4 minute read
New instructor brings international experience to B.C. marine training
New instructor brings international experience to B.C. marine training
Andrei Romanov brings thousands of nautical miles of experience to his new position as a marine training instructor at North Island College.
Andrei Romanov.
ONLINE MARINE TRAINING NORTH ISLAND COLLEGE
O N L I N E T RA I N I N G NOW AVAILABLE
• Small Vessel Operator Proficiency (SVOP) • Restricted Operator’s Certificate (ROC-M)
Additional face-to-face courses are available when it is deemed safe to do so.
www.nic.bc.ca/marine-training | 250-923-9724
He spent 12 years working up the ranks onboard Russian freighters and then 23 years with BC Ferries, retiring as captain on the Comox to Powell River route. He joined NIC in the fall of 2019 as one of three marine training instructors.
NIC offers a range of marine training courses, from basic first aid to operator competency certificates for commercial and fishing vessels. The training is Transport Canadaapproved and students have the ability to earn several industry-specific certifications.
Romanov got his start as a mariner attending the Admiral Makarov State Maritime Academy in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The academy has an international reputation for training professional mariners for civil and merchant fleets. He was first drawn to the industry because it offered a lifelong career with good wages. Both his wife and son currently work in the marine industry, so he also has a personal reason to want to see safety training done well.
“I want to teach people about safety because I want to see people actually use their skills when they’re needed,” says Romanov. “Solid theoretical knowledge is crucial to
ship safety, such as ship stability, because if you can prevent the ship from going down, you won’t need to know how quickly to put on your life jacket.”
Romanov is excited about helping the next generation of mariners develop and improve their skills.
“Many of our students come from the tugboats and other areas in the industry, so they have lots of experience, knowledge and skills,” says Romanov. “We can help them prepare for the next step in their career – from mate to master, from master of small boats to captain of bigger boats.”
One of Romanov’s goals in the classroom is helping to make complicated or intimidating topics more accessible for students.
“Safety is not just about putting your life jacket on,” he says. “With things like ship stability, there is some math involved and it’s more academic than what students may be used to. It’s something I really want to instruct and make it easier for students.” One of the things Romanov loves about the industry is the variety of jobs – there’s always something new to learn.
“The industry is so vast,” he says. “It’s interesting because it is all different, depending on what you are doing. You can be an expert in one field and then move to another, but then you have to really start from the very bottom to understand it.”
Romanov is familiar with having to start from the beginning. When he moved to Canada and joined BC Ferries, he started as a deckhand and worked his way up to captain.
“I had to begin from the bottom up,” he says. “I learned a lot by doing that, about how the organization operates and about where I wanted to go. Being a captain is something you really have to enjoy because it’s very specific. I really enjoyed my years at the helm.”
Romanov is hoping to see more students look to the marine industry as a career choice.
“There’s a huge demand for skilled marine workers,” says Romanov. Ü
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