A maritime expert and indigenous ship owner; Engr. Greg Ogbeifun, has attributed the deficiency of well experienced and qualified instructors in Nigeria maritime academies as one of the major challenges facing capacity development in the Nigeria maritime industry.
He however advised that more experienced professionals should be engaged in maritime institutions to meet international standards.
“More professionals should be involved in the maritime institutions to ensure that relevant courses are being run with prevailing needs of the industry and international standard,” he said.
Ogbeifun also identified lack of harmonisation between the needs of the maritime industry and training curriculum in the training institutions.
He said capacity development in the maritime industry remains inadequate despite the plethora of training institutions, end user organisations and a large population.
He tasked the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to harness the existing fleet of both local and foreign shipping companies to create more databases of vessels to provide training berths for cadets.
“Vessel/Ships owners to be mobilised to mandatorily provide and implement training scheme for seafarers from cadetship level to senior deck and engineer officers,” he said.
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