Southampton Institute's Warsash Maritime Centre has swept the board for the second year running at the annual Chamber of Shipping Safety at Sea Awareness Awards ceremony.
Three students have come top in the Awards, which offer a unique opportunity for cadets during any stage of their training to put their knowledge and imagination to good use and develop new and exciting ideas to improve sea safety.
The coveted awards, sponsored by P & O Cruises, are given for original and practical maritime safety projects devised by British or Irish cadets and trainee ratings.
First prize winner of £800 was 18 year-old P & O Princess Cruises cadet Philip Lewis, a phase three engineering student from Cornwall. Philip's ideas were to install engine rooms with aircraft-style emergency lighting on the deck and to use a high-fog water sprinkler system as an environmentally-safe and effective means both to protect the user and stop fires quickly.
Eighteen year-old induction phase cadet Mark White from North Wales, a cadet with Ship Safe Training Group, won the second prize of £600 for his project to equip every crew member with a wrist tagging device linked to a computer, which would enable wearers to be located in an emergency or if they fell overboard.
Third prize winner was 23 year-old Catherine Wood, another P & O Princess Cruises cadet, from Lincolnshire. Catherine designed the use of a smoke hood to be fitted inside the lifejacket that by law every ship has to carry on board for each passenger. Her idea would mean that people would be able to help their own escape in a fire, without having to rely on crew wearing breathing apparatus to save them.
They were presented their prizes from Captain Stephen Bligh, Chief Executive of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, at a recent awards ceremony held at the Chamber of Shipping's headquarters in the City of London.
Warsash Maritime Centre will also receive a cash award of £1,200 as the institution at which all three award winners have undertaken their training.
John Millican, Director of WMC, comments:
"Naturally I am delighted that Warsash cadets have once again swept the board in the safety awards and I congratulate them on their success. It is particularly pleasing that they are thinking seriously about safety issues so early in their careers."
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