I AM AFTER

20th April 2021, Colombo: Merchant Navy is one of the world's most thriving industries as 90 percent of all goods used worldwide are transported by sea routes. One significant incident that reminded most of us of the importance of maritime trade and our dependence on it, was the recent cargo carrier blocking the Suez Canal, causing billions of dollars of damage to the global economy with every passing day.

Mercmarine Training, the maritime training institute of the Mercmarine Group, is now ready to welcome its latest batches of students who are looking to pursue an exciting career at sea. Interested students can now submit their applications for a wide range of courses as long as they have passed the O/L and A/L examinations.

Courses at Mercmarine Training include Marine Engineering, Navigation Officer Cadet and "Rating Training" which covers Deck Rating, Engine Rating (Motorman training) and Catering Rating training. Mercmarine Training also offers short courses for a wide variety of topics including STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) and non-STCW training, Simulator Training on Engine Simulators and Navigation Simulators as well as various Customized Trainings.

Business Development Manager of Mercmarine Training, Manjula Vitharana stated, “Merchant navy profession provides students adventure and excitement and is also regarded as one of the most lucrative professions in the world. The global maritime industry has a high demand for skilled, educated seafaring professionals and Sri Lanka is definitely a well-known source for qualified merchant seafarers.”

Established in 1986, Mercmarine is the first private maritime training facility in Sri Lanka. Mercmarine Training’s ultra-modern training facility is one of the best facilities in Sri Lanka offering courses for deck, engine and catering at all levels and qualifications while the training is headed by master mariners and Chief Engineers. In addition to its extensive experience, Mercmarine has also upheld German standards in establishing its training facility which simulates real-ship environments. As a result, Mercmarine Training has continually produced top-notch Sri Lankan seafaring professionals and where all courses are specially-designed to meet the demands of the prestigious career as a seafarer.

The Mercmarine Group of Companies comprises of major sectors - Ship Owning, Ship Management, Crew Management and Maritime Training, with each specializing in specific fields of shipping complementing each other and providing a range of services under a single brand.

Further information on Mercmarine Training and its courses can be obtained by visiting their website www.mercmarinetraining.net or via 0117476100, 0769387477.

25^th August 2020, Colombo: Mercmarine Training, the maritime training institute of the Mercmarine Group, is ready to welcome its latest batches of students who are looking to pursue world-class marine education right here in Sri Lanka. Interested students can submit their applications now for a wide range of courses.
 

The courses at Mercmarine Training include "Officer Training" which offers Navigation Officer Cadet and Engineering Officer Cadet training and "Rating Training" which covers Deck Rating, Engine Rating and Catering Rating training. Mercmarine Training also offers short courses for a wide variety of topics including STCW (Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers) and non-STCW training, Simulator Training on Engine Simulators and Navigation Simulators as well as various Customized Trainings.

Mercmarine Training’s ultra-modern training facility provides the ideal environment for students to pursue their career at sea. It is one of the best facilities in Sri Lanka offering courses for deck, engine and catering at all levels and qualifications. Founded in 1986, Mercmarine Training has continually produced top-notch Sri Lankan seafaring professionals and has been a driving force in attracting talented youth to the industry. All courses are specially-designed to meet the demands of the prestigious career as a seafarer. The institute has also pioneered many initiatives in the field such as the scholarship programme for female cadets where scholarships valued at over Rs.2 million were presented to two selected female students for a number of years and will be continued this year as well.

Mercmarine Training’s ultra-modern training facility provides the ideal environment for students to pursue their career at sea. It is one of the best facilities in Sri Lanka offering courses for deck, engine and catering at all levels and qualifications. Founded in 1986, Mercmarine Training has continually produced top-notch Sri Lankan seafaring professionals and has been a driving force in attracting talented youth to the industry. All courses are specially-designed to meet the demands of the prestigious career as a seafarer. The institute has also pioneered many initiatives in the field such as the scholarship programme for female cadets where scholarships valued at over Rs.2 million were presented to two selected female students for a number of years and will be continued this year as well.

