(HOUSTON) — Collaborating on a marine environment awareness computer-based training for shoreside staff and seafarers netted the North American Marine Environment Protection Association (NAMEPA), in partnership with the Liberian International Ship & Corporate Registry (LISCR) and ProSea Marine Education, the 2019 Lloyd’s List Americas Awards for Excellence in Safety and Training.
The award was presented to NAMEPA Executive Director Carleen Lyden Walker and LISCR Vice President Stephen Bomgardner, along with other NAMEPA Directors, at the Lloyd’s List Americas Awards event in Houston, Texas.
The Americas Awards are part of the Lloyd’s List Excellence in Shipping Awards – the industry’s flagship awards program recognizing and rewarding excellence across all sectors for maritime. As winners of this category, NAMEPA and its colleagues will be considered for the Global Awards being held in London early next year.
“We are thrilled and honored to be the winners of the Training and Safety category among so many excellent companies. Our win was based on the partnership developed with LISCR and ProSea and our shared commitment to the common goal of training mariners, and shoreside staff, to perform their jobs in the most informed, safe and professional manner possible to support sustainable shipping,” said Walker. “NAMEPA was the recipient of the Environment Award in 2014. To again be a winner of a Lloyd’s List Award is a tribute to the value that our organization, and our programs, brings to the global maritime industry.”
The computer-based marine environmental awareness training program was collaboratively developed by NAMEPA, Liberian Registry, and ProSea to provide a comprehensive overview of the complex and diverse marine environment, explaining how it is impacted by shipboard waste, discharge and spills and by shipping generally. It also covers marine ecology, environmental compliance plans and management systems, sustainable shipping and the role of the human element in pollution prevention. It provides an overview of marine pollution (MARPOL) regulations and other relevant International Maritime Organization (IMO) conventions, emphasizing the importance of regulatory compliance in general.
“Regulatory compliance is top priority in the wake of 2020, and a fleet is only as prepared as the individuals who are onboard the vessels; that’s why this training is so vital," said Alfonso Castillero, chief operating officer of LISCR. "Through this partnership with NAMEPA and ProSea, comprehensive training on regulatory compliance and environmental safety issues is now easily accessible to any interested party. As the world’s leading largest quality ship registry, the Liberian Registry is honored to be recognized for this joint industry effort in protecting the environment.”
The training program is suitable for anyone with a vested interest in protecting the marine environment, including all seafaring and port personnel and all office-based maritime industry staff. Is it based on the IMO model course 1.38 and meets the requirements of STCW Chapter VI. Those who successfully complete the course will be issued a special qualification (SQ) certificate in basic environmental awareness.