| Print | Close Window | AMO Currents - Posted: August 28, 2008 |
More AMO members become candidates for LNG jobs with Shell
Shell Ship Management offered the positions to the 15 AMO members after they interviewed with the company. Another group of AMO members is scheduled for interviews with Shell in October.
"We are ahead of the curve in meeting our manning goals with the international LNG fleet, and Shell has demonstrated great confidence in the professionalism of AMO officers and the excellence of our training programs at STAR Center," said AMO National President Tom Bethel. "While these developments have been discussed and anticipated, they are certainly welcome. The valve to LNG shipping is now open for the AMO membership and we're uniquely prepared to meet the growing demand for qualified officers in the international LNG trades."
Of the 15, eight engineering and seven deck positions were offered. As officer candidates with Shell Ship Management, AMO members will need to complete the Shell familiarization course, as well as an observation program in the LNG fleet managed by the company.
They will join AMO members John McFadden and Michael Green, who have already entered the Shell familiarization program en route to senior deck and engineering positions, respectively, in the company's fleet of managed LNG carriers.
Shell representatives Jerry Warman and Adam Manson visited AMO headquarters in Dania Beach, Fla., earlier this month and toured the AMO Safety & Education Plan's Simulation, Training Assessment & Research Center. Both were impressed by the staff, training facilities and hospitality at the Dania Beach site and described the visit as successful. "We hope this was the first interview of many to come," Manson said.
In a ceremony hosted by the Maritime Administration April 30, 2008, at the U.S. Department of Transportation, AMO and Shell signed a memorandum of understanding, through which Shell is hiring AMO officers for seagoing positions. Shell’s competitive hiring process will lead to permanent positions with the company for AMO members, with AMO representation and all contributions to the AMO Plans.
Shell companies currently manage 31 LNG carriers, and that fleet will grow rapidly over the next two years. Nakilat Shipping (Qatar) Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qatar Gas Transport Company Ltd., recently selected Shell to provide a full range of shipping and marine services for an additional 25 newbuild LNG carriers.
STAR Center—the primary training provider for AMO officers—is the only U.S. maritime training institution, and one of very few in the world, that offers LNG person-in-charge training certified to the standards of the Society of International Gas Tanker and Terminal Operators (SIGTTO). AMO officers also have access to liquefied gas simulation training on MPRI simulators at STAR Center. Both courses are certified by the U.S. Coast Guard.
Additionally, BGT has signed a letter of intent with AMO to establish an observation program with billets for AMO officers as observers onboard two of its ships. This unique agreement will allow AMO members to earn the necessary sea time and STCW endorsement to work in the LNG trades without prior experience. AMO is negotiating similar agreements with other companies.
"AMO has taken the lead in establishing these opportunities for our members in the international LNG fleet—both for our base of officers with LNG recency and for the membership as a whole," Bethel said. "With the premier LNG training and simulation programs in the U.S., and through years of work developing productive partnerships and agreements, AMO is providing options and opportunities to its membership that aren't available to American mariners elsewhere in the U.S."
| Copyright © American Maritime Officers, All Rights Reserved |