Marine students made waves at the Nautical Institute.

The 12th annual Marine Skills Competition showcased the skills learnt by Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC) students, along with learning new experiences from other marine programs.

NSCC’s A’paqt (Ah-Bucked) Project Lead said four teams of students competed in a wave tank rescue exercise, splicing knots, steering the navigation simulator and engineering tasks.

Credit: Jessica Laing / Acadia Broadcasting

Theresa Laaroussi shared with our newsroom how the competition united students from different marine programs on Wednesday, March 11.

“It’s really exciting to see the marine students compete because there’s a lot of good energy. There’s a lot of excitement in the air and everybody wants to win. They want to show off,” she shared.

Credit: Jessica Laing / Acadia Broadcasting

She said this year’s industry sponsors donated a record over $11,000 and each of the seven members of the winning team brought home around $650.

“It’s really important to have the marine skills competition on campus because it unites our cadets so that they feel like a team. They learn how life would be like on board [a ship],” said Laaroussi.

Credit: Jessica Laing / Acadia Broadcasting

She promoted that Transport Canada offers funding for women and Indigenous peoples to diversify the marine force by taking their marine programs.

Their core programs include Marine Navigation Technology, Marine Engineering Technology, and Bridge Watch Rating.

On Thursday, March 12, they’re hosting a marine career fair at the Strait Area Campus with company presentations and booths to talk about employment opportunities on their vessels with The Hawk broadcasting live on location.

Credit: Jessica Laing / Acadia Broadcasting