The opening ceremony of the first Chinese language course for international foreign cruise ship crew members. [Photo by Lin Yuyang for chinadaily.com.cn]

Two young individuals from Benin, a country in Africa, completed training and examinations in Xiamen, obtaining seafarer certificates on July 19. 

They are set to work aboard the PIANO LAND cruise ship in the near future, marking the success of the first efforts to train and certify foreign cruise ship crew members from countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in China.

This training initiative relied on active communication and coordination between the Xiamen Maritime Safety Administration, the Xiamen Free Trade Zone administration committee, and various other relevant entities. They assisted Huaqiao University in developing the "Chinese for International Cruise Ship Crew" course, facilitating accelerated training for foreign students. This breakthrough enabled foreign students to overcome language barriers so they could participate in Chinese seafarer training.

After completing the accelerated training in Chinese, foreign students underwent additional vocational skill training at relevant institutions. This training included basic safety training for crew members and short-term training in Chinese-style cooking. 

The entire process lasted for three months, during which foreign students underwent training and examinations conducted entirely in Chinese, following the same standards applied to Chinese students. 

The next step involves using international cruise ship crew as a starting point to cultivate a number of high-quality cruise ship crew members with professional skills, language proficiency, and cross-cultural communication abilities. Building on meeting the demands of the cruise tourism market, the plan is meant to further explore and expand cooperation with countries involved in the BRI in the field of crew training.