"K" Line Ship Management (KLSM), a member of the "K" Line Group, and the Training Institute Cochin Shipyard Ltd in the Indian state of Kerala have agreed to jointly train maritime engineers over a year's period at the shipyard.

After having completed classroom lectures and practical education at the shipyard, cadets will spend more than six months on board vessels to acquire a seafarer's license.

"K" Line is on the look out for 50 engineering students from Indian and Bangladeshi maritime educational institutions this year and is hoping to turn them into officers for its ships. The programme will be extended to 60 people in 2008 together with a scholarship system that will be applied to promote seafarer safety and security.

Cadets will be accepted from the Indian schools of AMET, VELS, Cochin Shipyard, TS Chanakya and MERI Kolkatta, the Japanese company said.