CINEC Maritime Campus has introduced a full scholarship program for members of CASA (Ceylon Association of Ships Agents) to study in their Professional Diploma in Shipping Management program. The scholarship aims to enhance the knowledge of CASA members. The proposal was presented to CASA leadership on June 7th 2013. The diploma program is scheduled to start in July 2013 and will provide a career path for students from a basic shipping certificate through an advanced diploma and master's degree. The objective is to develop a reliable progression path to professionally qualify employees in the shipping industry and address a lack of qualified professionals in Sri Lanka.

1. Scholarships to CASA Members from
CINEC Maritime Campus
By Lalith Edirisinghe
CASA is the leading voice of the Shipping Industry in Sri Lanka comprising 128 Licensed Ships'
Agents , representing all International Shipping Lines of repute who use the Port of Colombo - as
a Transhipment Hub - due to it's very strategic location along the main International Shipping
Lanes. CASA also serve the local Import / Export trade in addition to large volumes of
Transhipment Cargo. CINEC Maritime Campus has introduced a “Full” Scholarship program to
CASA- Ceylon Association of Ships Agents for the CINEC-Professional Diploma in Shipping
Management with a view to providing a lucrative education path towards enhancing the
knowledge of the CASA Membership.
The Proposal for the CINEC -CASA Schoraship program for Professional Diploma in Shipping
Management was officially presented on the 07th June 2013 to Chairman - CASA Mr. Ralph
Anandappa by CINEC Vice President - Prof. (Capt.) Nalaka Jayakody. Mr. Dhammika
Walgampaya -Secratary General CASA and Mr. Lalith Edirisinghe Head of School- CINEC
Maritime Campus City branch also present.

2. Professional Diploma in Shipping Management course is scheduled to commence in July 2013.
Youngsters who wish to develop a very promising carrier may join for the CASA Certificate in
Basic Ship Agency Functions program followed by a prestigious Diploma in Shipping
Management leading to an Advanced Diploma and Masters Degree.
Primary objective of the course is to initiate a reliable progression path for employees to get
themselves professionally qualified in the shipping industry. Presently there is a lack of interest
in the society to chose “Shipping” after the school education as there was no explicit or clear
academic path for those who are interested in developing their carrier in this field. This has been
a serious HR (Human Resource) issue for the shipping companies in Sri Lanka. While this
shortcoming has to be addressed through a long term strategy that involves policy making
through government CINEC has timely facilitated the present workforce in the shipping industry
to get they qualified to face future challenges. CINEC has proved this as an effective solution in
the short and medium term and this would definitely set a good “eye opener” to the society to
explore this lucrative industry in the future.
The Government of Sri Lanka has embarked on a development agenda based on the Mahinda
Chintanaya with the objective of converting the country to a naval, aviation, commercial, energy
and knowledge hub in Asia. In keeping with this objective, in the recent years, the government
has invested heavily in developing the required infrastructure and the improvement of
information and communication technology. Out of the five hubs that Sri Lanka focuses its
attention Naval or Maritime hub would realize very lucrative dividends to the country. More than
ninety percent of world trade is carried by sea. Sri Lanka is strategically located close to the main
East-West sea route. However, the capacity building that requires with respect to human resource
is not an easy task and never be instant either. Therefore a systematic training and development
program is very vital and timely if not already late.
CINEC has already trained 451 students in the CASA Certificate in Basic Ship Agency
Functions program in 20 batches so far and they are qualified to follow this diploma level course.
This course is designed to provide students with the knowledge and skills required for the
efficient, effective and economical management of a shipping organization. This would be a
great opportunity for the shipping firms to nominate their respective staff on regular basis to
follow this course in order to assure their “Capacity building” efforts are fully accomplished in
this volatile and competitive shipping market.
Modules Covered in Professional Diploma in Shipping Management
• Introduction to Seaborne Trade
• Port Agency and Chartering

3. • Port Operations and Management
• Documentation in Shipping
• Maritime Law and Marine Insurance
• International Economics
• Industrial Management
• Logistics and SCM
CINEC was established in 1990 and is a highly recognized and respected for Maritime, Logistics
and Transport related professional education in Sri Lanka. As the accredited training institute in
Sri Lanka for Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in the United Kingdom (CILT) and
also an institute approved by the Director General of Merchant Shipping to conduct Freight
Forwarding course for the purpose of applying for Licenses it makes an effective contribution to
professional education in Sri Lanka.
The lower logistics costs translate into competitive external trade. Therefore controlling logistics
costs allows companies to be competitive and a qualified Logistics, Maritime, or supply chain
professional can really make the big change in a firm. Maritime shipping, Multimodal transport,
Logistics, and Supply Chain Management go hand in hand. The basic modes of transportation
are Water, Rail, Road, Air and Pipeline. It is believed that 90 % of world tonnage is transported
by sea this figure is even higher in the SL context. Our air freight component is very small. In
fact our Air transport is less than 1% of the total external logistics in SL. Being an island no
overseas logistics link via road or rail. Main sea route that connect west of world to the East runs
very close to SL. Therefore such background demands professionals especially in shipping,
Transport, Logistics, and other related industries.
Special Discounts for CASA Young Professionals
CINEC facilitate young industry professionals to obtain degree qualification while working. Up
on completing the certificate course the students are qualified to follow CINEC Diploma and
then Advanced Diploma which is equivalent to a degree qualification.
A special discount will be offered to young CASA members through the Young Professionals
Forum. The successful candidates may thereafter apply for the MSc or MBA in Transportation
Planning and Logistics Management; Maritime Safety and Environmental Management;
Logistics and Supply Chain Management. The most successful individuals may subsequently
apply for the PhD in Transport Planning and Logistics Management thus reaching the most
prestigious level in their academic path.