2004 Marking First Graduation at FMI

Saturday, July 3, 2004 marks the first time the FSM Fisheries and Maritime Institute held its first graduation. The graduation was held at the Yap State Community Center in downtown Colonia, Yap in the afternoon with less than 100 well-wishing audience witnessing. The fourteen-member graduating class consisted of existing seafarers who came to the Institute to acquire new knowledge and skills and for upgrading knowledge and skills in consideration for potential promotion, and of those that are new to the seafaring profession. Among the graduating class were two from Kosrae State; eight from Chuuk State; and four from Yap State. None were from Pohnpei. Ten of them were awarded certificates in Maritime Studies, major in Navigation and four were awarded certificates in Maritime Studies, major in Marine Engineering. The Navigation majors have fulfilled all the requirements up to Class 5 Master, or master of ships of not over 200 gross tons, and those majoring in Marine Engineering have fulfilled the requirements up to Class 5 Marine Engineers, or a chief engineer of a ship with a total propulsion power of 250 kW, within the near coastal trade.

Although all of the 14 graduates have fulfilled the requirements of the Institute to be awarded the certificates, not all of them have fulfilled the additional sea-time requirement by the FSM National Government (Division of Marine Transportation of the Department of Transportation, Communication and Infrastructure) for the conduct of an oral examination and, upon successful passing, an award of a certificate of competency. As it turned out, only three of the graduates (who were existing seafarers) have fulfilled the "minimum of 12 months sea service" required by the government. As requested, a four-member team comprising of senior lecturers from the regional maritime institutions of member countries of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) administered the examination (for quality verification and as requested on behalf of the Division of Marine Transportation) to the three who have fulfilled the government's requirements and all of them passed. One of the three is going directly to the People's Republic of China to board the first ship donated by that country to the FSM, which has been designated