The Maritime Skills Academy host Dover RNLI Crew

The visit was organised by Dover RNLI Coxswain James Clapham, and Darryl Cooper Marine Training Manager at the Maritime Skills Academy - who is also a volunteer RNLI Dover Crewman.

Darryl took the crew through many of the sea survival elements that are conducted in the purpose-built sea survival pool. It was a great opportunity for the volunteer RNLI crew to understand the level of training that the average commercial seafarer would have.

Elements covered included:

• Entry into the water wearing a ship abandonment lifejacket.

• Entry into the water from height.

• Cold water swimming technique.

• Water based casualty handling.

• Righting, boarding and exiting a commercial life raft.

• Commercial life raft equipment and its limitations.

• Use of lifebuoys.

• Boat capsize exercises.

The opportunity gave the crew a chance to brush up on sea survival skills and, for those crew members without a seafaring background, an insight into what equipment and knowledge a standard seafarer would have.

Darryl said ‘The RNLI is a very important charity to us as many of our staff, including our Academy chairman Dieter Jaenicke, have a seafaring background or have family members and friends who currently work at sea’.

The Maritime Skills Academy are a family owned business based in Dover, South East Kent and is a further extension of the maritime recruitment and crew management services provided by our mother company Viking Recruitment.

The Maritime Skills Academy train and certify seafarers with internationally accredited courses focussing on safety, sea survival, firefighting, crowd management, leadership and security. They also regularly work within the local community conducting courses and hosting assemblies with local schools to raise awareness of the maritime industry as well as improving sea safety and life skills.

Princess Anne has recently been on an official visit to the Maritime Skills Academy, in support of the maritime industry, as she has ample maritime connections and is patron of the Royal Yachting Association and the Master of Trinity House. Darryl was almost late when Princess Anne visited, as he was out on a shout from the early hours that morning but luckily just got back in time.

Matthew Jaenicke, Managing Director of the Academy and son of Chairman Dieter, said “We at Viking Recruitment and the Maritime Skills Academy are proud to have a good relationship with our local Dover station and the RNLI as a whole. One of our training boats once assisted the Dover lifeboat in a rescue of kayakers, we have staff that volunteer as crew and even our architect took inspiration from the RNLI college in Poole when designing our sea survival pool complex. We whole heartedly support the tireless efforts of the RNLI saving lives at sea’.

RNLI Media contacts

• Ann-Marie Harrop Dover RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer [email protected]

• Paul Dunt, Regional Media Officer (South East), 0207 6207426, 07785 296252 [email protected]

• For enquiries outside normal business hours, contact the RNLI duty press officer on 01202 336789

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.