It is with great sorrow and sadness that we report the passing of a founding member and long time supporter of the NPESC and its aims. We learned earlier today that Captain Brian Silvester had passed away last Friday, November 6th, after a long and brave battle with cancer. Captain Silvester was a strong advocate for providing both financial and active support to those who were pursuing or advancing a career at sea and maintained a strong connection with our organisation right up to the time of his passing whether it was taking part in directors’ meetings, vetting student applications for bursaries and other awards, or to attend at colleges to make presentations, in person, to students.
BCIT
To honor Captain Silvester’s efforts to help further the education of Canadian Mariners we would like to announce that a bursary, in his name, will be created by the NPESC. Further details regarding this bursary will follow in due course. In the meantime, if you would like to make a donation to such an award then CLICK HERE for more details
The July edition of our newsletter “Seatimes” is now available. It is our 25th anniversary edition and, as always packed with interesting articles. As a bonus, this special edition also includes a copy of our very first Seatimes newsletter from 25 years ago.
Applications are now invited from qualified students for the spring 2020 NPESC bursaries.
There will be two C$1,500 bursaries awarded to applicants enrolled in Nautical Science or Marine Engineering courses of a minimum length of 250 hours at a training institution approved by Transport Canada and registered with the British Columbia government.
These bursaries have been made possible by the generous contribution of Captain Harry Allen and also from other endowment funds Income
Please note that the deadline for applications is April 30th 2020
There will very likely be another competition in the fall of 2020 with more Bursaries being offered. If you are not successful at this spring event, we encourage you to re-apply in the fall.
As always, the successful candidates are required to write to the Society after one year, to inform us of their progress and how the award was used. Such letters may be used in the Society’s newsletter or website”.
At noon today we were thrilled to present 5 successful applicants for our bursary awards with their certificates for 2019.
Capt. Joachim Ruether addresses the audience
Certificates were presented to Nautical Science students Noah Hendricks, Robert Jamieson, Justin Lamarche and Zachary Mauriks as well as Marine Engineering student Ahmed Beltmer.
Cadet Justin Lamarche receives his certificate from Capt. Harry Allen
It was a great pleasure to have one of our major benefactors, Captain Harry Allen, in attendance to make the presentation to Cadet Justin Lamarche. The bursary awarded to Justin was made possible by a generous donation made by Captain Allen.
Zachary Mauriks receives his certificate from NPESC Chair Capt. Richard Smith
Ahmed Beltmer receives his award from Captains Brian Johnston and Joachim Ruether of NPESC
Noah Hendricks received his certificate from Captain Smith
Captains Smith and Ruether bump elbows with Robert Jamieson as he accepts his certificate
Also in attendance at this presentation ceremony was Captain Barbara Howe who, in her capacity as a member of the Vancouver division of Master Mariners of Canada, presented a certificate to Cadet Dylan Shaver as the successful recipient of their Baugh Fund Scholarship. During her presentation, Captain Howe reminisced about receiving this self same award early on in her career and the ways in which it helped her.
Captain Barbara Howe presents the certificate for the Baugh Fund scholarship to Cadet Dylan Shaver
As the chair of the International Sailors’ Society of Canada (ISSC) Bursary Committee, Captain Smith also took the opportunity to present their 2019 Maritime Bursary Award certificate to Ahmed Beltmer.
Capt. Richard Smith presents the 2019 ISSC Maritime Bursary Award certificate to Cadet Ahmed Beltmer who is enrolled in the Marine Engineering program at BCIT
Captain David Whittaker was in attendance and also wearing two hats. Both as a founding member of the NPESC and single handedly responsible for publication of the NPESC publication “SEATIMES” as well as a member of the BC Branch of the Nautical Institute. It was in this capacity that he presented the 2019 NIBC/VTF (Nautical Institute BC Branch/Vancouver Transportation Foundation) bursary award certificate to Cadet Robert Jamieson.
Capt. David Whittaker presents the 2019 NIBC/VTF bursary certificate to Cadet Robert Jamieson
