The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has signed an agreement with Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Ship Management Limited (NSML) to train and certify young Nigerians as world-class seafarers.
This program, called the Nigerian Seafarers Development Program (NSDP), seeks to bridge the shortage of qualified seafarers worldwide.
It is a sponsored intervention programme being implemented by NIMASA to grow the capacity of young Nigerians to be certified as seafarers with global recognition and acceptance, thus bridging the gap in the dearth of seafarers globally.
At a recent ceremony welcoming 50 Romanian-trained NSDP beneficiaries, Bashir Jamoh, director general of NIMASA commended the collaboration’s effectiveness in nurturing Nigerian seafaring talent.
“It is worthy of note that a good number of NSDP Officers trained onboard NSML vessels are now employed by the company. Today, we are proud to announce that 150 Romanian-trained NSDP cadets have concluded their mandatory onboard sea training and are ready to proceed for the Certificate of Competency (CoC) training and examinations,” he said.
The signing of this Training Agreement between both parties resulting in the commencement of CoC for the first batch of Romanian-trained cadets, will go a long way in ensuring all backlogs of cadets awaiting CoCs are cleared.
Jamoh urged other organisations in the industry to take a cue from NSML and give opportunities to aspiring Nigerian seafarers to acquire knowledge and gain experiences to excel in the field.
Abdulkadir Ahmed the managing director/CEO of NSML said the organisation is sponsoring 50 of the cadets to the South Shield Marine School in the UK for a 12-month programme to get their certificates of competency required to trade on vessels globally.
The Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy also lauded the collaboration.
