WSS opens European Academy to foster a new generation of safety service personnel

Wilhelmsen Ships Service (WSS) opens a new FRS (fire, rescue and service) Centre and Safety Training Academy in Antwerp, Belgium, today.
Press release | (Updated )

Andrew Sheriff, Business Director Safety said:

“The opening of new safety service training facilities around the world will play a vital role in the growth of our Total Safety offer. Centres also housing a Safety Academy, such as this one, allows us to focus on specialised training alongside the ongoing development of our safety technicians. With this set-up we can bring through a new generation of expertly-trained safety service personnel.”

The new Safety Service Centre is located in Antwerp. Roger Gundermann, WSS Regional Safety Training Manager said:

“The port of Antwerp is one of the most central in Europe and because the estuary is navigable by capesize ships (over 100,000 gt) it has become one of Europe's largest sea ports. Our Belgian safety and technical services are already in great demand and we expect this new facility to quickly become a centre of excellence, further complementing our European FRS offer.”

In addition to safety services, the centre will also run a welding training programme focussing on safe use of welding equipment and systems, as well as good welding practice.

WSS’s Total Safety offer takes a three-strand approach; its worldwide safety academy program is backed up by provision of a wide portfolio of safety products and services, as well as the development of a number of eLearning packages and an online service update system. Sheriff said:

“At the heart of the Total Safety campaign is the need for internal understanding and external awareness of the increasing number of safety rules and regulations affecting customer operations. Ultimately, we want to grow and strengthen a global safety culture which we hope can be embraced by our customers and the maritime business at large.”

WSS runs 98 safety service offices globally and carries out 21,000 safety services annually. It also operates 42 Liferaft Exchange (LRE) stations supporting over 1,000 key ports. It holds global approvals from ABS, DNV, Lloyds Register, RMRS, RINA, Korean Register, ABS, GL according to Z17 – the WSS FRS Service also holds ISO 9001:2008 Global approval.