MLP Field Study to Chile

Fifteen students of the Maritime Law and Policy (MLP) Specialisation, accompanied by Assoc. Prof. Max Mejia, went on a field studies visit hosted by the Directorate General of the Maritime Territory and Merchant Marine (Directemar) in Valparaiso, Chile last 15-21 April. The visit was the first ever by a WMU student group to Latin America. 

The MLP group was welcomed by the Vice Admiral Enrique Larrañaga (Director General) and Rear Admiral Ivan Valenzuela (Director of Maritime Security and Operations). The Directemar organized a comprehensive schedule of visits that took the students to the Directemar Headquarters and its operating units – Directorate of Maritime Security and Operations, Directorate of Maritime Interests and Marine Environment, Maritime Instruction and Training Centre, and the Hydrographic and Oceanographic Service. Visits were also arranged to the Valparaiso Container Terminal and the Port Quintero LNG Terminal. As an added bonus, the MLP group was invited to observe the closing session of the 22ndTokyo MOU Port State Control Committee Meeting held in the neighboring city of Viña del Mar.

Field studies are a vital component of the University’s MSc program. They allow WMU to move the venue for the exchange of ideas on maritime law and policy from the classroom to the real world, thus affording students the opportunity to connect theory with practice.