Nigerian maritime Administration and safety Agency ( NIMASA) has placed 11,956 Nigerian Seafarers onboard cabotage vessels from January 2021 to July 2023.
A press statement signed by the Assistant Director, public relations of the Agency, Mr Edwards Osagie disclosed on Friday.
According to Mr. Osagie, 539 Nigerian Seafarers/cadets have also been recommended to replace foreign Crew especially ratings on board vessels in the first quarter of 2023.
“One of the cardinal principle of the cabotage regime is the localisation of Manning vessels operating in Nigerian waters. To a considerable extent, Nimasa has ensured the placement of Nigerian Seafarers onboard cabotage vessels in line with its placement function and provisions of the cabotage Act 2003”.
The Agency also explained that registration and Documentation of all maritime workers have now been digitalised to enable online and Real-time registration of maritime workers.
It would be recalled that NIMASA initiated the Nigerian Seafarers Development programme (NSDP in 2008 with the sole aim of training Nigerian youths to become Seafarers and Naval architects in fulfilling one of its core in the area of maritime capacity building.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir jamoh had assured at the time that the Agency was working with countries committed to an understanding for mutual recognition of certificate of competency (COC).