Capt. Rohan Codipilly – Chief Operating Officer of Mercmarine Group stated, “At Mercmarine, shipping is our business and this is proven by the fact that we specialise in everything from Ship Owning and Ship Management to Crew Management and Maritime Training. When it comes to Maritime Training, through Mercmarine Training our mission is twofold. One is to impart academic knowledge of the techniques required by a seafarer, and the other is to provide practical training in the skills that come from long years of experience acquired at sea by professional seamen. Unlike in the past, today's ships are very sophisticated, crews are smaller and their voyages are shorter. As a result new recruits have to be well trained, disciplined and ready to take on challenges from day one, and our training methods have kept pace with these new requirements. Mercmarine has been training seafarers for the past 34 years with great success, and we look forward to many more years of creating opportunities for young men and women to enter the exciting world of shipping.”

The Mercmarine Group of Companies comprises four sectors - Ship Owning, Ship Management, Crew Management and Maritime Training, with each specializing in specific fields of shipping complementing each other and providing a range of services under a single brand. Mercmarine Group’s Crew Management is handled by Mercantile Marine Management (MMM), the flagship company of the Group. Established in 1996, MMM has capitalized on local, location and industry advantages to gain mastery in crew management. MMM's crew management service reaches beyond the industry norms and with crew sourced from the largest pool of Sri Lankan seafarers it is able to secure the precise experience and expertise for diverse types of vessels, and assures clients dedicated and exclusive crew. Further information on Mercmarine Training and its courses can be obtained by visiting their website www.mercmarinetraining.net

As we welcome a new year full of promise and excitement, our motherland is also taking giant strides towards development, keeping pace with the fast moving world. Our hopes and dreams are part of our motherland’s future and our growth and success are tied to those of our dear motherland.

With Sri Lanka being strategically located in close proximity to the world’s most important sea routes, maritime industry is poised to usher in the new era of development to the country. With more than 90% of the world trade still being carried out via sea routes, the maritime industry is clearly laden with tremendous potential to uplift Sri Lanka to the next level of development. This also puts our talented Sri Lankan youth in an ideal position to embark on successful and lucrative careers at sea and benefit from the development prospects of the country.

Merchant navy profession, with its fair share of adventure and excitement, is regarded as one of the most lucrative professions in the world. Most of the youth are not aware of the excitements and benefits of a career at sea and tend to seek more commonly followed career paths in engineering, IT or management. The global maritime industry has a high demand for skilled and educated seafaring professionals and this puts Sri Lanka on the map as a source for qualified merchant seafarers.

For skilled seafarers, employment is guaranteed and a cadet officer’s starting salary is usually around $2000/- a month. This increases year on year as you climb up the career ladder and in a few years’ time, once you have completed your full training and become a ship’s captain or a chief engineer, your gross salary will be within the range of $ 8000 – $ 10000. This shows how much of a lucrative career seafaring can be. Thousands of Sri Lankans have embarked on successful careers as ship’s captains or chief engineers and conquered the seven seas, making their motherland proud.

Mercmarine Training is Sri Lanka’s oldest merchant navy training institute and is globally reputed for producing top notch seafaring professionals. For over three decades, Mercmarine Training has been continually producing the best seafaring professionals in the areas of Navigational Officer Cadets, Engineering Officer Cadets, Deck Ratings, Engine Ratings and Catering Ratings, providing an entry for young school leavers to a most rewarding career at sea.

Established in 1986 as the first privately owned maritime training institute, Mercmarine Training is the training arm of the German shipping giant, Mercmarine Group. As a globally reputed shipping group of companies, Mercmarine Group operates as a ship owner, crew manager and a maritime trainer. Riding on the group strengths and with a genuine passion for producing Sri Lankan seafarers of highest caliber, Mercmarine Training has been at the helm of Sri Lanka’s maritime education for 31years now.

At the core of Mercmarine Training’s success is the ability to keep pace with advances in shipping technology and educate their students in the most innovative training solutions in the industry. The Institute is the ideal technologically advanced training center to help prospective seafarers apply their acquired skills to the real-world challenges of the marine environment.

Mercmarine Training is focused in training the officer cadets uninterruptedly to sail the world as Merchant Navy Officers. The institute achieves this by fulfilling the two most important requirements of the cadet training. Uncompromised shore based training and the opportunity for practical sea training on board a ship without any delays. The opportunity to sail on board a ship for practical training is essential to complete the studies as a Merchant Navy Officer and to obtain the Certificate of Competency (COC) as required by the Director General of Merchant Shipping (DGMS). Providing this opportunity is the responsibility of the training institute and Mercmarine Training holds unparalleled reputation in this regard.

