"K" Line is leveraging the "K" Line Maritime Academy (KLMA) in India as a framework to secure and train new seafarers as part of its ship management programme outlined in "K" Line Vision 2008+(Plus).

According to KLMA, several measures were introduced during the past year such as ship remodeling to accommodate onboard training, the opening of KLMA (India) in Mumbai in June, and the construction of a new building for KLMA (Philippines) in Manila to be completed early next year.

In addition, the "K" Line Maritime Academy master plan provides a direction to secure and foster "K" Line seafarers, including a career path.

To familiarize the "K" Line group with the KLMA master plan, the "KLMA 1st Global Meeting" was held in Tokyo earlier this month. More than 100 people attended including the CEO, 12 KLMA representative instructors from all over the world, 40 managers and staff from in-house ship management companies and 30 managers and staff from concerned manning agents.

It has been decided that from now on all seafarers onboard "K" Line vessels will be trained according to the KLMA master plan. This new plan is intended to maximize navigation safety while maintaining the group's principles of security, safety, and trust, a statement said.