NIMASA trains 2,337 seafarers to boost maritime sector – Peterside; Singapore maritime industry awards almost $1.9 million in scholarships

NIMASA trains 2,337 seafarers to boost maritime sector – Peterside
Aug 15, 2018 https://theeagleonline.com.ng/nimasa-trains-2337-seafarers-to-boost-mari...

The Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency on Wednesday said it had trained 2,337 Nigerians as seafarers to enhance the performance of the maritime industry.

Dr Dakuku Peterside, the Director-General of NIMASA, said the aim was to empower them with the sea time experience required by the industry players before engaging them in the shipping sector.

Peterside made this known at a news conference in Lagos on the national maritime regulatory agency’s achievement within one year.

According to him, the organisation is committed to human capital development to ensure an all-encompassing maritime industry development with a view to making Nigeria a maritime hub.
He said: “We cannot achieve much without developing the skills of our cadets whom the country will rely on in the nearest future to continue to steer the ship of the industry.

“We want to emulate other shipping countries like the Philippines that pride themselves as countries that export maritime personnel to other countries.

“As agency, our approach to regulation and interface with stakeholders is not that of command structure, and that has enabled us to partner Nigerian ship owners to also engage some of the cadets on board their vessels.

“The agency is not oblivious of pockets of piracy activities within the Gulf of Genuine.

“The agency is working with the Nigeria Navy to stamp the tide of piracy to aid trade.”

Singapore maritime industry awards almost $1.9 million in scholarships
16 Aug 2018 http://www.hrmasia.com/content/singapore-maritime-industry-awards-schola...

He said due to the agency’s vigilance on the Nigerian waters, there had been a reduction in piracy to almost zero per cent, and that it would build the confidence of Nigeria’s international trading partners.

The director-general said with 1,025 newly registered vessels by the agency, and the retraining of 50,700 already employed sea officials, the coast was clearer for the country to take its rightful place within the comity of nations.

He added that it was cheaper and economical to have cadets on board training vessels than for the country to owe one.

Some 25 companies in Singapore’s maritime industry contributed almost SS$800,000 towards the MaritimeONE scholarships pot, which was earlier this week awarded to 34 students.

Together with contributions from the government and local seafarer unions, the total pot came up to almost S$1.9 million – all for funding university studies in maritime and other selected subject areas.

The contributing companies hail from across all sectors of the industry – from port, to shipping, shipyards, and maritime ancillary services.

They include the PSA Corporation, Jurong Port, Keppel Offshore & Marine, NORDEN Shipping & Orient Fond, SeaTech Solutions International, Sembcorp Marine, and the American Bureau of Shipping.

MaritimeONE scholars are able to choose from 23 degree courses offered by local and overseas universities, all in the area of maritime business and international trade, as well as three specific maritime diploma programmes at the Singapore Maritime Academy (SMA) in Singapore Polytechnic (SP).

The students come from a diverse range of backgrounds. For instance, Hor Zhi An came through the polytechnic route to end up at Nanyang Technological University, where he is pursuing in a degree in Business (Business Analytics). He is the first student with a background in Business Analytics to be awarded the MaritimeONE scholarship.

“With the digital transformation occurring in maritime, I hope my background in Business Analytics can contribute to the continuous development of the industry,” said Hor.

Since 2007, a total of 342 MaritimeONE scholarships worth over S$9 million have been awarded to outstanding students to pursue courses locally and abroad, emphasizing the commitment towards manpower development on the industry level.