Harboursandport.com: Lagos - Nigeria is suffering from a shortage of recognized certificate holders and not seafarers, said former Director in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Captain Warredi Enisuoh.
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| Captain Warredi Enisuoh |
He said this in an online discussing platform on the topic:
“Bridging The Manpower Gap In Seafaring: Weighing Available Options And
Solutions.”
Enisuoh: “You have to start with a database of registered
Seafarers, registered ships with their manning requirements, and registered
Nigerian companies who own ships. Unless we see these data, we cannot conclude
that we have a shortage of Seafarers.
“We may be short of specialized training such DP, Special
Vessels Requirements. This does not amount to shortage of Seafarers. Shortage
of Seafarers should also not be mistaken in an environment where you charter a
ship from outside the country, and the flag state of that ship doesn't
recognize the certificate you issue.
“In order words, a Nigerian certificate holder cannot work
onboard a Singaporean flagship operating in Nigerian waters as Singapore
doesn't recognize certification from Nigeria. In this case, we have a
"shortage of recognized certificate holders," Enisuoh said.
What we require is serious in-house cleaning. Get good professional
advice and follow the recommendations of the professionals. At the moment,
there's too much politics in the industry. We have to tone down in exchange for
professional input.
“If the option of doing the right thing is impossible,
another option is for you to invest heavily in your own flag and put your
products on board. Recognized or not, nobody will disturb you. But if you keep
going to charter other flags, you have to comply with their requirements and
the IMO Requirements which Nigeria is a signatory to.
“The downside of your certification processes and procedures not
meeting the required standards is that vessels crewed by your flag, may not
attract good value cargoes that will keep your shipping business afloat. This
is one of the many reasons killing our shipping and preventing new entrants
from succeeding.
“Some countries do accept bilateral recognition by mare
application and mutual acceptance. Naturally, they are usually weak flags.
Strong flags like Australia, UK, Singapore, etc would require a thorough audit
of your Maritime Administration (MARAD) and your Maritime Training Institutions
(MTI's). These include but are not limited to: Your courses; Your examination
procedures; Your examination marking schemes; The training facilities; The
training environment; Sizes of your classrooms; Teaching Aids; Recordkeeping;
Students to Instructor Ratio; Students to Classroom Ratio among.
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