New Maritime Training Facility Opens in the Republic of the Marshall Islands

The Maritime Training Facility at the premises of the MISC will allow the national maritime sectors in the RMI to sustainably build on and enhance local capacity and maritime skills.

The Collage of the Marshall Islands (CMI) will facilitate an accredited course for sailors at the Maritime Training Facility from August 2023 which will enhance local capacity and maritime skills and therefore allow the national maritime sector to advance in their competent and qualified maritime personnel.

On 7 February 2023, the Opening Ceremony for the Maritime Training Facility in the Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) was jointly held by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Information Technologies (MOTC&IT), the Marshall Islands Shipping Cooperation (MISC) in Majuro, the Collage of the Marshall Islands (CMI), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), and the German Government represented by Ambassador of Germany to the Philippines, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau H.E. Mrs. Anke Reiffenstuel and Germany’s Special Envoy for the Pacific Island States H.E. Ambassador Beate Grzeski.

Under the bilateral cooperation between the governments of the RMI and Germany, GIZ (German Development Cooperation) implements the Low Carbon Sea Transport Project (LCST) since 2017 with its objective to work towards transitioning to a low carbon domestic maritime fleet for the Marshall Islands, operated by Marshallese crew that will be trained at the Maritime Training Facility.

Speaking on behalf of the German Government and the LCST, the German Ambassador to the Marshall Islands, H.E. Anke Reiffenstuel said that the Maritime Training Center and efforts taken by the various stakeholders will support sustainable training efforts, act as a cooperation hub for maritime training and serve the maritime industry, and thus the people of the RMI. “It is exciting to see the future possibilities for students and young maritime professionals to start their career in the maritime industry and onboard seagoing vessels. Especially the focus on low-carbon operations will support the path towards sustainable shipping within RMI and give your students a head-start in the future of maritime transport.”

RMI has set itself the NDC target of achieving transport-wide reduction of total domestic transport GHG emissions 27% below 2010 levels by 2030 and transitioning to a low carbon transport future and is committed to reducing GHG emissions from domestic shipping 40% below 2010 levels by 2030 and full decarbonization of the sector by 2050.

The project is part of the International Climate Initiative (IKI) funded project on Transitioning to Low Carbon Sea Transport implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Republic of the Marshall Islands’s Ministry for Transport, Communication and Information Technology and various partners – nationally and internationally. The project supports in delivering RMI’s Nationally Determined Contributions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).