Maritime Professional Training Announces First Graduate

Maritime Professional Training (MPT)—the largest private maritime training school in the nation—announced it recently graduated Captain Roberto Beretta who is the recipient of the first Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) Master (Yachts) - Unlimited license. Captain Beretta is the first in the world to achieve this certification, which he attained through MPT’s first of its kind, expedient superyacht-specific assessment for captains wishing to gain their unlimited license from the RMI Maritime Administrator.

“Captain Beretta is among the most elite captains and professional mariners in the industry,” said Amy Morley, Academic Principal and Vice President of Regulatory Compliance, MPT. “He is the first and only to have attained this esteemed certification by the RMI Maritime Administrator through our unique assessment. He is a role model for our industry and aspiring professional mariners worldwide. We are proud of his exemplary efforts and congratulate him on this milestone and achievement.”

According to Captain Beretta, “the Master of Yachts Unlimited Tonnage – Marshall Islands Capstone Course was much more comprehensive than I had expected. I had trained and studied for over six months prior to attempting the Capstone Course & Assessments, and the hard work paid off. I encourage other qualified yacht captains to pursue their unlimited license through MPT’s program and achieve their next level of certification as I have.”

Officially launched in January 2015, the Master of Yachts Unlimited Tonnage – Marshall Islands Capstone Assessment at MPT provides duly qualified and trained yacht captains a full STCW Certificate of Competency (CoC) issued by the RMI Maritime Administrator, allowing certified captains to command yachts over 3,000 gross tons. This five-day assessment and simulation, held at MPT’s Fort Lauderdale campus, is designed to be the “Capstone Assessment” undertaken after all of the required sea service and training has been completed. Upon successful graduation they may apply for the RMI CoC raise in grade to Master (Yachts) - Unlimited.

“This assessment, in partnership with MPT, was designed to address the specific issue of yacht captains having to leave the yachting industry to obtain this type of certification,” said Captain John Hafner, Vice President, Seafarers’ Manning & Training at International Registries, Inc. (IRI), who provides administrative and technical support to the RMI Registry.  “The successful assessment completion and receipt of an RMI license eliminates the glass ceiling (of 3,000 gross tons or more) for Captain Beretta;  we look forward to his continued success and wish him the best of luck in his career,” concluded Captain Hafner.