The Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said that it spends over $28,000 training one seafarer abroad under the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), adding that the agency is doing a lot in the area of seafarers training.
The Head, Cabotage Services, NIMASA, Mr. Victor Egejuru said this last week in Lagos at the maiden edition of Nigeria Maritime Finance Fair, organized by the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON), with the theme: Banks/private sector participation a as a panacea for dearth of investments in the maritime industry.
Egejuru however said that NIMASA is having challenges with the programme, especially for those who are being trained at Philippines.
"Seafaring provision of sea time training is very expensive and NIMASA has done a whole lot in this regard. Provision of seafarer training even for one seafarer is not less than $28,000. And so when people shout that nothing is being done, they don't know the pressure NIMASA is also facing"
"NIMASA took this decision not by force, but the agency took up this programme of NSDP. A lot of Nigerians have been trained under this programme, but for certain reasons, we are having challenges with provision of sea time training, especially those that were trained in Philippines"
Egejuru however said that the agency was not comfortable with the nature if sea time training that is been given to Nigerians in Philippines; he added that, that was why most of the cadets were moved out of Philippines.
"Because of the nature of sea time training they give to Nigerian cadets there, NIMASA said no we need them to be properly trained. So most of them have been moved to other institutions away from Philippines like Arab Academy Egypt, and UK and presently there are other universities coming on board especially those in India, there are three universities in India to also offer sea time training"
According to him, NIMASA is making serious arrangements to pay for more than 300 cadets added to the ones they are already paying for.
"And arrangements are being made at present to make payments for more than 300 seafarers additional to what we already has before"
He admitted that there is lack of vessels everywhere.
"So efforts are being are made, there is lack of vessels internationally, so it is an international problem not a localised problem. If it is for us to just put them on Cabotage vessels, we will spread them all over the place"
“But we cannot spend so much money training people outside the shores of Nigeria, just go get the best of international standard and when they come back you reduce them to national standard"
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