In the last few weeks, there has been a rise in the number of attacks on seafarers and their ships; there have also been a few instances of deaths on board.
A few recent instances will suffice here. A bout three weeks ago, daredevil sea robbers attacked a fishing trawler in the Bakassi area of Cross Rivers waters, killing Engineer Williams Kemewerigha. Also in October, an oil tanker sank on Lagos water, killing three seafarers. There have been many others.
In the last few weeks, there has been a rise in the number of attacks on seafarers and their ships; there have also been a few instances of deaths on board.
A few recent instances will suffice here. A bout three weeks ago, daredevil sea robbers attacked a fishing trawler in the Bakassi area of Cross Rivers waters, killing Engineer Williams Kemewerigha. Also in October, an oil tanker sank on Lagos water, killing three seafarers. There have been many others.
As recent as about two weeks ago, parents of 2nd Engineer; Olatunde Abiodun, Electrician; Jerry Eyang and Able Seaman; Godwin Odeka, who were among the 16 crew who were supposed to be on board the ill-fated tanker; MT Victory 1 before turbulence swept it away on September 21, 2013, are still going from pillar to post in search of answers as to where the corpses of their sons are.
The above are just two cases of what has become a common occurrence on Nigerian waters and off our shores. In such accidents or attacks, sailors are the victims.
Even though this is not peculiar to Nigeria, the frequency of such cases bothers us as amedia organisation. It has never been this bad for Nigerian seafarers.
Nigerian seafarers have indeed seen better days. Not only did first generation seafarers, notably marine engineers and master mariners make significant contributions to the nation’s economy, they were a respected member of the shipping community and command respect and envy of the larger society. They were indeed the envy of their peers.
The days when Nigerian seafarers were kings have all gone; in its place, Nigeria now has a large army of half-baked, hence unemployed seafarers who are turned out yearly by an array of equally largely uncertified training institutions.
Mr Val Usifoh; chairman of the Nigerian Shipping Association, who was part of those good old days once told this newspaper that: “I feel very sad because in my lifetime, I have seen seamen being celebrated in this country. There used to be over 4,000 seamen in this country. The seamen spent greater part of their lives on the waters. I feel sad at the state of our seaman”.
The same sad tale of good old days, was also once recounted by the then- managing director of Nigerian Ports Authourity; Engr Omar Suleiman when he reminiscenced that NPA once had an international maritime school and that in those good old days, “all harbour crafts including two coal carriers from Port Harcourt to Lagos – MV Tafawa Balewa and MV Enugu were all fully manned by Nigerians. According to him, the Buoy-laying vessel – MV Bode Thomas, the 50 tonne capacity floating crane – The Wellington, etc were also manned by Nigerian seafarers”.
The demise of Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) and the consequent loss of opportunity for sea time for budding seafarers and cadets as well as the failure of Maritime Academy of Nigeria to turn out world- class and employable seafarers have been jointly blamed for the dwindled fortunes of seafarers in Nigeria.
The twin factors of NNSL and MAN Oron’s failure have jointly led to mass unemployment, prevalence of fake and ill-trained seafarers. Things have become so bad that most Nigerian seafarers are no longer employed while the cadets have difficulties serving sea time. Sadly, if they don’t have sea time, they can’t advance in their career.
There are stories about presence of fake seafarers in the Nigerian maritime sector. The fact is that untrained and uncertified individuals who parade as seafarers have penetrated the nation’s sensitive maritime industry.
Worst still, while trained seafarers roam the streets of Apapa (in Lagos) and other ‘maritime cities’ in search of sea time opportunities, the powerful syndicate which engage the fakes corner available jobs for their candidates and allow them take charge of positions on Nigerian ships.
Most affected are oil tankers and fishing trawlers which operate on Nigerian waters. Evidences abound that many Nigerian-flagged tankers have either wittingly or otherwise engaged fakes.
While some of those who board ships in the Niger Delta have informal, but crude knowledge of basic seafaring, majority (if not all) of those who have got forged documents; including the all-important Seaman’s Record Book and Certificate of Discharge with which they are now ‘proud seafarers’ have never had any formal or informal training in marine engineering or nautical sciences.
Another worrisome dimension is that some Nigerians claim to have trained overseas in some funny countries and come back home with certificates that are not even written in English language for the attention of officials of the agency in charge of issuing ‘record books and certificate of discharge’ and verification of certificates, that is the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
So, one can safely deduce that there are about three levels of questionable ‘seafarers’. We have those who have no formal training at all and who possess fake documents, we also have those whose certificates are not tenable any longer and we have the ones whose self- acclaimed foreign certificates are not verifiable.
This is the painful lot of the Nigerian seafarer. As professionals, they belong to some trade unions. Painfully too, these bodies are many and are hardly seen to be doing anything for the seafarer.
At the lowest level, there is the Seamen branch of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria; there is also the Nigerian Merchant Navy and Water Transport Senior Staff Association. At the mediatory level, there is the Seafarers Welfare Board, and a host of others.
These bodies are expected to liaise with the appropriate organs of government and even the private sector for the purpose of ensuring that Nigerian seafarers get their fair share and due. The seafarer must be well trained, provided with sea time after training. He must also be employed and when engaged, he must be appropriately remunerated. And when confronted with the challenges in the course of his engagement, he must have a cover.
Even though NIMASA still remains the main agency to be held responsible in matters relating to seafaring and seafarers, those bodies that we have identified earlier must also be seen to be contributing their quota, to ensure that the Nigerian seafarer gets w new lease of life and seafaring becomes once again, very attractive.
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