The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has announced that about 289 cadets would be given seatime experience on ocean-going vessels between December 2017 and January 2018 in United Kingdom and Egypt.
Peterside stated this at a press briefing in Lagos on Monday.
According to him, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron is producing middle-class seafarers whose target is only to work on Cabotage vessels, but that the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) being piloted by NIMASA is to train cadets to work on ocean going vessels.
He said that the 286 cadets are part of the 1,400 cadets that have graduated out of the 2,500 cadets of the NSDP.
Giving a breakdown, he said 200 of the cadets would be sent o Egypt and 89 to United Kingdom for seatime training
He said, "NIMASA has sent over 2500 persons to institutions of learning, out of this number, about 1400 have graduated from various institutions, several among them have got their seatime and they are already plying their trade on international ocean- going vessels"
"Seatime training is a global issue, but in recent time, we have been able to tie up a deal, and so we are sending 200 of our cadets to Egypt and 89 to United Kingdom for seatime training"
"Before the end of this year or first month of next year, we would be sending a total of 289 persons to do seatime on ocean going vessels"
Speaking on the time of training offered at MAN, Oron, Peterside said "the training NIMASA is providing is not the same with that of MAN, Oron, what we MAN, Oron is doing is to produce middle level manpower to pilot vessels, the target for them is Cabotage vessels, if it is for oceangoing vessels, they would need additional training"
"Meanwhile the NSDP is to get cadets on ocean going vessels"
The NIMASA boss added that the engine capacity of the vessel that you do your seatime on would determine the kind of vessel you would be employed on.
"If you do training on small local vessels, nobody would employ you at Maersk line"
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