Tsakos’ academy wins its spurs

Apr 01 2014


Tsakos Columbia Shipmanagement (TCM) Maria Tsakos TCM Academy has recently been accredited as an Approved Training provider by lloyd’s register, as well as being certified to the BS EN iSO 9001:2008 Quality Management System Standard by lrQA.

The academy has obtained approval for two courses - Operational use of electronic chart display and information system and Oil Record Book, while the quality management system ISO 9001 is applicable to the ‘Provision of Training Services to Shipping Company Personnel and Seafarers’.

On 7th February during a ceremony held at the TCM premises and attended by Capt Panagiotis Tsakos, Nikolaos Tsakos and managers and staff of the Tsakos group, the LR chairman Thomas Thune Andersen presented the certificates to Vassilis Papageorgiou, Tsakos Group deputy chairman, George Vassiliades, TCM deputy managing director and Nikolas Themelaros, the academy’s manager.

“My sincere congratulations go out to the management and staff of the Maria Tsakos TCM Academy for this significant achievement and we look forward to supporting the further development of the academy in the future with the key objective of enhancing standards of training and competence in the maritime industry and promoting safer and cleaner shipping,” said Andersen.

The LR Approved Training Provider scheme provides third party assessment and certification of the ability to provide training to a recognised standard and deliver courses which meet their stated objectives. It provides a benchmark for the marine industry when selecting courses for staff development and training.

“It is our duty to provide the best training facilities to our seafarers and shore personnel and to continuously develop and improve their competence in order to ensure operational excellence, both in terms of safety, as well as efficiency and performance towards our clients.

“The reason we invested in simulators was the opportunity for our crew to operate and react in a virtual, yet fully realistic, environment where mistakes become lessons learnt, without risking damage to environment, equipment and people” Capt Tsakos said.

Kongsberg equipment

The Maria Tsakos TCM Academy occupies about 500 sq m on the fifth floor of the Tsakos headquarters in Athens and it is fully equipped with the latest Kongsberg simulators including;

  • K-Sim Polaris – DNV class A ship’s bridge simulator with 240 deg visual field of view for complete navigation and ship manoeuvring training.
  •  Four K-Sim Polaris, desktop simulators with ECDIS.
  •  Four K-Sim Neptune Cargo, where the cargo, ballast, inert/venting, washing and associated sub-systems are presented as interactive mimic diagrams.
  •  Four K-Sim Engine Neptune, desktop simulators, which are fully integrated with the bridge simulator for full crew training.
  • Big View touch screen system – an interactive schematic mimic of all relevant engine room compartments, ideal for full system understanding.

The academy’s training will not only be restricted to certification and statutory training, but will also be expanded to cater for the specific needs of the officers and the operational requirements of the vessel the officers are assigned to.

In addition, it will provide training to shore personnel, covering new regulations, analysis of incidents, loss prevention and familiarisation of new equipment to be fitted on board vessels.



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