Maritime Administration of Latvia

1
XI International Seminar Quality Shipping XXI
Century Standard
St Petersburg, 22-23 October, 2008
SEAFARING CAREERS RAISING THE PROFILE. LATVIAS
EXPERIENCE
Ansis Zeltin Director Maritime Administration of
Latvia

2
HYSTORICAL BACKGROUND

• Major competence from soviet time
• 95 of Latvian seafarers work on foreign flag
  vessels
• Vast majority use service of local crewing
  companies
• Not unified system of certification
• Not standardized educational programs
• Comparatively high number of fraud

3
STRATEGIC GOALS

• Highly competent seafarers
• Quality education
• Elimination of frauds

4
SOLUTIONS

• Change of national legal framework
• Principles of certification
• Increased document protection
• Industry involvement
• New concept of national maritime education system

5
PRINCIPLES OF CERTIFICATION

• Management level certificate after management
  level professional program
• Engine Room Simulator course mandatory for
  engineers
• All seafarers are certified, including ratings
  and non-STCW officers
• Two-level examination for new STCW qualification
  applicants

6
NEW EDUCATIONAL CONCEPT

• STCW officers on ships above 500 GT trained on
  the basis of secondary education
• QMS is a mandatory requirement for educational
  institutions and training centers
• Combined professional bachelors programs
  (operationalmanagement) as well as masters
  programs
• Lifelong education
• Professional courses for management level
  officers
• Maritime educational programs agreed by the
  Registry of Seamen

7
CURRENT DATA ON SEAFARERS
Statistics of certified Latvian seafarers
8
CURRENT DATA ON SEAFARERS
Latvian seafarers on international merchant fleet
vessels
9
CURRENT DATA ON SEAFARERS
Split of age between Latvian seafarers
Masters
Officers
Ratings
10
MARITIME EDUCATION
Graduates in 2008
11
OFFICERSEDUCATION
Percentage of academic and college education of
Latvian officers
12
LEONARDO DA VINCI Pilot project Seafarer
Certificate Forgery the Threat Undermining the
Quality of Training (GETQUALITY)

• EU funded project
• Launched on 1 October 2006
• 4 countries, 7 partners
• Goals
• Awareness of the situation
• Development of anti-fraud tool package
• Safeguard to protect ships from seafarers without
  genuine documents
• Improve co-operation among maritime seamens
  registers and educational institutions
• increase the reliability in recognition of
  certificates among members of the IMO

13
NUMBER OF ISSUED CERTIFICATES
14
FORGERY
Statistics of document forgery
15
RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS OF SEAFARERS PROFESSION
AND MARITIME INDUSTRY

• THE KEY IS REALISTIC INFORMATION ABOUT
• Maritime industry (different segments)
• The scope of job opportunities through different
  segments
• Importance of marine industry to everyones daily
  life
• Nature of responsibilities onboard

16
Thank you!