Wallem opens new training facility

Wallem opens new training facility
August 24, 2022 https://www.manilatimes.net/2022/08/24/business/maritime/wallem-opens-ne...

ONE of the world's leading ship management companies is funneling sizable resources into the Philippines in its bid to ensure that its growing number of Filipino seafarers as well as other nationalities are trained to perform using the latest technologies onboard its fleet.

The Hong Kong-based Wallem Group, the fifth largest ship management company in the world, has just launched a new training facility in Manila, Wallem Maritime Training Center, to cater to the specific training needs of the multinational officers and crew serving the Wallem fleet worldwide.

Located in bustling Binondo, Manila, occupying the entire 33rd floor of the World Trade Exchange Building on San Juan Street, the new training center is equipped with actual equipment onboard as well as the latest technologies currently in use on all types of ships managed by the Wallem Ship Management.

"We are ready to upgrade the training of our seafarers to make them competitive with new technologies on board," declared Capt. Ceferino Leal Jr., president and general manager of the Westminster Seafarer Management Philippines Inc., the crewing company that recruits crew exclusively for the Wallem Ship Management.

The training facility was scheduled to be inaugurated in August 2020 but due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the opening was delayed. "Were it not for the pandemic, we would have already launched the training center. But with the easing up of the pandemic, we have the chance to launch the center," Leal said. The facility was formally inaugurated on Monday, August 22.

Since the ship management giant is actively promoting green shipping, it has invested in training its seafarers on the use of green technologies. "We are ready to cope with the new technologies like the use of dual-fuel engines," Leal said.

Leal added that the training center had partnered with a reputable software provider for this purpose and to have graduates of the training course certificated by training centers duly accredited by the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).

"We are tying up with suppliers of training programs like Seagull on how we can provide training to our seafarers on dual fuel as this requires actual participation in bunkering. We also have training on water ballast management systems like the use of scrubbers. Seafarers, before going onboard their vessels, undergo training (on ballast water management); the training depends on what type of ballast water treatment the vessel uses on board."

The training facility is equipped with the one-of-the-kind Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), a scale-down but exact model of the equipment installed onboard Wallem ships that control the entire operations of the ship electronically.

It also has installed an exact appliance used on lifeboats for the lifeboat safety release training, which has become a necessity because of the numerous incidents involving lifeboats that sometimes caused death to seafarers.

Wallem training facility, which caters also to seafarers from other countries, also included equipment for virtual reality (VR) technology as part of the efforts to boost the effectiveness of the training among seafarers.

Furthermore, the new training center through a third party is conducting training using cloud simulation on BASSNet, a software application used for the entire plan maintenance system. "It is an all-in-one integrated system including requisition incident reporting. It also provides for virtual practical exercises," Leal said.

The instructors for the virtual training, which has nine modules, are based in Manila. And the training usually has 10 to 12 multinational participants: Indians, Filipinos, Ukrainians and Russians. All the training can be monitored by the Hong Kong Office.

"So, we are now aligned with the new technology to come, and all these are being programmed by Wallem," Captain Leal said.