FG to Save $120,000 Capital Flight from Seafarers’ Certification

The Executive Director, National Institute of Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), Prof. Sule Abiodun has said that the federal government will save about $120,000 (N190 million) by training of seafarers locally.

Abiodun, noted that the development is a big win for the Nigerian Maritime industry as cadets would no longer have to travel outside the country to acquire the certification.

He stated this yesterday while speaking at the 2024 Marine and Blue Economy Human Capital Development Programme held  in Lagos.

The certification, he said, is part of the mandatory certificates required by international seafarers around the world with focus on emergency response, occupational safety, security, medical care and survival on board ships. 

He said, “The training period would last for three days covering courses in Personal Safety and Social Responsibility (PSSR), Personal Survival Techniques (PST), Elementary First Aid (EFA), Fire Fighting and Fire Prevention (FFFP) and Security Awareness Training for All Seafarers (SAT). The project executed by the NIOMR will strengthen Nigeria’s maritime workforce and increase seafarers’ global competitiveness.”

Speaking President, National Association of Master Mariners, Capt. Tajudeen Alao, while lauding the ministry for the timely intervention noted that prior to this scheme, Nigerians spent as much as $1,000 to acquire this certification in Ghana.

He said: “This course has not come cheap. Our people used to go to Ghana for over 10 years for this course and it became very expensive. Nigerians spent as much as $1,000 for this training in Ghana but in Nigeria, it’s not less than N500,000 and the government is giving this free of charge. I thank the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy for this intervention.”

On his part, Senior Lecturer, Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology, Capt  Fola Ojutalayo,  noted that for many past granduants, the financial requirements of obtaining the certification has been a source of frustration and the intervention has come at the nick of time.