General
Navigation and engineering training course are prepared each for Third/Fourth Grade Maritime Officer Competency Certificate and navigation training course for Sixth Grade Maritime Officer Competency Certificate. Our training curricula/programs are based on “The Law for Ship’s Officer’s and Boat’s Operators”, its associated regulations and STCW convention. Training periods are one year for the third grade course, nine months for the fourth grade course and two months for the sixth grade course. As one-year/nine-month training period is regarded by the law as equivalent to three-year onboard experience required for having national examinations, the students can take the examinations to obtain the Third/Fourth Grade Maritime Officer Competency Certificate, soon after they complete the training program. In addition, the training curricula for the Third Grade Officer Competency Certificate meet requirements of the operational level stipulated in STCW convention, so that persons who have the certificate can get on board any type of the international seaborne transportation vessels as a third officer/engineer.
During the sea training period, the students are embarked aboard two or three kinds of the training ships; sailing ship, diesel engine ship and steam turbine ship, according to their training course and a variety of the maritime institutions they belong to. The students are called “cadets” after their embarkation. Through the entire operation of the training ships, the cadets can ensure what they have been taught in their maritime institutions and acquire practical techniques and shipboard skills. Further more, through day-to-day cohabitation on board the ship, adaptability, discipline, endurance, cooperative sprit and international sensibility can be cultivated. The training ships have different navigation schedules respectively and the sea training progresses step by step fromelementary instruction in accordance with the training program. The sea training is carried out in port, at the domestic sea area and the ocean worldwide by making full use of characteristics of each training ship. The concept of the sea training is that the cadets observe, participate and perform all the duties of ships’ officers as much as possible.
In order to attain this educational policy represented by this concept, the training curricula are structured of three elements, which are practical training, tactical exercises and lectures. In the lectures, necessary instruction and knowledge for effective practical training are given to the cadets and these instructions contribute to smooth training process and to help them understand practical knowledge. These lectures are given usually in ports, sometimes at sea as a course lesson or briefing just before practical training. As for the practical training and tactical exercise, the cadets experience duties of ship’s officers at any situation of the training ships in a suitable group size and tactical exercises are accordingly assigned to the cadets to let them study some subjects by themselves.
Navigation Course
Navigation Course curriculum is comprised of five subjects that are Watchkeeping, Navigation, Seamanship, Business and law, and Shipboard operation.
Watchkeeping:Under the direction of licensed officers as an instructor, the cadets take part in the bridge duties in a group underway and the watch duties of sub-watch, lookout, wheel, weather, nautical instrument, radio room are assigned to the cadets in rotation at a certain interval. The cadets learn how to determine the ship’s position, to maintain a safe navigation watch including celestial navigation, electronic navigation and terrestrial navigation as well as acquiring other necessary techniques through the watch duties.
Navigation:Instructions concerned in passage planning, conducting navigation, position fixing and how to operate nautical instrument such as radar and ARPA, are given to the cadets through classroom lectures or practical training in a small group. The cadets learn how to make a passage plan, how to conduct a voyage and associated knowledge, which are chart work, various calculations, aids to navigation and others.
Seamanship:Knowledge and skills concerned in maneuvering ship, maintaining seaworthiness of the ship and weather forecast are instructed. As well as these operation techniques, handling windlass, mooring winch, wharf ladder, and shore lines are also instructed at any opportunities that the cadets are in place of the bow, middle, and stern of the ship while the ship is in entering/leaving port station. As to maneuvering ship, actual maneuvering ship training must be conducted including anchoring/leaving anchorage in a short distance. In this training, the cadets play a captain’s role, third officer’s role and other personnel’s role in rotation. A ship’s maneuvering test which includes turning trial, inertia trail, speed trail, Z maneuver test and others, is also conducted. Thus, the cadets experience an actual maneuvering ship and acquire many skills on operation of the ship. As to weather forecast, the students learn how to obtain and analyze weather chart, feeling actual sea weather with the wind, sea wave and clouds. These meteorology and oceanography would be taught in a realistic environment.
Maintenance is also essential in terms of operation, so that the students can take part in actual maintenance works as much as possible to develop their maintenance skills to life boats, deck machinery, lifesaving appliance, rope works and others.
Business and law:In this subject, what the cadets learn and acquire partly comes from the emergency station drills that are carried out in as more realistic environment as possible. The emergency station drills mentioned in Shipboard operation include many elements essential and are especially effective to acquire/learn the responses against actual emergency situations. For example, through the man-overboard drill, the cadets must learn the dynamics of the ship and the response to be taken when someone fell overboard. Monitoring and securing loading/unloading, stowage and things to keep in mind during the voyage, including trim, stability, and stress control are also instructed in this subject. Moreover, the cadets are lectured about the prevention of marine accidents, procedures in marine accidents, and shipboard documents. On the other hand, as communication skill in English is emphasized as a significant competence these days, maritime English training program has been introduced since 2001. The cadets learn/develop use of SMCP and shipboard communication in English through the watch duties in the bridge underway, stand-by stations for entering/leaving port, practical VHF communications and other opportunities.
