location will be announced shortly. Safmarine, which has trained seafarers for more than half a century, will manage the maritime training centre. Deanna Collins, Safmarine's Marine Training and Human Resources Manager, who conceptualised the project, commented: "We have long believed that South Africans make excellent officers. We will now have the facilities to make it possible for Southern African trained seafarers to compete for employment on an equal basis with foreign nationals."