Message from Chair

May 2006,

It is with pleasure and pride that I assume the Chair of the International Association of Maritime Universities for the 2006-2007 period. I am honored to be elected to this position once again and look forward to guiding the progress of this organization toward greater knowledge, greater cooperation and better educational opportunities in the maritime industry.

The International Executive Committee, which is now the International Executive Board, met recently in Dalian, China. It was a very productive meeting at which several important decisions were reached:

• That the Integrated Working Group should continue for one more year on the topic of LNG capacity building.
• That a standardized international IAMU program of on-board ship training, including maritime security aspect, will be the second Integrated Working Group topic to be explored over the next two years
• Four projects were selected for funding and notifications are currently being sent to the successful project leaders.
• Odesa was chosen as the site for AGA 8 in 2007

Over the next two years, we plan to review and restructure the IAMU Basic Agreement in order to make it more efficient and more inclusive for all of our members.

Plans for AGA 7 in October, 2006 are well under way. The deadline for submission of one page abstracts has been extended until May 1st. All members are encouraged to attend the assembly and to visit the web site for further details at www.dlmu.edu.cn/iamu/.

The 2nd IAMU LNG Round Table (RT2) will be held in Washington, D.C. on May 30th and 31st in the tripartite manner, i.e. administrations including U.S. Coast Guard, industry (SIGTTO, APEC Gas Forum), and academia (IAMU). The main purpose of the meeting will be to clearly define the roles and responsibilities of the three parties, but above all, IAMU as an association of MET providers in realizing an appropriate sustainable system of educating and training LNG officers. More information on the RT2 will be published as it becomes available.

Since its inception in1999, the International Association of Maritime Universities has grown in the strength of its membership and its worldwide recognition. We submitted our official application on 24th March, 2006 to IMO for the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and expect that our application will be discussed at the up coming IMO 96th Council meeting on 19th-23rd June. The work that we have begun is already impacting the international maritime community in a positive way. I encourage every member to become more actively involved by submitting news items and articles for the IAMU Electronic News, scholarly papers for inclusion in the IAMU Journal, and papers for presentation at AGA 7. It is our belief that through the efforts of all of those involved in maritime education, the oceans will continue to be a safe and attractive place to live and work for succeeding generations.

Sincerely,

Leonard H. Tyler
Chair, IAMU