Training Courses

The Hazardous Materials Awareness course involves 8 hours of classroom instruction, case studies, and interactive tabletop scenarios emphasizing awareness of potentially hazardous materials that are handled, transported, or loaded and unloaded in a maritime setting through mechanisms such as labels and markings, the Emergency Response Guidebook, or information stations. In addition, this course stresses the concept of “observe and report” in the case of an incident, with an emphasis on keeping the trainees and others a safe distance from the hazardous material.

The Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) training and field exercises satisfy the minimum requirements outlined in the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) 29 CFR 1910.120 and the NIEHS WTP Minimum Health and Safety Training Criteria for HAZWOPER.

The Marine Awareness course provides 4 hours of training. This is an introductory course to common issues associated with marine responses, including jurisdiction, operating in the marine environment, terminology, types of ships and facilities, problems unique to marine responses, tactical considerations, as well as safety and incident management. 

The Marine Response Operations course provides 16 hours of training for those working in the marine environment trained at the HAZMAT operations level. This training includes port organization and resources, vessel familiarization, vessel construction, specialized resource considerations, initial response assignments, incident management, and size-up considerations.

The Marine Response Technician course provides 24 hours of training for those working in the marine environment trained as HAZMAT technicians or in hazardous waste operations. It covers awareness- and operations-level skills and provides tactical response guidance for various types of vessel fires, special resource considerations, and other post-incident concerns and challenges. Detailed tactical techniques for a wide variety of scenarios are discussed. In addition, a classroom tabletop exercise is included.

The Command Strategies and Tactics for Marine Emergencies (CSTME) course involves 16 hours of training. This course introduces participants to the common and often unexpected events that can occur in a port. The course engages participants in various problem-solving activities based on local jurisdictions, environmental conditions, and commercial marine operations. Training scenarios are designed to challenge trainees with realistic events that require them to play the role of key decision makers. Training scenarios will include events tailored to local client requirements, escalating real-time developments, decision analysis, and evaluation. 

CSTME training was developed as a cooperative effort between the Tri-State Maritime Safety Association and the Maine Maritime Academy. CSTME training has been approved by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Preparedness Directorate, National Training and Education Division, for inclusion within its State-Sponsored Course Catalog (ME-002-PROT).

The Harbor Incident Response Operations is a 16-hour training that provides first responders with the skills necessary to adapt their agency-specific training to a marine incident and familiarizes trainees with port organizations and resources, vessel layout, initial response assignments, incident management and size-up considerations, and safety and incident management.