Interest in high quality- and certified safety training within maritime is increasing rapidly both in Sweden and internationally. As the shipping business is under ever-increasing restrictions and new requirements, the need for adequate and updated education increases as well. The Öckerö Maritime Center, ÖMC, strives to meet the needs of the entire profession.
ÖMC was established in the Gothenburg archipelago in 1997 and has ever since been a key provider of efficient and timely education within the shipping profession. The education center was initiated as a resource primarily for the local fishing industry, but soon became a much sought-after education provider among all types of shipowners and operators.
“Our vision is to offer first-class safety training, ensuring that crew members can act correctly in a vulnerable situation so that no one is injured or accidentally killed at sea”, says Mette Svenningsson.
She underlines the vision using the organization’s core values; Trust, Quality and Commitment. “These values guide us in everything we do, and are integrated in all training activities, regardless of who the client is, or where they come from. We are a resource to rely on, and we are here to promote safety at sea on all levels”.
At ÖMC, marine professionals are mixed with high school and college students in an inventive and creative environment. This also underlines that ÖMC is a great resource for safety training at all levels. In 2015 ÖMC was also established at Rindö in the archipelago of Stockholm. Here ÖMC has the same possibilities to deliver high quality education as in Gothenburg.
Meeting the latest requirements
The shipping business of today is subject to very strict requirements regarding work environment, safety and the ability to organize emergency response. After the Estonia accident, the requirements were severely upgraded. For example, all operators of RoPax ferries must have the correct procedures, the capacity and not least the right training to be able to carry out rescue work according to specific requirements.
Knowing which level of training to aim at may be tricky, but with the support of ÖMC, shipowners, operators and crew are able to meet the latest requirements in any location world-wide. Shipping is a global business, after all. ÖMC offers all certified training courses within the STCW Manila standard.
“As safety training is renewed at regular intervals, more precisely every five years, the training is an ongoing investment that all shipowners are required to make”, says Petter Nystedt, training manager at ÖMC. “Our courses comply with global standards and we educate people from all over the world. Thus, we have expanded our premises several times over the years, also offering accommodation in close vicinity to the training center”.
Everything points to further expansion of ÖMC, as safety at sea is an ongoing issue combined with higher environmental standards.
ÖMC in brief
ÖMC’s courses meet the requirements of the international regulations STCW Manila, and as a training provider, they are also approved by the Swedish Transport Agency. ÖMC is also subject to the requirements set by IASST, the International Association for Safety and Survival Training.
The Board of Directors at ÖMC has representatives from the fishing industry, the Swedish Sea Rescue Society (Sjöräddningssällskapet), and the local ferry company Styrsöbolaget.
