Japanese owner NYK Line has promoted its first ever master to be trained in-house.
The company said it had made Akihiro Mori a captain on 1 April, its first such move after it started its own programme in 2006.
Back then, NYK Line was the first Japanese owner to hire graduates who have completed non-maritime, four-year university degrees to undergo extensive in-house training for positions on board vessels.
The first two years saw the recruits receive education that enabled them to obtain a seafarer’s licence.
After that, they were provided with experience as deck officers and engineers, eventually working toward the rank of captain and chief engineer.
Japanese seafarers are conventionally sourced from a maritime university such as the University of Mercantile Marine and the National College of Maritime Technology.
"However, in order to secure a stable supply of human resources from a wide range of sources, NYK decided to begin its own internal training programme," the company said.
A long ascent
The Japanese shipping giant added that it generally takes 15 to 16 years to attain the rank of master or chief engineer.
"Since more onboard expertise and diversity are required of seafarers at the forefront when NYK enters new businesses such as offshore businesses and offshore wind-power generation businesses, we will continue to secure and foster excellent Japanese seafarers to improve our competitiveness," said NYK senior managing corporate officer Tomoyuki Koyama, who is also a trained captain.
"Although the seafarer profession is tough and challenging, it is a worthwhile lifetime path. Opportunities are expanding both offshore and onshore, and I welcome young students who have the dream of taking this journey, working together, and overcoming hardships."
NYK has about 600 Japanese seafarers, of which 100 are internally trained.
The number taken on from universities is now nearly equal to that recruited from maritime colleges.
Mori has served as an officer on car carriers, LNG carriers, and bulkers.
Last year, he obtained his licence as a first-grade maritime officer.
NYK's first Japanese captain was Gosaburo Shimazu in 1896.
It was the first major Japanese owner to accept female crew in 2004 and promoted a woman, Tomoko Konishi, to master in 2017 for the first time.
