Columbia Shipmanagement has underlined its commitment to top level training of its crew by signing an agreement with the Nautilus Pacific Maritime Training Centre in Manila to be the exclusive training centre for its seafarers in the Philippines.

The agreement, which comes into immediate effect, will mean that CSM can tap into state-of-the-art simulators, holograms and webinar technology to bring together the highest quality in-person and online seafarer training.

Up to 5,000 Columbia seafarers will be trained every year at Nautilus’s multi-million dollar, purpose-built training centre. The International Maritime Training Fund (IMTF) has helped to part fund the new equipment and the Associated Marine Officers’ and Seamen’s Union of the Philippines (AMOSUP) has lent its full support to the initiative.

The 1,700m² training centre has completely renewed its facilities and equipment to include numerous modern classrooms, all fully equipped and approved for asynchronous and synchronous online training.

The centre also includes an impressive number of high-tech Wärtsilä simulators, including a full mission bridge simulator, equipped with aft view and suitable for ice navigation across numerous ship models, as well as Wärtsilä’s Model Wizard toolkit and engine room simulator capable of simulating multiple engines and models.

The training centre also has a simulator for liquid cargo handling (including oil, chemical, LPG and LNG), multiple ECDIS simulators, several mini-bridge simulators as well as a new rescue boat simulator, the first of its kind in The Philippines. It has also built a dedicated Chemical Tanker workshop and wall wash test training and there are plans to upgrade its electrical and electronic workshops and to introduce crane handling training.

Nautilus will strengthen the scope and reach of its training courses by utilising holograms through CSM’s PORTL technology. CSM is a firm believer in the power of digitalisation and has invested in this pioneering technology to not only elevate its training capability to new levels, but to put its money where its mouth is when it comes to sustainability by replacing excessive global travel with hologram-led international business meetings.

Stavros Tiliakos, owner’s representative at Nautilus said: “Seafarer wellbeing was our highest priority when designing the new premises. Hence, in an innovative way, Nautilus has built a very comfortable waiting area equipped with a large touch screen for seafarers to interact with the administration and access their training schedules. The centre also includes huddle rooms, a large and well-designed pantry and a colourful and large library.”

Mark O’Neil, President and CEO of Columbia, added: “We are committed to providing the highest quality and most effective training for our seafarers in The Philippines and worldwide. What has been achieved at the Nautilus Pacific Maritime Training Centre is ground-breaking and we are delighted to be working with them.”

Capt. Faouzi Fradi, Group Director Crewing and Training at CSM, welcomed the agreement with Nautilus saying CSM was excited to be working with a partner of their quality.

He said, “It is all about ensuring the safe operation and management of our ships. The fact we can run online as well as in-person courses at the very highest level, whether STCW or company specific, with the quality of trainers and instructors we can call on, puts CSM in a very strong position.”

Capt Noriel Cereno, Managing Director of Nautilus, said: “Nautilus is proud to be working with Columbia to take seafarer training in The Philippines to the next level. The quality of the advanced facilities at our new premises will only prove to our existing and potential clients, our commitment to quality and efficient training of their crew.”