Shipboard operation:At the very beginning of the training, the cadets have introductions on routine works and activities in daily life on board. Through these introductions and daily life, the cadets understand a necessity of cooperative sprit, protection of environmental pollution and what discipline and consuetude are to be learned. In a few days after embarkation, they have safety, shipboard familiarization and training for launching life boat. Through the safety and shipboard familiarization, the cadets get to know the arrangement of the safety equipment and appliance, escape rout, procedures to be taken when a fire or other dicey situations occur. Emergency station drills such as abandon ship drill, fire fighting drill, man-overboard drill, blackout drill, emergency steering drill and other damage controls are conducted at a suitable timing underway. The cadets learn how to wear lifejacket and immersion suit, to take necessary safety measures, to recover a critical situation, and to handle safety equipment and appliance concerned through these drills that are actually taken place. In addition to these emergency station drills, ensuring compliance with pollution requirements, maintaining safety and security of the personnel on board, managing crew members and medical care on board are also instructed. Even though navigation course, they have to learn elemental knowledge and acquire fundamental skills concerned in operating the propulsion system and other marine engineering, through the engine room watch duties and other various works that are conducted at an early stage and final stage.
Engineering Course
Engineering Course curriculum is comprised of five subjects that are Watchkeeping, Operation, Maintenance, Business and law, and Shipboard operation.
Watchkeeping: Under the direction of licensed engineers as an instructor, thecadets take part in the engine room duties in a group underway and the watch duties of sub-watch, main engine, generator, boiler and auxiliary machinery are assigned to the cadets in rotation at a certain interval. In the watch standing, the cadets undertake routine and daily works such as taking a running data, looking around the machinery space, shifting fuel oil, starting/stopping pumps, setting fire on boiler, soot blowon boiler andothers. Through these duties done, the cadets learn a principle to be strictly kept to maintain a safe navigation and acquire technical skills for watchkeeping. The cadets take over the watch duties in a group from the previous watch group with necessary information, after that, they receive a briefing from duty engineer with instruction concerned in the watch duties. These processes are essential for the students to understand what is important and necessary to achieve the purpose of the watchkeeping.
Operation: Through the entire operation of the training ship, the cadets experience warming upmain engine and its associated systems for leaving port, including starting the main engine, starting generator, operating main switch board, operating control systems and others. Moreover all procedures concerned in increasing/decreasing the revolution of main engine, starting/stopping generator, fresh water generator and oil purifier, etc, are also instructed. At the final stage of the training, the cadets tackle a littlemore difficult exercise that is a calculation of thermal efficiency of the main engine underway. In order to calculate the thermal efficiency, the cadets have to take many kinds of running data including the main engine output taken by an indicator device/engine analyzer. The cadets learn features/characteristics of the main engine and what the engine performance is, through this exercise. When blackout drill is taken place, the cadets also take various running data in rotation, in order to analyze dynamics of the propulsion plant. Especially, when it is conducted on the steam turbine ship, Taisei Maru, they can have very beneficial data and have opportunity to make a presentation on their results of analyze.
Maintenance: At the early stage of the training, the cadets learn how to use hand tools for repair works and experience electric welding, flame cutting, machine tools and others. During the period of the training, the cadets continuously take part in actual repair/maintenance works to develop their skills for maintenance. These are overhauling of valves, pumps, oil purifiers, and other auxiliary machines. At the final stage, the cadets experience withdrawing piston of main engine/diesel generator and it is carried out depending on the working plan made by the cadets under the direction of the engineers as an instructor. Through these maintenance works, the cadets learn correct procedures to be taken when maintenance works are in progress, inspection techniques and safety measures to be taken for protecting themselves from injury. Other than maintenance works, the cadets acquire fault detection techniques, testing techniques on electrical equipment/devises. These trainings would be conducted in a laboratory on board, where various trainer equipment; electric circuit trainer, refrigeration trainer, main switch board trainer, automatic control trainer, and etc. are placed.
Business and law: In this subject, the cadets mainly learn how to make operating plan for main engine, considering economic efficiency and other factors. Management of fuel oil and ballast control work are also taught including analysis of fuel oil and lubricating oil such as determination of staining degrees, alkalinity, density, and etc. In addition, the maritime English training program is also prepared as well as navigation course and the cadets practice speaking and listening in English to improve oral communication skills for tool box meeting, understanding technical terms in English and others. Various kinds of materials are prepared for this program and the cadets must try to speak English as much as they can.
Shipboard operation: At the very beginning of the training, the engineering course cadets have the same introductions and shipboard familiarization as the navigation course cadets. Regarding the emergency station drills, the cadets also experience all the same and acquire almost the same skills, but they partly learn and acquire different skills. In addition to these emergency station drills, ensuring compliance with pollution requirements, maintaining safety and security of the personnel on board, managing crew members and medical care on board are also instructed. Other than that, engineering course cadets have to learn basic knowledge about navigation and radio communication as well as acquiring fundamental deck skills through the watch duties in the navigation bridge.
