The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said that it registered 3,938 seafarers, as well 44 cadets onboard Cabotage vessels for the sum of N8million on each beneficiary.
The Director General of the agency, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi gave these revelations in Lagos on Wednesday while addressing a press conference organized by NIMASA.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said that it registered 3,938 seafarers, as well 44 cadets onboard Cabotage vessels for the sum of N8million on each beneficiary.
The Director General of the agency, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi gave these revelations in Lagos on Wednesday while addressing a press conference organized by NIMASA.
Akpobolokemi who was represented by the Executive Director of Maritime Safety and Shipping Development, Capt Ezekiel Bala Agaba also said that NIMASA has trained 1,498 dock workers in the first half of 2014.
He acknowledged that the issue of sea time training had been a major challenge for Nigerian seafarers in the past and that NIMASA's policy of quietly placing seafarers on board Cabotage vessels has recorded tremendous success.
Akpobolokemi said that :"Currently, if we decide to go and hire or procure a vessel to train cadets, we are looking at N23million per year on each cadet, and I am sure you know that NIMASA currently cannot afford that, they are not funded by government, it is funded by 3% of vessels that come to Nigeria, if our trade goes down and vessels don't come, we don't earn money, there is no point hiring vessels and over the year we won't be able to maintain it"
"This is why we have decided to go a cheaper road by sending the cadets to available vessels all over the world, and the cost goes down from N23million by owning a vessel, to about N8million per cadet which is being prudent" he explained.
“'We are not relenting in our quest to ensure that all beneficiaries of this programme acquire sea-time training, which was a challenge in the past,'' the director-general said.
Apart from this, the agency said that it has introduced a programme for ratings under which 200 beneficiaries will be sent to the Philippines for training, while another set of 100 beneficiaries will also to proceed to Malaysia for training.
He said that the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP)being spearheaded by NIMASA in partnership with various State Governments, recently received a boost with Plateau State being the new entrant and bringing the number of participating states to17.
He added that NIMASA was making effort to place cadets from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria in Oron, Akwa-Ibom state to perform their sea-time training on vessels across the world.
Akpobolokemi assured that training and re-training of dock workers is an ongoing exercise at the agency.
Apart from the 1,497 dock workers trained by the agency, he added that 810 seafarers have also acquired the Standard of Training, Certification and Watch Keeping (STCW '95) in the last six months.
The training according to him, is to bring them up to date with the amended basic mandatory training, tanker familiarization and engine/deck watch keeping among others.
The Director General also hinted that the agency is set to re-establish a National Carrier
He said, “NIMASA has also been at the forefront in bringing alive the Public Private Partnership (PPP) initiative that has been very productive under the government of President Goodluck Jonathan. It is based on this premise that the agency is working at actualizing the establishment of a National Carrier Line.
“The National Carrier Line will re-establish the presence of Nigerian flag in international water; provide training and retraining of the Nigerian seafarers while also serving as a catalyst for shipping development in the country with a resultant positive impact on the nation’s economy.
“The new national carrier line will be largely driven by the private sector that will be solely responsible for the operation and management of the company. Detailed modalities and concept will be made public in due course.”
He added that the national carrier would benefit from Nigerian content development policy; Cabotage Law; the public sector scheme which provides for exclusive carriage right of all public sector cargoes at all levels of government among others.
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