Director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, has urged indigenous ship-owners and other employers of labour in the nation’s shipping business to prioritise engaging qualified Nigerian seafarers in gainful employment against their foreign counterparts.
According to a statement signed by Isichei Osamgbi, head of corporate communications of NIMASA, Peterside also called on ship owners to give some level of preference to the seafarers against the practice of engaging foreign seafarers.
Speaking in Onne Port at an event to mark the ‘Day of the Seafarers,’ he assured seafarers that NIMASA would do all within its means to implement the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and International Labour Organisation conventions geared towards improving the welfare of the seafarers.
The director-general also said the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) comprising of stakeholders in the shipping industry has fashioned out a decent wage, and improved working and living conditions for the seafarers in line with the provisions of the IMO convention.
“It is expected that once the collective bargaining agreement is signed, ship-owners will commence the full implementation of the new wage plan. As Nigerians, we should be proud of our seafarers and also encourage them to develop their careers/competences like their foreign counterparts,” he said.
He however disclosed that the agency would leave no stone unturned to ensure full implementation of the Cabotage Act for the benefit of Nigerians. “Cabotage Act is undergoing review and it is the Agency’s position that the review will take care of all the grey areas especially as regards processing and granting of waiver to give some level of advantage to Nigerian seafarers especially in the areas of employment and specialised training.”
While assuring the seafarers of the Agency’s continuous support, the DG assured that NIMASA will continue to give priority to capacity building initiatives in order to actualise its vision of making NIMASA a world class organisation in line with global best practices.
This, according to him, has also led the Agency to develop a multi-strategy approach to encouraging young school leavers to take a career at sea through the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).
Recall that the NSDP initiative of the Agency which was conceived in 2008 in order to bridge the gap in the death of seafarers in the country and this has so far facilitated the training of 2,259 young Nigerians in various fields of maritime studies in reputable Maritime Institutions in the United Kingdom, Egypt, Romania, India and the Philippines.
AMAKA ANAGOR-EWUZIE
