Nigeria eyes largest supplier of seafarers in Africa

Nigeria eyes largest supplier of seafarers in Africa’
September 19, 2018 http://thenationonlineng.net/nigeria-eyes-largest-supplier-of-seafarers-...

Nigeria is set to become the largest supplier of seafarers in the West and Central Africa; it was learnt in Egypt Wednesday.

The Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dakuku Peterside said, the country, in the next two years, would become one of the greatest contributors of seafarers to domestic and international fleet.

Addressing over 2000 delegates and stakeholders at the on-going African Maritime Administrations (AAMA) Conference in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, said the President Muhammadu Buhari administration through NIMASA is working tirelessly to ensure that Nigeria becomes one of the major supplier of seafarers globally.

The Director General said that several billion of naira have been spent by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Transportation and NIMASA, in the training of Nigerian seafarers under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).

Peterside, who is also the current Chairman of AAMA said, NIMASA has equally sponsored the training of many young Nigerians so that foreign seafarers will stop dominating African and Nigerian territorial waters.

The NSDP initiative, he said, was conceived by the agency to bridge the gap observed in the dearth of seafarers in the country and to end foreign domination.

“Over the past years, we can see that there is a growing trend on the global supply of seafarers, which consists of both Officers and Ratings available for internationally trading merchant fleet,” he said.

Many young Nigerians, Peterside said, have been trained in various fields of maritime studies in Maritime Institutions in the United Kingdom, Egypt, Romania, India and the Philippines.

A senior of NIMASA at the conference who craved anonymity told The Nation that the agency has embarked on a laudable initiative that will ensure that there is one Nigerian seafarer for every 5 complements on board a vessel at any time in Africa.

Given the country’s vast coast line, Nigerians, Peterside said, have natural maritime instincts that place them at an advantage over many other nationalities in the region.

Foreign and local shipowners, he said, would prefer Nigerian seafarers for unquestionable important qualities like dedication and discipline, industry, flexibility, loyalty, English language fluency, adaptability, positive work attitude, law-abiding, and problem-solving capability.

To boost their competitiveness, many Nigerian seafarers, the Chairman of AAMA said, have been placed by NIMASA onboard ocean going vessels for their mandatory sea time, as facilitated by the agency with institutions in Egypt, United Kingdom and Turkey.

NIMASA, Peterside said, is currently addressing the basic seafarers’ issues, among others, include (a) illegal recruitment; (b) illegal dismissal; (c) non-payment or underpayment of salaries and wages; (d) disability benefits due to injury or illness and (e) death benefits.

Investigation revealed that Philippine and China top the largest numbers of seafarers based on the estimates of national distributions to the global supply of seafarers.

Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) data showed that there are 367,166 Filipino seafarers with POEA approved contract deployed in 2013. In 2014, the deployed seafarers brought in US $5,575,722,000 as dollar remittances. The sea based sector’s remittance comprise at least 22% of the total dollar remittances of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).