{mprestriction ids="1,2"}The online tools, including a free e-learning course on the Operational Aspects of Ballast Water Management, have been developed by the GloBallast project, with financial support from the GIA, to assist with the wider implementation of the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments, 2004 (BWM Convention).
The e-learning course is based on the GloBallast Advanced Training Course on Operational Aspects of BWM, developed with financial support from the GIA and the IMO Integrated Technical Cooperation Programme (ITCP), and is aimed at all stakeholders who will have to deal with operational aspects of ballast water management, such as Port State Control Officers (PSCOs), but also seafarers and all crew on board a ship.
The course contains four modules; Introduction, Operational Aspects, Survey and Certification, and Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement (CME). In each module, the user will explore the issue in the context of the objective of the module, build on their existing knowledge of BWM and finally engage in hypothetical scenarios to put this new knowledge into practice.
The learning portal is accessible free of charge by registering at globallastlearning.com/login, which provides access to an online Resource Library and to the e-learning course. Free webinars related to BWM will be hosted within the portal in the near future, the group says.
The e-learning course can also be downloaded for free from the portal so the user can use it offline at a later stage.{/mprestriction}