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July 2005
Videotel produces Marpol Annex VI training package 21st June 2005 Videotel teams up with IMO in port security initiative 8th June 2005 Videotel president warns of chronic maritime recruitment problem 3rd February 2005 Leading flag state approval for Videotel's Ship Security Officer course January 2005 Videotel is pleased to announce the appointment of Capt. Milind Karkhanis as Vice President, Assessment & Design. July 2005 Videotel produces Marpol Annex VI training package
MARITIME training provider Videotel Marine International, with the support of leading international organisations including IMO, IACS and the ICS, has produced a training package to help ship operators, officers and crew understand the complexities of Marpol Annex VI. Annex VI, which imposes strict limitations on the emission of oxides of sulphur and nitrogen and sets a 4.5 per cent global limit on sulphur content in bunker fuel, entered force on May 19. It will have a significant impact on the day-to-day operations of virtually all commercial vessels. It affects everything from the choice of bunkers, the supply of engine spares, and even modifications to existing vessels. The complexities of Annex VI represent a major challenge for the maritime industries, and the Videotel package, produced in association with the Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association, is designed to help the shipping industry meet that challenge in a safe and cost-efficient way. The package is available as a CR-ROM or video and support book, and covers in detail the additional documentation that vessels must carry under Annex VI. It explains the restrictions on modifying and servicing engines, outlines the changes in operating incinerators, and describes the new controls for ozone-depleting substances. The package also offers a comprehensive overview of the new regulations. Len Holder, chairman of Videotel, says, "There is, understandably, a level of concern in the industry about the implications of Annex VI. If operators and crew do not get it right, there could be huge safety, environmental and financial consequences. Proper training is at the heart of proper and safe procedures, and it is incumbent on the shipping industry to ensure that that training is made available. We all want clean air, clean seas, safe ships, and a buoyant shipping industry. And a sensible investment in professional training is an essential element in the process of trying to achieve all those objectives."
21st June 2005 Videotel teams up with IMO in port security initiative
LEADING maritime training provider Videotel Marine International, working in conjunction with the International Maritime Organisation and a number of leading international port security authorities, has produced an interactive, computer-based training course which could form the basis of official Port Facility Security Officer (PFSO) accreditation, as called for under the International Ship & Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code. The course is divided into eight modules, each with its own test section so that users can assess their level of understanding before proceeding to the next section. The information is creatively presented and is both visually stimulating and easy to navigate, using a combination of video, animation, graphics, audio and text. On completion of the course, the user will be able to undertake a formal assessment which, depending on local government requirements, could form the basis of official PFSO accreditation. Videotel has also produced a video, again in association with IMO, for port workers covering global port security and the potential threats faced by ports throughout the world. The 'Know Your Port' video highlights the fundamental security requirements and potential threats faced by all ports today. It takes a strong narrative approach and comprises a number of straightforward chapters adopting a wide variety of film techniques. Len Holder, chairman of Videotel, says, "The training course and the video operate in harmony to provide a complete training package designed to increase awareness and to improve security in ports throughout the world." Videotel president William O'Neil, meanwhile, notes, "Port security is paramount in today's international shipping industry. The world - and indeed the shipping industry - is now perceived as a more dangerous place than it was previously. There have been instances of terrorists targeting ships while in port, and of port workers being threatened and injured. "More is now demanded from shipping, both by international law and by industry regulation, in terms of ensuring that the threat of terrorism is properly and professionally addressed. Lives will depend on how the shipping industry responds to the threat, and that response cannot be truly effective unless there are sufficient numbers of properly trained personnel able to monitor and enforce the regulations. Education, as always, has a crucial role to play." Both the CBT course and the video have been produced with the assistance of a number of governmental and regulatory bodies and leading commercial organisations, including BIMCO, the UK Department of Transport, Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Canada Maritime, Maersk, CP Ships and the TT Club. Videotel Marine International is the market leader in the provision of quality computer, video and DVD-based training packages and courses in many languages for the maritime industry. The company provides training packages through long-term library rental schemes. Videotel currently offers over 600 titles, including a range of flag state-approved distance learning courses. Many of the Marine Video and Computer Based Training Packages offered by Videotel Marine International are recognised by the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science and Technology (IMarEST) as contributing to an individual member's Professional Development requirements.
