The Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNO/WTSSA) has described the country’s prolonged inability to issue Class 1 and Class 2 Certificates to its seafarers as a form of “national harassment,” calling for immediate reforms to address what it termed a major institutional failure in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
This position was made known in a goodwill message delivered by the Union’s National President, Engr Bob Joseph Yousouph during the commemoration of the 2025 Day of the Seafarer, themed “My Harassment-Free Ship.”
While the global theme focused on ending harassment and bullying at sea, the union emphasized that Nigeria’s failure to provide internationally-recognized certification for top-level marine officers amounts to a structural and career-threatening injustice.
“We must broaden the definition of harassment beyond the obvious,” the Engr Yousuo said. “When a country deprives its own seafarers of the ability to grow professionally through internationally-accepted certification, it is engaging in a form of institutional harassment.”
Class 1 and Class 2 certificates are required for marine professionals seeking to rise to positions such as Chief Engineers, Chief Mates, and Masters (Captains) aboard vessels. Currently, Nigerian seafarers according to the Union are compelled to travel abroad to obtain these certifications—often at high personal cost—due to the country’s failure to domesticate the process.
“This failure is stunting careers, forcing capital flight, and weakening our national competitiveness in the global maritime arena,” the President noted.
The union called on the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), and maritime training institutions to treat the matter with urgency. It urged that deliberate investment be made in upgrading maritime academies and aligning their programs with international standards to make such certifications locally available.
“This issue is not technical—it is political, economic, and patriotic. If we want to empower Nigerian seafarers, we must start by certifying them at home,” the union added.
The goodwill message also linked the certification gap to broader systemic challenges in the maritime labor environment, including the lack of Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), poor implementation of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) standards, and inadequate support for indigenous shipowners.
In particular, the union reiterated its call for NIMASA to make CBA compliance a prerequisite for license renewal and to facilitate easier access to the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) for qualified Nigerian shipowners, noting that these measures would help reduce unemployment and improve cadet placement.
“The maritime industry cannot thrive on foreign dependency and local neglect,” the union emphasized. “We must build internal capacity, not just in infrastructure, but in people.”
The President closed the message by saluting Nigerian seafarers for their resilience and professionalism and urged them to remain united in their pursuit of a better working environment. He also encouraged stakeholders and the public to support the campaign for safer and more dignified working conditions at sea using the hashtag #MyHarassmentFreeShip.
“As we celebrate our seafarers today, we must not forget: harassment can come in many forms—and denying growth is one of the most dangerous of them all,” Engr Yousuo concluded.
