Top Page > Press Release 2006 > MOL Steps up Recruitment and Training of Indian Seafarers

MOL Steps up Recruitment and Training of Indian Seafarers

September 22, 2006

TOKYO - Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President: Akimitsu Ashida) today announced an agreement with India's Maharashtra Academy of Naval Education & Training (MANET)*1 to establish the MOL Training Center (MANET-India). The agreement, signed on September 21, is aimed at recruiting and training seafarers in India, which is one of MOL's key suppliers for its seagoing work force.

Profile of training center

Name MOL Training Center (MANET-India)
Location On the MANET campus in Pune (Maharashtra State, India)
Main training facilities Full-mission ship's bridge simulator*2, operational diesel engine, refrigeration equipment, compressors, welding equipment, lathe
Training course BRM, Ship handling simulation, diesel engine overhaul and maintenance, welding, lathe machine operation, engine practical skill training with Full-mission ship's bridge simulator and other actual machinery and equipment

Backgrounds and objectives

The MOL Group Corporate Principles state: "We will promote and protect our environment by maintaining strict, safe operation and navigation standards."
Toward this end, MOL has opened training centers in Japan, the Philippines, India, Montenegro, Indonesia, and Russia, and works to recruit and train top-quality seafarers who are indispensable for safe operation.

In India, the MOL's in-house manning company, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines Maritimes (India) Private Limited, allocates about 500 Indian seafarers to 70 MOL-operated vessels. MOL plans to assign Indian seafarers to more vessels in the future.

Since 2001, MOL has operated the MOL Training Center (India) to provide shore-based training to complement on-the-job training in cooperation with the International Maritime Training Center (IMTC). The new training center, MOL Training Center (MANET-India), will further strengthen recruitment of Indian seafarers and improve the educational structure through a tie-up with the existing MOL Training Center (India) to meet the increased demand for seafarer training associated with fleet expansion.

*1 Outline of Maharashtra Academy of Naval Education & Training (MANET)
It was established as a maritime school in 2001, and is located in the city of Pune in Maharashtra State (about 200km southeast of Mumbai). The site totals about 100 acres. Currently the school has only an engineering department (four levels, 120 students in each), but is now applying to the Indian government to open a navigation department, and plans to start recruiting students in 2007.

*2 Ship's bridge simulator
The simulator features a primary bridge with a 360º horizontal field of vision and a secondary bridge with a 120º horizontal field of vision on super-size cylindrical screens. This simulator is capable of performing more realistic training such as interactive ship handling simulation between two vessels and ship stability simulation.