The Passing Out Parade and Prize Distribution function of Anglo Eastern Maritime Academy’s GME 35 and ETO 12 batches held on 20th September at the AEMA campus in Karjat, Maharashtra, was indeed a fiesta to watch.

There was excitement in the air, as the cadets felt overjoyed towards commencing their journey towards the high seas. While some departed on a celebrative note by giving music and dance performances in full gusto, others paid a heartfelt tribute to the academy by sharing excerpts of poetry depicting their deep emotions beautifully penned down. The faculty shared with them some of the essential dos and don’ts as their last piece of advice as they bid adieu to the batches.

Addressing the cadets, Capt. Suneel Vasant Sule, Principal AEMA, said, “It is a very pleasant day for us to open the main gates of AEMA and release you all to the real world. We take great pride in teaching you what is happening today in the industry, but maybe tomorrow we have no clue of what will be the set of challenges in a decade from now. So, the future is for you to shape, but how you would be to deal with all the challenges, will be possible only with the right attitude of Learn, Un-learn, and Re-learn.”

He further added, “Every year as part of this ceremony, we call achievers who have contributed to the betterment of the shipping industry. Mr. Sampath is one such world-famous personality from CLASS NK, and the point of inviting him was to bring a role model who can after his long career at sea set a goal for you all to show you the way ahead and share his guidance and life experiences.”

Attending the festivities as the Chief Guest was Mr. Sumithran Sampath, General Manager- Class NK. This year AEMA also invited two of its Alumni, Second Engineer Mr. Ashish Kumar Bharti – SAGA FLEET, and ETO Mr. Manpreet Singh Mudhar – SAGA FLEET as Guests of Honour, who shared their inspiring success stories and aspirations from the time they passed out to where they have reached today, inspiring all future seafarers.

DIGITALIZATION & DECARBONIZATION

Mr. Sampath, addressing the cadets and the gathering said, “Class NK is one of the largest ship classification societies with around 9,000 ships, which is about 20% of the merchant navy fleet and about 30% of the bulk career fleet, and I am sure many of you will come across many Class NK ships, while you sail.”

Highlighting future changes in the maritime sector which may help the cadets going aboard, he said, “Two trends are prevalent in the maritime sector, namely digitalization and decarbonization.

“Digitalization allows us to continuously transfer the data from the ships to the shore, making processes easy even without human involvement. This data can be used for various purposes such as increasing the efficiency of the ship, optimization, monitoring the vessels, and so on.

“So, in the future, we are going to see a lot of ship operations automated. The purpose of automation will be to reduce chances of human error on the ships, in the cases where there is a shortage of seafarers and less staff onboard.”

He added, “Today the seafarers do not know what is the most viable next fuel they will use onboard. We have multiple options to choose from: Biofuels, Hydrogen, Ammonia, and fossil fuels with carbon capture technologies, which all are at very nascent stages. All the shipping companies in the future will have to follow the decarbonization regulations to be sustainable in the long run.”

Sighting the future of the cadets, he said, “As young seafarers embarking on your careers on the high seas, you will witness a whole lot of changes in shipboard operations in the near future, and obviously you need to be open to re-skill and re-train yourself to be able to adapt to the new technologies.

“It may happen that in the future your traditional seafarer skills may be replaced by some other skills like remote operator skills with augmented reality. I’m happy to know that AEMA has taken virtual reality as part of the curriculum to train the cadets, which will help you a long way.

“I’m sure at AEMA you all have been not only guided well and trained but also imparted the right ethics to always have empathy for your fellow human beings as seafarers, which plays a very strong role in your careers.”

WHY NEWCOMERS SHOULD OPT FOR AEMA

Vice Principal AEMA Mr. Tejinder Pal Singh Bhamra spoke to Marex Media about why the young newcomers should choose AEMA for Marine pre-sea training. He said, “Firstly, our students have been groomed very well, they score well in every aspect, not only in studies but also they are disciplined, punctual, and have proved their true mettle during their months of stay in the campus.

“We provide placements to our cadets, which is our USP. We are attached to one of the biggest shipping companies, Anglo-Eastern Ship Management, which has around 700 ships. I’m sure that if a newcomer has an opportunity to join a maritime training institute, AEMA will be on top of their list.”

He further added, “Each year we make sure to add at least 5 training resources, which are not just tabletop learning, but are actually learning experiences and like setting up a control pitch propeller, setting up a double bottom tank are some of the things which give us an advantage.

“Here the students learn over and above the prescribed syllabus we prepare for them, so they have a stable career in the maritime industry.”

The event also included detailed presentations on GME 35 and ETO 12 batches Training Programs at the Electronic Labs, Maintenance labs, Control labs, Electrical labs, Seamanship Lab, along with Workshop skills.

The cadets had also been taken for a Ship Visit at Mumbai Port on 12^th July, where they stepped upon a Gangway for the first time. The event concluded with Prize distribution and a vote of thanks on behalf of all the students from the GME 35 and ETO 12 batches.

Chief Engineer Mr. Anil Sharma, Faculty-Engine, AEMA, elaborating on various courses and eligibility criteria spoke to Marex Media. He said, “The Diploma in Nautical Science, DNS course is a three-year course, wherein the minimum eligibility is 12^th Standard. It includes 1 year of training on the AEMA campus, followed by 2 years of onboard training.

“The Graduate Marine Engineer (GME) Course, is a 1-year course, for which Mechanical Engineers are eligible, who are trained in the AEMA campus for 8 months, followed by 4 months of practical training on the ship, as per the DG shipping norms.

“For the Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) Course, Electrical Engineers are eligible. They are trained for 4 months on campus and 8 months onboard a ship, so that completes 1 year for them and then they have to take an ETO test by DG shipping. We have a capacity of 240 DNS students, 160 GME and 40 ETO students every year. So overall we have 460 students on the AEMA campus every year.”

Marex Media