Despite the current credit crisis, it is essential that training and development programmes continue in the shipping industry, Intermanager president Ole Stene has claimed.

Talking to Lloyd's List, Mr Stene claimed that a highly trained shipping workforce is essential to the downstream operations of oil and gas firms.

He said that if workers are not trained in how to transport oil and natural gas safely and efficiently, energy majors will refuse to commit to downstream contracts with shipping firms.

Investment in the training and development of workers is essential to the continued operations of the shipping industry, he went on to claim.

"If you own a tanker you can't [cut back on training because] you may end up not having a ship approved for a vetting [or] your systems approved by the oil majors," added OSM chairman Jan Morten Eskilt.

Elsewhere, Bloomberg reports that an independent study has called for immediate training and development of all rig workers, after an accident at a Pemex facility in the Mexican Gulf in 2007 resulted in 22 deaths.

Oil and Gas Directory: Training and Development