There are worries over the acquisition of vessels and upgrading of Certificate of Competence to engage Nigerian seafarers in international trade as well as the adoption of decarbonisation in the maritime industry.
He said NSML has been engaging with various entities including NNPCL with regards to the acquisition of vessels to provide more opportunities for Nigerian seafarers to manage those vessels that are involved in international trade. “NSML is available to support NIMASA with regards to pushing that because it also works in our favour. If the Nigerian CoCs are accepted internationally, it makes life easier for our seafarers to want to renew their CoCs. It also creates a large pool of resources from which we can generate revenue.
On implementing the compliance with the raft of maritime regulations around greenhouse gas emissions and decarbonisation, Ahmed said Nigeria needs to have a clear-cut goal and target, noting that if nothing is done the country would be left behind. On his part, the Manager, Training and Maritime Centre of Excellence , NSML Dr. Effiong Ekanem-Attah, said the nation’s maritime industry is lagging in decarbonisation in terms of standard and development as well as acceptance of CoCs.