Warsash Superyacht Academy expands international presence

One year after its launch at the Monaco Yacht Show, Warsash Superyacht Academy (WSA) has announced a programme of international expansion and development to meet a growing demand for premium quality maritime training.

The Academy, a collaboration between Warsash Maritime Academy (WMA), Southampton Solent University and a distinctive group of established and high‐quality service providers, has seen a significant increase in student numbers since its launch at Monaco last year.

Fuelling that growth is a rise in the size and number of superyachts above 3,000GT, and passenger coding for more than 12 guests. This in turn is stimulating demand from superyacht captains and senior officers who are seeking to achieve unlimited certification as Officer of the Watch (OOW) to progress their prospects and careers.

Andrew Hair, director of WMA, said: “Since its launch, WSA has successfully communicated a clear pathway to the yacht sector on how to achieve the necessary level of training, qualification and professionalism. This has led to a period of solid growth and a significant uptake in both our yacht 3,000GT certifications and our officer of the watch unlimited course provision, which is specifically tailored for the superyacht sector.

“To ensure we continue to meet and exceed industry expectations, we have put into place a development plan which builds on our core delivery capability, scales our operation and opens up new routes to market outside of the UK.  This includes imminent expansion of our activities to Barcelona within one of the world’s most prestigious shipyards.”

A new association with The Nautical Academy in Marina Barcelona 92 facilitates the delivery of WSA’s world-class maritime training to yacht officers and crews outside of the UK for the first time.

WSA’s courses at The Nautical Academy will include yacht deck certification for officers of the watch and Masters, yacht engineering certification courses, a range of HELM, ISM and ISPS courses and other mandatory programmes.

The Spanish training hub includes WSA’s training partners, MedAire, for the provision of essential medical courses and Interior Yacht Services for interior hospitality courses. Training will be delivered in brand new, purpose built facilities adjacent to the yacht marina in Barcelona.

For more information, visit www.warsashsuperyachtacademy.com.