22 August 2017
MTC Management and students of 99 IDF course present equipment and tools donated by SPMS. Photo: BPA Kiribati
In July, a 20-ft container loaded with fire hoses, tool boxes, safety shoes and a many other items arrived at MTC. The German shipowners in Hamburg, represented by SPMS, sent equipment worth more than 15,000 AUD as a donation to the MTC.
One lot of the donated items is personal safety equipment like safety shoes, overalls, helmets or safety harnesses. In such a high-risk work environment like a cargo ship, personal safety is paramount. At MTC the students are trained from their first day to follow safe working procedures and to protect themselves from possible dangers.
The other lot are precision tools for metal fabrication like saws, taps, calipers or feeler gauges. As ships are made of steel, every seafarer is expected to have basic skills in metal fabrication to maintain and repair his ship.
Malte Pertiet, Captain Superintendent of MTC, expresses his gratitude: “This donation shows the long-standing commitment of the German shipowners to the MTC. For more than 40 years they have been supporting us through funding of positions, donations and transfer of knowledge. The MTC and the Ministry of Labour are very grateful for this private-public partnership and cooperation. In return, the MTC sends qualified seafarers to the cargo ships managed by SPMS partners.”