Mercmarine Training leverages on its reputation in the global industry and the Mercmarine Group’s strengths as a ship owner and a crew manager to provide their students with practical sea training opportunities without any delays. Because of this, Mercmarine Training is able to guarantee practical sea training required to complete your studies to the level of Certificate of Competency (COC) and Mercmarine Training studentsenjoy the opportunity to sail with the best shipping companies in the world.

MercmarineTraining’s lecture panel consists of some of the industry’s most experienced professionals who take pride in sharing and presenting their knowledge using the most technologically advanced equipment. Many of Mercmarine Training’s lecturers are Master Mariners & Chief Engineerswith extensive sailing experience. As the forerunning maritime training institute, Mercmarine Training is aware that the key to successful training is based on how current your sailing experience is and for this reason the instituteutilizes the services of Master Mariners & Chief Engineers who frequently sail in between their lecturing stints at the institute.

Mercmarine Training is also the leader in Sri Lankan maritime education, in adapting to the changing demands of the global maritime industry. Identifying the increasing demand for female seafarers in the global shipping industry and its’ benefits to Sri Lanka’s youth, Mercmarine Training introduced a special scholarship scheme to promote the profession among Sri Lankan women.

This unique scholarship programme is an unprecedented initiative and was launched in 2016 in line with the institute’s 30th anniversary. One of the first female cadets to win the scholarship, Cadet Gimhani Herath emerged as the batch top at the 23rd pass out of officer cadets at the Mercmarine Training, proving the institute’s efforts to be fruitful. The scholarship scheme provides two scholarships worth Rs. 1 million each for two selected female cadet applicants and will continue this year as well.

Those who wish to obtain more information regarding the courses and the scholarship programme can contact Mercmarine Training via e-mail: apply@mercmarine.net or by telephone: 011 7476100 / 0769 387477.

Mercmarine Training is proud to announce that we have been shortlisted as a Finalist in The Maritime Standard Awards 2018 in The Maritime Education & Training Award. We were the recipient of this prestigious award in the year 2014 . we take this opportunity to thank the Staff and the students for being a part of this achievement.

More information about The Maritime Standard Awards can be found by going to www.tmsawards.com

Mercmarine Training facility was visited by Sinoship, Shanghai - one of our principles who offer on-board training opportunities to deck and engine cadets.

Mario De Silva was invited by the editor of “8 bells” to write about his experience navigating through Baltic Ice. Mario is a vibrant Chief Officer who started as a Cadet with Mercmarine Training in 2006 and has accumulated a lot of knowledge and experience while climbing up his career ladder with the world renown Bulk operator Oldendorff Carriers. With expertise in vessel integrated systems, Mario routinely works both as a vessel trainer and a maritime lecturer in addition to his regular service at sea.

Navigating the Baltic Ice - by Mario De Silva

(Click the image to read about Mario's experience)

Captain Otto, our first Principal (centre-left) stands next to Mr. Post, the Director of our sister school BBS in Brake, Germany (centre) and Captain Rohan Codipilly (centre-right).

- Merchant Shipping Secretariat

Mercmarine Training Extends 2018 Intake Deadlines to Accommodate Technology Stream Students

The Merchant Shipping Secretariat – Ministry of Ports and shipping has taken the initiative to broaden the entry criteria for Merchant Navy Cadet Officer training to include GCE A/L Technology stream students, in a bid to create more opportunities for Sri Lankan youth to embark on lucrative seafaring careers. The entry criteria for Engineering and Navigation Cadet Officer training was previously open only to GCE A/L Mathematics and Bio Science stream students with emphasis on physics and math. With the newly introduced changes to the criteria, technology stream students who fulfill below minimum requirements are now eligible to enroll for Cadet Officer training.

