Viking Maritime Group Celebrates its 35th Anniversary

This year, the Viking Maritime Group, comprising of Viking Crew, Maritime Skills Academy, and Chiltern Maritime, celebrated its 35th anniversary, which extraordinarily marks 35 years of being in business!

To kick off our series of celebrations we held a fantastic party at the Hythe Imperial Hotel in Kent, UK, close to our head office in Dover, for all staff members from our offices across the world, including Dover, Portsmouth, Fort Lauderdale New Zealand and Guernsey.

This offered a chance for our staff to come together and celebrate the successes of the last 35 years of Viking Maritime Group.

The evening began with welcome drinks on the terrace in the sunshine, while being entertained by the Dukes of Swing Duo and wowed by the magical talents of Magician, Josh King.

Staff enjoyed a delicious three-course meal in the beautiful Ballroom, adorned with decorations and special touches.

A speech was made by Group Chairman and Founder, Dieter Jaenicke and a raffle full of spectacular prizes drawn. It was an inspiration to hear Dieter Jaenicke tell the story of how the Viking Maritime Group began and how it has become the global company it is today, offering a varied range of maritime services.

Group Managing Director, Matthew Jaenicke, said of the event: “As Group Managing Director, I feel very proud and humbled that almost every staff member from every company, across all our global offices, made it to the 35th anniversary event. The event itself was a great success, with everyone getting to meet each other in person and having a great time with lovely food and drink to accompany.”

Tracy Lyng, Administration Manager at the Maritime Skills Academy was at the event, having worked for the Viking family for over 20 years!

“Joining Viking back in 2003, I have had the pleasure of being part of the company’s growth from a mere 7 employees to a whopping 80 all over the globe. It’s been a journey and one that I have been proud to be a part of.”

The evening came to a crescendo as staff danced the night away to a funky 7 piece band. It was remarkable to have the whole Viking family from all over the world come together to celebrate such an incredible milestone.

The event was fabulous; filled with laughter and nostalgia, and the perfect way to start a year of celebrations for Viking Maritime Group as we celebrate our 35th anniversary!

Date of Issue: 17th October 2023

Operational Fire Fighting Training at The Maritime Skills Academy with Head of Training at MSA Dover, Sam Kelly

We spoke to Sam Kelly, Head of Training at MSA Dover, to find out more about the bespoke Operational Fire Fighting Training the MSA delivers to crew.

“In 2022, in the midst of existing Covid restrictions, the shipping world transformed from minimum safe manning and laid up, to full operation almost overnight. This meant new crew were dispatched to new companies to facilitate the company’s operational requirements.

Cruise companies acknowledged the risk with respect to company procedures, especially in relation to the fire safety teams onboard.

I have been working closely with the senior management teams both onboard and ashore for a multitude of clients, creating bespoke, effective, and measurable training standards we have come to know as Operational Fire Fighting.

Their aim is for the crew to embrace and practice specific Emergency Response Plans (ERP) in a variety of scenarios with the end goal being to improve confidence for the crew.

Virgin Voyages led the way with this training with a simple request to the MSA – “Can you train our Filipino crew locally?”.

After a few calls to our partners at United Philippine Line, we quickly found a few suitable training centres. We finalised plans with a training centre in Tagaytay, called COMPASS, that ticked all the boxes to be able to deliver industry-leading courses under the direct supervision of our Maritime Coastguard Agency-approved instructors.

We adapted our current Advanced Fire Fighting course and picked out the most relevant areas that would benefit the crew, relating all the material directly to Virgin Voyages Safety Management System and Emergency Response Procedures.

The feedback from the courses delivered over the last six months has been positive and this enthusiasm has been noted when onboard during port state and weekly drills.

This has also relieved pressure on the Senior Officers, as the training has been carried out across all the Virgin Voyages crew at our multiple MSA facilities.

Virgin Voyages hosts over 60 different nationalities in crew onboard, and in the wake of the war in Ukraine, we have managed to facilitate training for crew members at our new centre located in Gibraltar, navigating Schengen visas and logistics with the help from our partners at the University of Gibraltar.

MSA Gibraltar has also been delivering a one-day Operational Fire Fighting course for cruise calls; collecting fire teams from the cruise terminal, delivering training at the Airport Fire Training centre, and then delivering back to the vessel.

