The Rector of Global Maritime Academy (GMA), Ughelli Delta state, Isaac Aikoroje has asked the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, constitute a Nigerian Merchant Navy Board to regulate the profession.
He made the call in a press statement sent to SHIPS & PORTS DAILY.
Aikoroje stated that the Merchant Navy Board is expedient especially at a time the Federal Government is about floating its new national carrier “which the Nigerian Merchant Navy will be in charge”.
He said the Merchant Navy board would be a regulatory agency overseeing the activities of Nigerian seafarers in the maritime industry, just as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is a regulatory agency overseeing the activities of stakeholders in the industry.
“In Nigeria, the merchant navy officers and ratings do not have a well constituted institution called ‘Nigerian Merchant Navy’ to which they belong to. The board if created will cater for all the welfare or well being of seafarers in Nigeria.
“They don’t have a merchant navy base because the merchant navy in Nigeria has not been established on its own since the British left. Nigerian merchant navy officers and ratings have been left to float or belong to some trade, labour group or association which is not supposed to be,” he said.
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