Seafarers Training and Certification in the 21st Century: Imperatives of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria

Over eighty percent (80%) of international trade by volume are carried by sea on more than 99,800 merchant ships of 100 gross tons or more. Over 1.9 million seafarers are engaged globally to carry the international seaborne trade, including about 25,610 engaged in Nigeria. The safe, secure and efficient operation of the ships and carriage of international trade are dependent on training and certification of seafarers in accoradnce with the provisions of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (as amended) (STCW Convention). This paper presents in detail the actions taken by Nigeria to ensure the training and certification of seafarers in accordance with the provisions of the STCW Convention, including the establishment of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron. The role and contributions of the Academy to training of seafarers in Nigeria have been presented in detail, including the list of excadets/ ex-students serving at executive positions in leading maritime organizations. The paper has also identified some challenges to seafarers training and certification in Nigeria and presented the recommendations to resolving the challenges.

Keywords: Seafarers, Training, Certification, Maritime, Academy