The new infrastructure was inaugurated on Thursday, July 25, at a ceremony presided over by the Minister of the Sea, Abraão Vicente, and attended by the Coordinator of the Special Projects Management Unit, Nuno Gomes, as well as other entities linked to the sector.
The installation of the maritime simulation center was funded by the Human Capital Project, with support from the World Bank. The aim is to increase the supply of quality vocational training courses in the areas of Tourism and the Blue Economy.
Thanks to international technical assistance from Wärtsilä Voyage Limited, and with a total investment of around 600,000 USD (60,000 escudos), three simulators were installed: the Navigation Simulator, the Machinery Simulator and the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) Simulator. This project also included replacing all the equipment and updating the respective software.
In addition, the port areas of eight Cape Verdean ports were modernized (Porto Novo, Porto Grande, Tarrafal de São Nicolau, Porto da Palmeira, Sal-Rei, Porto Inglês, Porto da Praia and Porto do Vale de Cavaleiros) and a new port area was created at Porto da Furna, on the island of Brava. The project also strengthened EMAR’s technical capacity, guaranteeing the sustainability of the investments made and training seven instructors in the “Maritime Machinery Simulator Operator/Wärtsilä TECHSIM ERS 5000” course.