Piracy and global warming on ICS training menu

At the 12th “Prep” weekend for the students of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) held in the Drakensberg recently, there were a number of firsts, tutorship co-ordinator Fiona de Goede told FTW. This year saw a record 35 students enrolled, giving a total of 50 attendees including the tutors and staff, she added. They represented four centres, Durban, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Richards Bay, and the new “Paige Hall” at Glengarry was utilised for the first time for tutorials and after-hours festivities. A new slot was also introduced, with “Breaking News” promising to become a firm favourite with the students, according to De Goede. “Each tutor presented a talk on a current shipping-related matter – like piracy; the opening of the North-West Passage as a result of global warming; expansion of the Panama Canal and its implications for liner shipping; and the general effect on shipping of the global economic slump. “It has become very apparent since Prep was introduced all those years ago that, as a rule, students attending this weekend get-together achieve better results than non-attendees. The ICS prize winners are also normally to be found in this crop.” The ICS exams commence on April 20, and the final paper will be written on April 30. The results and the prize winners will be announced in August.