Cadets get a boarding call from Tanker

July 17, 2007

NZ Maritime School cadets get a boarding call from Tanker Pacific Singapore

Seven New Zealand Maritime School cadets have been offered sea going experience as cadet officers and a promising career at sea with one of the world’s largest independent oil tanker fleet operator, thanks to a new agreement between the school and Tanker Pacific Singapore.

Tanker Pacific is the third major international shipping organisation to sign up with the Maritime School to provide sea going experience to students of the Diploma in Nautical Science and Diploma in Marine Engineering programmes at the NZ Maritime School.

Students of both the Nautical Science group and the Marine Engineering group are required to spend a third of their three-year course working on board vessels. Next month all students from the programme will head off overseas on their first sea-going assignments to join vessels working around the world.

Director of the New Zealand Maritime School, Captain Tim Wilson, says signing Tanker Pacific as a long-term provider of sea-going experience was a major coup for the New Zealand Maritime School

“The quality of our onshore training and the international recognition that the school now has means all our students are virtually guaranteed future employment with the companies that they join for sea going experience,” he says.

“The companies we have involved in our programme are considered among the most prestigious operators in the world, so the experience of working with them will provide our students with a fast-track start to their careers.”

The New Zealand Owners agent representative John Spurway, says Tanker Pacific manages one of the world’s largest fleet of tankers consisting of over 90 oil tanker vessels, having a total carrying capacity of well over 12 million deadweight tons, which means it requires large numbers of trained personnel.

As an organisation, Tanker Pacific has a large cadet programme within its own fleet and is a respected owner operator demanding high safety standards and operational excellence of its employees.

“We were thrilled to have signed an agreement with reputed international owners to include New Zealand students in their training programmes – it is a great opportunity for Kiwis to join one of the world’s great tanker fleets”.

There are currently 50 students on the school’s Diploma of Nautical Science and Marine Engineering programmes this year and that number is expected to double next year.

Captain Wilson says graduates of the foreign going programmes can expect starting salaries of around $55,000, with rapid promotion and salary increases likely because of the worldwide shortage of qualified maritime personnel. .

The New Zealand Maritime School, based in downtown Auckland, is part of the Manukau Institute of Technology.

ENDS

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