In commemorating this year’s Day of the Seafarers with the theme; “Seafarers Matter”, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has assured Seafarers that their welfare is critical to the growth of the sector.
According to him, the agency will do all within its means to implement all International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and International Labour Organization conventions regarding the welfare of the seafarers.
Speaking during the celebration of the ‘Day of the Seafarers’ in Onne, Rivers state, the DG was quoted in a statement as saying the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) comprising of tripartite stakeholders, have reconvened to fashion out a decent wage and improved working and living conditions for the seafarers in line with the provisions of the convention and comparable to what is obtainable internationally.
“It is therefore expected that once the collective bargaining agreement is signed, ship-owners will commence its full implementation”, he stated.
The DG who further reiterated the Agency’s commitment in engaging ship-owners and seafarer employers on the need to provide gainful employment to qualified Nigerian seafarers whom he said are very important, called on shipowners to give some level of preference to the seafarers especially in the Cabotage trade as against the practice of engaging foreign seafarers.
“As Nigerians and maritime operators we should be proud of our seafarers and also encourage them to develop their careers/competences like their foreign counterparts”, he said.
Meanwhile, the NIMASA DG also used the opportunity to inform Stakeholders that the Agency is leaving no stone unturned to ensure full implementation of the Cabotage Act for the benefit of Nigerians.
Accordingly he said, “Cabotage Act is undergoing review and it is the Agency’s position that the review will take care of all the grey areas in the application, processing and granting of waiver to the extent it should be seen to give some level of advantage to Nigerian seafarers especially in the areas of employment and specialized training.”
While assuring the Seafarers of the Agency’s continuous support, the DG stated that NIMASA will continue to give priority to capacity building initiatives in order to actualize its vision of making NIMASA a world class organisation in line with global best practices. This according to him has also led the Agency to develop a multi-strategy approach to encouraging young school leavers to take a career at sea through the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).
Photo Caption: L-R: Executive Director, Maritime Labour & Cabotage Services, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Gambo Ahmed, Director General, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, General Manager, INTELS Nigeria Limited Mr. Silvano Bellinato, Assistant General Manager INTELS Mr. Chibuike Oyebuike, and Deputy Director, Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement, Nigeria Shippers’ Council Mr. Chukwuemeka Agu, at the celebration of the Day of the Seafarer in Onne, Port Harcourt Rivers State.