8th June 2005 Videotel president warns of chronic maritime recruitment problem
O'Neil, former Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organisation, says, "The shipping industry underestimates at its peril the vital importance of ensuring a regular supply of properly trained, appropriately motivated professional seafarers. It makes no sense to continue to build bigger, more sophisticated ships if we have not put in place the training infrastructure needed to produce the skilled seafarers to operate them. "All ships need competent crews, but the potential gap between the optimum position for the industry and the reality of the situation is arguably most alarming in terms of specialist ships such as gas and chemical tankers. These ships have remarkably good safety records which are directly related to the quality of the officers and seafarers who operate them. But they also have complicated operating systems which, in unskilled hands, could increase the potential for serious accidents. And while there is certain to be an increase in the numbers of such ships being built, can anybody be equally certain that the industry will be able to produce in sufficient numbers the seafarers equipped with the necessary skills to man them? It seems unlikely, unless more training opportunities are created, and those opportunities maximised." O'Neil says the shipping industry needs to work harder to attract and keep the quality people it needs, but he acknowledges that there are now more extraneous factors than ever before which could impact against a substantial growth in the core, seafaring workforce. "The continued increase in national, regional and international laws and regulations affecting shipping and seafarers threatens to render shipping a less attractive vocation than at any time in the history of the industry," he says. "And the trend towards the criminalisation of seafarers - whether for security-related motives or as a result of political pressure to apportion blame in respect of pollution incidents - will discourage conscientious officers from accepting more senior responsibilities. No sanction should be introduced which would discourage people from becoming recruits to the maritime profession or from accepting positions of higher responsibility once in the chain of command. We need all the good people we can get and, once we have them, we need to keep them."
25th February 2005 Leading flag state approval for Videotel's Ship Security Officer courseLEADING maritime training provider Videotel Marine International has secured further important flag state recognition of its distance learning courses following the approval of its Ship Security Officer course by the world's second largest ship register, the Liberian Registry, and by the Marshall Islands flag. The course, which complies fully with the International Ship & Port Facility Security (ISPS) code, is intended for those who have to carry out the role of Safety Officer on board. Its aims are to ensure that the user is trained within the current legislative framework and to provide a record of this training. The course can be used on board ship or ashore and is designed for individual self-study. Videotel continues to co-operate with leading shipping industry organisations to produce continuing professional development products which are widely recognised by the industry and by leading flag states. It worked closely with the IMO, and with other organisations such as OCIMF, Intertanko and Intercargo, to produce Shipboard Security, a computer-based training course especially designed for training security officers. As at January 2005, a total of 1,475 candidates, from 56 different companies and thirty different countries, had enrolled for the Shipboard Security course. The pass rate is almost 75 per cent. Videotel chairman Len Holder says, "Everyone agrees that ship security is a major issue. The Shipboard Security package allows shipowners to demonstrate that security responsibilities are being met while ensuring that seafarers get a realistic and flexible approach to training. We welcome its endorsement by leading flag state authorities."
January 2005 Videotel is pleased to announce the appointment of Capt. Milind Karkhanis as Vice President, Assessment & Design
Milind comes to Videotel with 15 years of experience sailing on General Cargo ships, Bulk carriers, including Cape size, tankers, OBO, Container ships. Milind has a Master's degree in Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators and is a Supporting Member of the London Maritime Arbitrators Association, a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Ship Brokers, a Member of the Nautical Institute and has been Quality Management Systems Lead Auditor of the International Register of Certificated Auditors(IRCA). Milind started his shore career as a Marine Superintendent with Confidence Shipping, a ship manning company in Mumbai, then moved over to American Bureau of Shipping where he was involved in ISM/ISO activity in India during which time the ISM Code was in gestation. He then moved to Hong Kong to take charge of the Safety and Quality department of New Asian Shipping, Company a ship management company with MOL Tokyo as principal. Thereafter he moved to the U.K. to teach in the Fleetwood Nautical College before taking up the offer to join Videotel. Videotel is responding to shipping companies who wish to be identified as quality shipping companies in the interest of themselves and their stakeholders. Ship owner and Ship Managers are looking to upgrade the crew competency and to set standards above the basic STCW benchmark. They have realised that this is the way to enhance the safety of the sea, protection of environment and the efficiency of their crew. There is also an emerging trend of outsourcing training and competency management to professional companies who have been involved in maritime training. Videotel is the established market leader in providing quality-training materials for the shipping industry and is committed to achieving high standards of training and assessment. Videotel is uniquely place to offer a one-stop solution for the Training and Assessment needs of shipping companies. Milind joins Videotel to provide his hand-on experience in training and assessment for the support of ship owners/managers, shore and sea staff. To contact Milind, please email
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William O'Neil, president of leading maritime training provider Videotel Marine International, has again warned that the international shipping industry is facing a chronic recruitment problem, and that the maritime industries need to attract more young people to seafaring as a career. 
The role was created to meet growing demands from shipping companies for a one-stop solution for Training and Assessment