Authority committed to improving standards

Transport PNG

The National Maritime Safety Authority (NMSA) is committed to improve the safety standards of small boats operating within PNG’s waters.
This was evident through a NMSA organised six-day workshop on Small Boats operations in Kimbe, West New Britain, where 150 small boat crews within the province attended this workshop.
This is the third workshop which was fully-funded by the Authority.
The first one was held in Alotau in 2016 and the second in Madang in 2017.
The objective of this training is to promote safety culture while out at sea for crews operating small boats below 15 metres.
NMSA will also deliver the same training workshop in other parts of the country as well.
NMSA, in partnership with the National Fisheries Authority (NFA) and the National Fisheries College, delivered an intensive training on the basics of Survival at Sea, First Aid at Sea, Seamanship, basic Navigation, Collision Regulation, Radio Communication in Distress and Occupational Health and Safety including Marine Environment Protection.
The six-day competency based training workshop saw 150 trainees divided into four groups undergoing both theory and practical sessions, facilitated by certified trainers from the college.
The simplified training was made easy for the small boats and dinghy operators to understand the topics presented.
NMSA Board Chairman, Peter Humphreys, who officiated at the closing ceremony encouraged the participants to utilise the skills and knowledge acquired during this training and take necessary steps to exercise some responsibility and comply with sea safety measures.
“I would like to congratulate you all for attending this significant training as this basic training will enable you to be safety conscious when out at sea,” he said.
“Safety at Sea is all about using common sense.
“Most boating incidents occur due to negligence by boat operators, owners and passengers.
“Being safety conscious prevents such incidents or even death for that matter.”
NMSA’s new Executive Manager,
Maritime Operations, Captain Krzysztof Orlowski congratulated the participants for undergoing this training.
Krzysztof thanked both NFA and the National Fisheries Colleage for facilitating this six-day training, in particular the facilitators.
He encouraged all the trainees to practice what they had learnt for the safety of the passengers and themselves as well as while travelling out at sea.
“Full implementation of learned skills will prevent another disaster from happening.”