Determined to ensure that Nigerian cadets under the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) get complete training that will certify them as internationally recognised seafarers, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has signed Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Academy of India for on-board sea time training of some graduates of the programme.
Dakuku Peterside, director-general of NIMASA, who disclosed this in Lagos recently, said the MoU covers the training of 60 cadets in three batches of 20 each.
He congratulated the 20 trainees under the first batch of the scheme and tasked them to be dedicated, disciplined, and committed to making the best use of the opportunity to develop themselves and aid national development.
“We are proud that you will be joining the global merchant fleets. Be sure to represent Nigeria positively. Under the current leadership of NIMASA, we are working very hard to provide sea-time for all that have gone through our NSDP,” he said.
Peterside said the agency is determined to explore and use appropriate avenues to ensure that Nigerian seafarers get the right exposure and training to excel in the global maritime space, to enable Nigeria become a supplier of qualified seafarers to the rest of the world.
According to him, NIMASA is negotiating with other academies with access to ocean going training vessels in countries, like Turkey and United Kingdom, among others, to secure sea time for Nigerians. He said the agency wants to replicate in Nigeria the progress recorded under similar partnerships in countries, like Philippines.
Neeraj Kumar, managing director, TMC Shipping Pvt. Limited, representative of Maritime Academy of India, who was at the MoU signing ceremony, appreciated NIMASA’s effort to develop seafarers and he commended the NSDP initiative.
NIMASA has trained about 2,000 Nigerians under the NSDP scheme, with many cadets at various stages of completion of the programme. The agency is tackling the issue of sea-time training for the cadets through full sponsorship, in partnership with some international institutions that have access to ocean going training vessels.
Some cadets have done their on-board sea time training under the first phase of the NIMASA fully-sponsored sea time training programme, facilitated alongside the Arab Academy of Science, Technology and Marine Transportation in Alexandria, Egypt. On-board training for another set of cadets was facilitated by the South Tyneside College, UK. The Agency has also trained some Nigerians under a partnership with universities in The Philippines.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
