Merchant Navy Urges NIMASA To Acquire Vessels For Training Seafarers

Secretary General, Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, Mr Julius Efokpor, has urged the Federal Government to acquire vessels to train seafarers.
Efokpor said in Lagos that it was imperative that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) increased the number of its vessels.
“It is not good that people get training from our Maritime Academy at Oron without going on board a vessel. This kind of training is not proper.

Secretary General, Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, Mr Julius Efokpor, has urged the Federal Government to acquire vessels to train seafarers.
Efokpor said in Lagos that it was imperative that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) increased the number of its vessels.
“It is not good that people get training from our Maritime Academy at Oron without going on board a vessel. This kind of training is not proper.
“It is part of the requirement that a seafarer goes to sea for about six months before certification.
“Giving adequate training to seafarers will be somehow difficult when our schools do not have a vessel to use for practical training.     
“Many seafarers are roaming the streets because they can not complete their training and are not employable,’’ he said.
He, however, commended NIMASA for sending seafarers abroad for their training, stressing that “Nigeria lacked the manpower requirement in the maritime industry.
Efokpor said that there was the need to train more seafarers to take over from the current  crop that was getting old.
He said that training of fresh seafarers should be taken more seriously “else we face dearth of seafarers which will eventually undermine our maritime industry“.
Efokpor says that Nigeria would not benefit from the Cabotage Law if she did not acquire vessels.
The Cabotage Law is universally adopted in the international maritime community to protect registered or licensed ships to trade between ports.
“Without us having vessels, our economy will be in the hands of foreigners and we will continually experience capital flight in the industry,“ he said.