“Recognizing G.C.E. A/L Technology students' merchant-navy-profession-now-open-to-gce-al-technology-stream-studenteligibility to pursue their Career as Merchant Navy Officers is a timely initiative by the Merchant Shipping Secretariat. As the foremost merchant navy training academy in the country, Mercmarine Training has always emphasized on the importance of building a strong force of Sri Lankan seafaring professionals. By creating more opportunities for our talented youth to pursue seafaring careers, we are correctly positioning our country to reap maximum benefits from the rapid growth of the industry. We are thankful to the Merchant Shipping Secretariat for making right and timely decisions and we hope to act on this and open the doors for more young blood to join this thriving industry,” remarked Captain Rohan Codippilly, COO, Mercmarine Group.

Mercmarine Training, in line with new changes made by the Merchant Shipping Secretariat, has extended registration deadlines for Navigation Cadet Officer and Engineering Cadet Officer intakes to accommodate technology stream students interested in the merchant navy profession. Thus, students who sat for their G.C.E. A/L examination in the technology stream and fulfilled the minimum requirements can now apply and register for the 2018 intake at Mercmarine Training. Those who wish to obtain more information regarding the courses can contact Mercmarine Training via e-mail: apply@mercmarine.net or by telephone: 011 7476100/0769 387477.

Mercmarine Training derives its' unique strengths as a maritime trainer from its' mother company, Mercmarine Group which has over 100 years of experience operating in the businesses of ship owning, ship management and crew management. This gives Mercmarine Training the ability to keep pace with advances in shipping technology and provide guaranteed onboard practical training to its trainees, which an important requirement to qualify as a merchant navy officer. Mercmarine Training has obtained the ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System Certification from DNVGL.

Start your career as a Merchant Navy Officer at Mercmarine Training and sail through to success

At the core of Mercmarine Training's success is the ability to keep pace with advances in shipping technology.

Are you one of those thousands of youth weighing options right now for the future of your life as a professional? If yours is an adventurous spirit and you have the thirst to explore the world, climbing up the career ladder in one of the world's most thriving industries at the same time, Merchant Navy is your best option. 90% of the world's global trade is still carried out via sea routes and behind the screen is this massive industry of maritime trade that literally runs the world from the sea. One significant incident that reminded most of us ashore of the importance of maritime trade and our dependence on it, was the recent fuel shortage in the country where the entire country was made to eagerly wait for the arrival of one important ship, 'Neverska Lady', which carried the fuel supply to end the shortage.

Merchant navy profession is widely regarded as one of the most lucrative career paths that also offer great opportunities for excitement and adventure for the youth. Employment and career success is guaranteed as the industry demand for skilled professionals continues to soar ever so high and unlike any other profession, one can reach the pinnacle of the career i.e. to become a ship's captain or a chief engineer earning a 7 digit salary, within a short period of time. As Sri Lanka's maritime industry is expected to expand in unprecedented ways, Merchant Navy professionals are in high demand for a large number of shore based careers as well. For example, Navigation Officers have great shore based career opportunities as Harbor Pilots, Marine Superintendents, Shipping Administrators, Port State Controllers, Harbour Masters and Maritime Educators. For Marine Engineers great shore based career opportunities exist in many areas such as Ships & Industrials Survey, Maintenance Engineering at star class hotels, power plants & ship repairing and construction.

Mercmarine Training, established in 1986, is Sri Lanka's first privately owned merchant navy training institute and has been leading the country's maritime education ever since. Mercmarine Training was initially launched as the training arm of the globally renowned maritime giant Mercmarine Group, to fulfill the requirements within the group and later developed to produce world class seamen to meet the demands of an entire industry.

Mercmarine Training derives its' unique strengths as a maritime trainer from its' mother company, Mercmarine Group which has over 100 years of experience operating in the businesses of ship owning, ship management and crew management. This gives Mercmarine Training the ability to keep pace with advances in shipping technology and educate Cadets using the most innovative training solutions in the industry. The Institute is the ideal technologically advanced training center to help prospective seafarers apply their acquired skills to the real-world challenges of the marine environment.

With increasing development of the maritime sector and growing interest in global seafaring, Sri Lanka is grooming hundreds of young merchant seafarers to meet the demands of the industry.

With Sri Lanka entering a new phase of development, there has been much duscussion about the industries that are expected to usher in this new are. With the ending of the 30 year long civil conflict, it is the maritime industry that is poised with the greatest oppportunities for growth. Being strategically located in close proximity of important sea routes, blessed with abundant resources and with the right amount of state support, Sri Lanka's maritime industry is slowing but steadily thriving.