The problem was voiced at a meeting of the Subcommittee on Water Transport of the Logistics and Transportation Committee of the Presidium of the NCE RK "Atameken".

According to the Chairman of the Subcommittee Nikolay Yudin, in 2018 two professional standards were approved at the National Chamber level.

“They were “Navigation of ships and inland navigation vessels (Shipmaster)” and “Operation of ship power installations of ships and inland navigation vessels (Ship Mechanic)”. We plan to continue work on the development and approval of other professional standards,” - Nikolay Yudin said.

The marine industry has approved international standards that clearly regulate the work of seamen. These are the rules for certification and watchkeeping for seamen (STCW). According to these Rules, in order to receive a professional diploma, a student must have at least a 12-month supporting document confirming maritime practice, Kanat Mukushev, deputy general director of the Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan “KAZLOGISTICS”, said.

“However, in practice, shipping companies face the lack of the same swimming practice, when hiring Kazakhstani students, which complicates the process of their employment. In addition, it is required to carry out work under Article 25 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On merchant shipping” by amending the possible alternatives for replacing foreign specialists in the crew of ships with Kazakhstani sailors,” - Kanat Mukushev emphasized.

He was supported by the Managing Director of the Kazakhstan Maritime Academy on the basis of the Kazakh-British Technical University Dmitry Kovtunenko.

“The development of human resources in the maritime transport industry requires joint efforts. The KMA repeatedly offered to share experience and training programs for specialists, but no feedback was received on this proposal from the country's educational organizations,” - he said.

Currently, work is underway to transfer the function of the administrator of the budget program for organizing swimming practice to the Ministry of Investment and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, a representative of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan Olzhas Shokayev said.

“There are still many unresolved issues in education in the field of training of marine specialists. It is necessary to decide in a short time whether we need to develop this direction or not. I believe that this is why it is advisable for the National Chamber to initiate an appeal to the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan indicating specific problem issues, in particular, on the list and increase the cost of education grants, according to Article 25 of the Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On Merchant Shipping” and measures for entering the IMO White List” - Rector of the Kazakh-British Technical University Kenzhebek Ibrashev addressed.

Deputy Chairman of the Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan “KAZLOGISTICS” Yuriy Lavrinenko pointed out the need the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan to support the issue of joining the IMO White List, increasing the number of grants for training maritime transport specialists, as well as bringing university curricula in line with international requirements.

Also the meeting discussed the implementation of recommendations to support domestic shipping companies. As part of the recommendations elaborated at the expanded meeting of the Logistics Committee of the Presidium of the NCE RK "Atameken", in-state coordination of the draft Agreement on shipping is currently underway.

“All involved state agencies have already agreed on a draft Shipping Agreement. On the proposal of the Russian side, it is planned to sign this Agreement in the framework of the Transport Week, which will be held on November 22, 2018 in the city of Moscow,” - the Representative of the Committee for Transport of the Ministry of Development and Trade of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kasym Tlepov said.

In turn, Rustan Dzhenalinov, Managing Director of the Department of Logistics and Transportation of the NCE RK Atameken, emphasized that MID RK in 2017 was recommended to develop and adopt a program to support domestic maritime transport entities according to the principle “own cargo - own fleet”. "Atameken" has already made a corresponding request to the MID of the RK, Dzhenalinov stressed.

As Kasym Tlepov explained, the ministry carried out the necessary work in the framework of rule-making activities. In particular, amendments to the draft Law of the RK “On Amendments and Additions to Certain Legislative Acts on Transport Issues” are presented.

“This year, MID RK focused on the elaboration of issues related to the development of port activities. At the same time, within the framework of the development of this bill, the norms on reduction of seaport services for which fees are charged are presented. At the same time, according to a number of rules that create an advantage for Kazakhstan sea carriers, it was denied due to violation of international competition rules in the WTO and the Convention on the Status of the Caspian Sea, according to which the creation of unequal conditions for port dues for the Convention countries is prohibited. At the same time, MID supports the initiative of NMSK Kazmortransflot LLP to provide discounts on fuel and lubricants for domestic companies during sea transportation in the export message,” - the speaker said.

Summarizing, Nikolay Yudin thanked the participants of the meeting and noted that by the end of the year it is planned to form and sign the Roadmap of the Subcommittee on Water Transport for 2019, and therefore recommended that everyone submit their proposals to the specified draft Roadmap