Coast Guard Officers complete Basic Diesel Course

Nine Coast Guard Officers are now better equipped to operate and maintain diesel engines after graduating from a three-week Coast Guard Basic Diesel Course.

In an interview with SEARCHLIGHT, Commander of the Coast Guard Brenton Cain pointed out that training is a must in order to operate in the dynamic maritime environment.{{more}}

Cain said in the past, training opportunities were offered by the Canadians, the British, the United States and the Regional Security System. However, most of those exercises have decreased over the years. Hence, the reason why in-house-training is important to the Coast Guard.

The Basic Diesel Course was held to get the participants familiar with the basic concept of a diesel engine operation, how to troubleshoot problems, and ultimately fix any problems that exist, said Cain.

Several topics were covered by the local instructors, all drawn from the Coast Guard under the stewardship of Chief Instructor Petit Officer William Theobalds. The topics included: Stationery components, rotating components, valve actuation assembly, air -intake system, cooling system, lube oil system, fuel system, troubleshooting, shaft packing, reduction gears, casualty control and engineering watchstanding, lab safety, planned maintenance, and practical fault finding. There were also practical workshop sessions which included stripping and rebuilding of a Caterpillar 3208 engine.

Cain stated as part of nation building, two members of the maritime fraternity – one from Customs and the other from the Tobago Cays Marine Park were invited to participate in the training.

The participants of the course were: Able-bodied seaman(AB) Daren Robinson, AB Adolph Adams, AB Shefika Diamond (lone female), AB Josh Hamilton, AB Julanie Jack, AB Peter Morris, AB Casmos Peters, AB Akilo Shallow, AB Derald Thomas, Albert Hanson – Tobago Cay Marine Park Ranger, and Adrian De Freitas – Customs Officer.