iMAGE-CREATE Special Training Events:
- STCW Basic Safety I: Personal Survival Techniques – (October 18-19, 2021)
On October 18th, five students from the iMAGE-CREATE program participated in a two-day training course titled Proficiency in Personal Survival Techniques (PST). The course is offered by RelyOn Nutec in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, and is the first module of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Basic Safety training course. The PST training is required for many of the research cruises that the participating students will be involved with in the coming years. Through lectures and practical exercises, the course participants were presented with emergency situations that can arise while at sea and were taught survival techniques that can be used in a variety of scenarios. The lecture portion of the course discussed common emergencies, safety procedures and the use of safety equipment. Practical exercises were taught in the “Survival Training Simulation Theatre”, a pool equipped to simulate stormy weather at sea. Participants donned immersion suits, in which they practiced survival strategies, including boarding life rafts, swimming in group formations and entering helicopter rescue baskets. The course emphasized the importance of working as a team, and through both the theoretical and practical components, prepared the group to be safe on their upcoming research cruises. All participants successfully completed the course and received a Transport Canada certificate which is valid for five years.