Sea time training for Nigerian Cadets: Counting our losses to foreign shipowners
When the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) was introduced in 2008, it was meant to develop a pool of trained cadets who would man our vessels especially with the coming on stream of the Cabotage Act 2003.
The thinking then was that with the production of certified seafarers, the dearth of seafarers arising from old age and death would be a thing of the past.
According to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, so far, about 2, 500 cadets have been trained from the NSDP excluding those trained from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State and other approved maritime schools within the country.
Recently, at a well-attended meeting in Lagos, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside announced that it was sending out ...