The popularity of this training has been exponential in growth due to the ease for the ship operator and enabling company best practice in a truly real hot and smoky environment.

Considering the popularity of this course, a new partnership has been formed with Gib Dock and the Government of Gibraltar, in building our own fire training module at the University location in Europa Point.”

What is the importance of this beyond compliance training for you?

“The ability to get hands-on with your actual fire teams, in truly realistic fire situations.

Enabling the fire teams to make factual-based decisions on the front line and deploying effective communication skills.

We welcome Senior Officers to attend this training to enable the command-and-control aspect to take place, review effective and concise briefings, and debriefings to the teams. This is the place to make mistakes. Our instructors will be by your side throughout offering expert advice at all levels.

The crew will have more confidence in their equipment and procedures, enabling quicker reactions to situations on board.”

About Sam Kelly

Sam Kelly is Head of Training at MSA Dover.

After graduating with a degree in the Science of Maritime Operations, Sam spent 11 years working as a Navigation Officer in the ferry and cruise industries, visiting ports in the Mediterranean, Baltic, Norway and the Caribbean.

Sam then joined Saga cruises as a Maritime Operations Manager, before progressing to a Marine Superintendent. He played a leading role in bringing the newest Spirit class vessels into service and managed the turnaround operations in the UK as well as all port operations Worldwide.

Sam brings a wealth of knowledge gained throughout his career to his role at MSA Dover.

Explore our full range of maritime training courses here.

What are the different types of maritime training courses available?

When it comes to maritime training there is much to consider, not least the choice of training courses that are available.

The Maritime Skills Academy provides over 500 expert courses globally to over 5,000 delegates every year, at world-class training centres in Portsmouth, Dover and Gibraltar.

As an approved centre for the Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the Global Wind Organisation (GWO), Nautical Institute and UK Chamber of Shipping, this training ensures the highest standards are maintained for commercial operators as well as for both maintaining and building professional development.

This blog gives some guidance on the different types of maritime training programmes available to help you chart a course in your existing future career, or learn new skills that meet the needs of today’s maritime industry.

Setting new standards at sea

There’s nothing quite like experiencing first-hand, real-life situations that you may face whether as a tug operator, out on deck in the merchant navy, as part of a yacht crew or working in hospitality on a cruise line.

Our deck and engine training programmes, for example, provide extensive simulator training in bridge resource management (BRM), tug operations, ship handling, engine room resource room management (ERM) and for handling high voltage situations.

Marine fire and safety training, meanwhile, includes programmes in STCW Safety, commercial fire response, medical first aid and accredited sea survival courses.

Accredited industry led training

STCW stands for Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping, one of a number of industry backed qualifications offering an extensive range of courses available at basic, advanced and refresher level.

STCW courses include everything from basic safety training to updated proficiency in Medical Care and specialised knowledge for service on ships using fuels covered within the IGF code.

Crisis management and human behaviour, crowd management and personal safety and social responsibilities provide a taste of other courses run under the STCW banner.

GWO stands for the Global Wind Organisation, an independent non-profit organisation that provides a set of standards for the safe operation of wind turbines around the world.

Sea survival training is just one element of a globally recognised certification that provides offshore workers with the skills and knowledge they will need, should incidents occur.

The full GWO Basic Safety Training certification also includes training in fire awareness, manual handling, first aid training and working at height.

Courses offered through the Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA) include a range of training options that build health and safety expertise for seafarers, including engine maintenance courses, ideal for operators of small inshore and pleasure vessels.

MCA Approved Polar Code Training for those on-board ships operating in polar waters are among our most popular courses.

Courses bespoke to you or your business

When it comes to the types of maritime training programmes available, there are hundreds to choose from and we can help you to choose the courses that are right for you.

While some training programmes are fixed in the time it will take to complete, others can be shaped to the specific needs of your crew, employees or your wider organisation.

Courses range in time from half day or full day refreshers to five days for more in depth skills training such as Operational Fire Fighting Training (OPFF), for example.

Whatever your training requirements, and wherever you are in the world, The Maritime Skills Academy provides complete training management whether you are private yacht crew, working offshore or working in the cruise industry.

If you would like to discuss yours or your organisation’s training needs, get in touch with Head of Training, Sam Kelly, at samk@vikingmsa.com.

To explore our full portfolio of maritime training courses, please click here.