The Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) has partnered with Stoilic Shipping Limited to develop maritime capacity in the country through provision of sea-time training to Nigerian seafarers.
At a brief ceremony in Lagos on Tuesday to dispatch 10 cadets on a full scholarship sea-time training, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Engr. Simbi Wabote said the board is committed to building maritime capacity not only for the country’s maritime industry, but also seafaring capacity that can be exported to the world to earn foreign exchange, just Philippines.
He said: “We are building capacity, but we are not limiting the utilization of this capacity to the Nigerian maritime and oil & gas industries. The training is the type that will take our seafarers to other countries and different seaports and therefore, commitment is very critical, because the standard in view is determined by global factors and not Nigerian factors.”
Wabote who was represented at the event by the board’s Manager, Human and Capital Development, Timbiri Augustine commended the management of Stoilic Shipping Limited for its commitment to growing indigenous capacity for the Nigerian maritime sector, adding that the partnership between both organisation would be sustained to put the country in a strategic position to earn foreign exchange from maritime capacity exportation.
Noting that maritime trainings are very costly, the NCDMB boss admonished the cadets to be of good conduct as this has an implication on the country. He advised them not to be distracted at any point as they may face mild challenges such as turbulent weather, different environments, language barrier amongst others in their period of learning.
In a remark, the Managing Director of Stoilic Shipping, Mr. Lotanna charged the cadets to work hard at their learning and put in their best in the program, noting that sea-time training opportunities are not common and are highly coveted by graduates of maritime studies.
L-R (sitting): Supervisor, Human Capital Development, NCDMB, Sallahudeen Muhammad; General Manager, Operations, Stoilic Shipping Limited (SSL), Mrs Irene Mcfoy; Manager, Human Capital Development, NCDMB, Timbiri Augustine; General Manager, Administration, SSL, Chinamanda Mcfoy; Managing Director, SSL, Lotanna; and the cadets during the opening ceremony of the sea-time training certificate of competency (COC) by SSL awarded by NCDMB for seafarers, in Lagos, on Tuesday.
Also addressing the trainees, the Executive Director of Stoilic Shipping, Mrs Irene McFoy, charged them to “change the dynamics of shipping companies not wanting Nigerian seafarers by stepping up the standards.”
She assured the cadets that the company and its technical partners would take them through many training modules and placed them on ocean-going vessels, where they must start preparing for their Certificates of Competency (CoC).
Mcfoy said Nigeria can borrow a leaf from the Philippines by developing and exporting maritime capacity. According to her, Stoilic Shipping, as a major private sector leader, “wants Nigeria to be one of the foremost countries supplying seafarers to the international maritime industry just like the Philippines.”
Noting that at least 28 per cent of the Philippines’ revenue comes from seafaring, McFoy, who was in charge of the cadet training at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) before retiring, insisted that “there is nothing stopping Nigeria from being the best, or even better than the Philippines.”
She commended NCDMB for the partnership and re-emphasized that Nigeria is a littoral state, that has the manpower and the intelligence. She said that all the country needed is to get these students properly harnessed and Nigeria will do very well in the maritime sector.
