In this scope, foreign schools are often insuited to the type of training needed and do not always correspond to the realities in the French speaking African countries. Often they prevent the African students from adjusting to the environment of some of the host countries which is quite different from their own.
Moreover the existing regional training centres such as "Centre Regional de l’Enseignement et de l’Apprentissage Maritime (CREAM)", and then, the "Groupe Ecoles de la Marine Marchande (GEMMA)" did not fulfill entirely the required conditions. With the development of trading by the emergent fleets of the African countries anywhere, existing training facilities were becoming inadequate to the increasing demands for qualified staff.
Coming back to the "Charte d’Abidjan", it effectively outlined the major directives and principles of the policy to be adopted including maritime economy, development of shipping companies, ports, transit operations for the hinterland countries, studies and training, among others.
Thence during its second meeting at Douala (Cameroun)) in February 1976, the MINCONMAR decided through its Resolution N° 5, to regionalize the National Maritime Training Centre in ABIDJAN, in order to provide modern training for the maritime personnel of its 15 French-speaking member states namely : Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroun, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, and Zaïre (the present Democratic Republic of Congo).
In adopting this above mentioned resolution the Government of Côte d’Ivoire accepted the responsibility for the transformation of the Groupe Ecoles de la Marine Marchande (Pool of Maritime Colleges) into the Regional Academy of Maritime Science and Technology (ARSTM).
The decision was based on the ministers’awareness that maritime training facilities require substantial capital and manpower investment which cannot always be met at the national level.
In addition, the setting up of regional facilities would ensure harmonized training in accordance with international standards, thus allowing for the exchange of highly trained personnel from one country to another.
On 18 Jun 1982 the National Assembly of Côte d’Ivoire voted Act-Nr 82 –653 authorizing the President of the Republic to ratify the Convention regionalizing the Abidjan Maritime Academy.
Spread on an area of 30 hectares, the ARSTM opened on the new site of Niangon-Lokoa on 5 October 1987.
