By traditionally gathering its members, but also by signing a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Maritime Faculty of the University of Montenegro and awarding certificates of appreciation to prominent members of that professional association, the Association of Sea Captains of Montenegro from Kotor marked its day on Thursday evening - December 19, the feast of the patron saint of sailors and travelers, Saint Nicholas, according to the Julian calendar.
About forty captains gathered at the celebration - from the youngest, aged around 30, who had only recently taken on their first command duties and had four stripes sewn onto their uniforms, to veterans with decades of navigation and numerous adventures on the world's seas and oceans behind them, such as the oldest active member of the Captains' Association and the Boka Kotorska Navy, the legendary 94-year-old long-distance captain Slavko (Schawa) Ivanović.
They were accompanied by numerous representatives of the maritime industry, education, maritime law and other maritime institutions, but not official representatives of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
In a hall in Kotor, the day before yesterday, a total of several hundred years of experience in seafaring, navigation, and the education of young seafarers gathered, as many of the members of the Association of Sea Captains are former or still active professors and lecturers at the Secondary Maritime School, or the Maritime Faculty in Kotor. Members of this professional association are commanders of literally everything that sails the world's seas: from classic bulk carriers, through various types of tankers, specialized vessels in the offshore oil and offshore wind farm industries, to passenger ships and some of the largest container ships in the world. Some of these container vessels, which are commanded by members of the Association of Sea Captains of Montenegro for the most renowned world companies, together with the cargo they carry in up to 24.000 containers that they can individually load, are worth over a billion dollars each. This shows how much trust foreign shipowners have in our personnel, which, however, official representatives of the Montenegrin State Maritime Administration do not respect nearly as much.
"Since the last assembly in mid-November, when we had 66 members, the Association of Sea Captains of Montenegro has significantly increased its membership, and now we have exactly 100 long-distance captains. The Association has received a new Board of Directors and rejuvenated its leadership because our older and distinguished colleagues, who laid the foundations of this professional association some thirty years ago, have shown us the exceptional honor and trust that we, the younger ones, will take over the helm of the Association, which they have successfully led so far. We are especially honored that a lady has joined our Association, Captain Ljiljana Stevović, whom I especially welcome," said the recently elected new president of the Association, Captain Ivica Fažo from Tivat, addressing the gathering.
He pointed out that the main goals of the Association, in addition to the affirmation of Montenegrin maritime and maritime profession, are networking and cooperation with related institutions. Therefore, as a first step in the process of intensifying this cooperation, last night the Association of Sea Captains signed an official Memorandum of Cooperation with the Maritime Faculty of the University of Montenegro in Kotor. The document was signed by Captain Fažo and the Vice-Dean for Development and Communication of the Maritime Faculty, Assistant Professor Dr. Zorica Đurović.
Fažo announced that the Captains' Association will soon sign similar Memorandums of Cooperation with the Kotor High School of Maritime Studies, the Seafarers' Union of Montenegro, the Seafarers' Union, training centers and agencies for seafarers' boarding, the Port Authorities of Kotor and Bar, and the Ministry of Maritime Affairs.
"I am honored to be with you and that the cooperation between the Maritime Faculty and the Captains' Association has been formalized, to which we, as a higher education institution, as well as other similar associations and institutions, are naturally referred. We will agree that what we all lack is a strong maritime economy, strong domestic maritime enterprises, because our faculty was founded back in 1959 precisely because of the needs of our maritime economy. A little later, a special Institute for Maritime and Tourism Research was formed in Kotor, precisely as a result of the initiative of the maritime economic societies of the time in Montenegro. Although I work with all categories of seafarers, it is still the captains who lead the ship at sea, so they should and should ask more questions," said Dr. Zorica Đurović.
The conference also presented the work of the Montenegrin branch of the Nautical Institute from London - an international professional NGO whose goal, in addition to raising awareness about the importance of maritime affairs and standards in the industry, is also to educate seafarers. The Nautical Institute also has the official status of an advisory body to the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London.
The work of the recently founded Vaslak Club "Plava zvijezda" from Kotor was also presented, which seeks to promote this sport, but also the traditional skill with which young students of maritime schools usually begin their contact with the sea.
At the ceremony, the leadership of the Captains' Association also presented certificates of appreciation to prominent members of the association who have made an exceptional contribution to the development of the association, the development of the maritime economy in Montenegro, maritime education and maritime pilotage in recent years. Certificates of appreciation were received by long-distance captains Mario Pilasto, Slavko Ivanović, Janko Milutin, Radojica Stijepović, Zoran Usanović and Aleksandar-Leso Sundečić. Posthumously, certificates of appreciation were also awarded to long-distance captains Ladilasvo Vuković, Rajko Čavor and Boško Janković for their enormous contribution to the Association and the maritime profession in general, and were received by their family members.
"This is not an ordinary thank you for me because this is something I receive from you – my fellow captains, and therefore it has an inestimable value for me. The recognition that I received from you now, at the end of my career, will remain forever etched in my memories. I am sorry that most of my colleagues with whom I founded this Association 30 years ago are unfortunately no longer with us and that I cannot see how the Association is progressing, how young people who have the fitness and knowledge to lead this association on the right path have joined it. I tell them not to lose morale and spirit because we, as an Association, do not receive adequate recognition from those who should appreciate our expertise and experience. Unfortunately, that is how it is, but perhaps all that we do will one day pay off and be seen through the maritime progress of our country," said Captain Matrio Pilastro on behalf of the awardees, traditionally wishing all colleagues who are currently on board "calm seas, good winds and always at least "a meter of sea below the keel".
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