The Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria has expressed worries over falling standards of certification for seafarers.
The President-General of MWUN, Adewale Adeyanju, in a chat with Financial Street on Friday called on the Federal Government through the Ministry of Transportation to upgrade the facilities of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron in Akwa Ibom State, to enable cadets compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.
Adeyanju lamented that MAN Oron and other training institutions accredited by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency can only compete with their foreign counterparts in the field, and particularly where standard infrastructure for training of the seafarers is obtainable.
He maintained that the current certificate given to seafarers in Nigeria is below international standard, which, according to him, puts the indigenous seafarers trained in the local maritime institutes at a disadvantage to compete internationally for employment.
“In view of the above, we call on the Federal Government, through the relevant ministries and agencies, to cause an upgrade in the facilities of all maritime training institutes in the nation, especially Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron.
“We believe doing this will shore up international accreditation for such institutes, and bring them up to par with international standards,” he said.
