DUNKING a person in water is not part of essential training just for would-be commandos. Very soon it will be compulsory for anyone getting on to an offshore platform in most parts of the world to have undergone training which includes being dunked and escaping from submerged vessels.

With the proliferation of offshore exploration and production sites as world energy needs escalate, driving the price of crude oil, the safety of men and women working in the offshore oil and gas industry has prompted the need for new training courses.

One such certification programme conducted for the Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organisation (OPITO) of the United Kingdom - the body approved to conduct safety training courses in the offshore oil and gas industry - is another instance where the Singapore Maritime Academy got involved in relevant new training for the industry.

The academy tied up with the Malaysian Sribima Maritime Training Centre (SMTC) and recently established an offshore training facility at Poly Marina, at West Coast Ferry Road.

The SMA-SMTC Safety Training Centre (SSSTC) has already taken in its first batch of students.

The centre is currently offering courses in Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET), Tropical Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (TBOSIET), Further Offshore Emergency Training (FOET), Tropical Further Offshore Emergency Training (TFOET), Travel Safety by Boat, and other combined sea survival and offshore safety procedures, such as Helicopter Underwater Escape Training (HUET) and Tropical Emergency Breathing courses.

'This is another way we keep at the forefront of maritime training by meeting the growing needs of the offshore petroleum and maritime industry for such training in Singapore and the region,' said SMA director Roland Tan.

SMTC was established in Malaysia in 1988 and is an ISO 9001:2000 and OHSAS 18001:1999 certified safety training provider. It also conducts the STCW'95 modular safety courses which are are accredited by OPITO, the Marine Department of Malaysia, Panama and Vanuatu.

SMTC is a specialist in competence-based safety courses for the oil and gas industry at global locations, including Miri, Beijing, Dammam, Khartoum and Antwerp.

The Singapore centre, SSSTC, will be officially launched next month.