The Lagos Channel Management (LCM), a joint venture company between the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Depassa Limited may have assisted Nigeria in producing three new Master Mariners.
An online maritime media, Maritime First, reported yesterday that the master mariners, who got their Certificate of Competence (COC) only last month, may thus become the first batch of youths, to be enrolled in a nation’s professional body, whose majority of memberships range from 60 years and above.
The certification confers on the youth the endorsement to handle vessels not above 500 gross tonnage, including tugs.
The young Master Mariners, Charles BabatundeOlorunkunle, Victor Enebeli and Ezekiel Dare Owope were trained and certificated in Ghana.
When the LCM Managing Director, Mr. Danny Fuchs was contacted, he confirmed the development, stressing that the company started its pilot scheme with 40 Nigerian youths, and sponsored them to Ghana, with special emphasis on discipline, commitment and good behaviour.
“Our main purpose is for tugs; but now, they can also upgrade themselves to handle any ships in the world.
“We started with 40 cadets, consisting of 20 engines and 20 decks. We presently have 15 certificated, consisting of seven decks and eight engines.
”We are fulfilling our assignments now: to take people off the streets and turn them into Engineers and Master Mariners”, Fuchs said, stressing that the LCM is also leaving no stones unturned, in its bid to assist the engineers who presently hold their COC as third engineers to further upgrade to second, so as to enable them handle higher capacity engines.
Asked how many years it would take them to serve the company, the LCM boss said:
“They know from inception that they are free, on the completion of their courses, to stay with us; or to go and work in any part of the world.
“We did not allow them to sign any papers. Only a promise to be good ambassadors of the country, wherever they go.”
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