Kenya on the road to becoming maritime economy, says Cabinet Secretary

Members of the Kenya Maritime International Choir entertain guests during celebrations to mark this year’s World Maritime Day in Mombasa yesterday. [PHOTO: GIDEON MAUNDU/STANDARD]

MOMBASA: Kenya has the potential of becoming a great maritime economy on the East African coast, the Government has said.

Transport and Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development Cabinet Secretary James Macharia said yesterday that various reasons, including the location of Mombasa Port, put Kenya on the road to achieving this status.

"The location of Mombasa Port, which is the largest sea port in the East African region handling much of the cargo coming into the region, and the development of the Lamu Port, which has also commenced with three berths at advanced stages of development, are some of the maritime milestones," he said.

In a speech read on his behalf by his Special Adviser, Philip Charo, at the Pride Inn Paradise Convention Centre during the World Maritime Day celebrations, the CS said that Kenya, through maritime education and training, has been encouraging youths to consider seafaring careers.

"Here, institutions have been accredited in line with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping  regulations to offer maritime training from artisan to degree levels," the CS said.

He added that the country was also on the International Maritime Organisation Whitelist of Countries and was focused on an aggressive programme aimed at creating widespread awareness of the seafaring profession among young Kenyans.

"The National Maritime Training Curriculum incorporates seafaring as a career of choice to young people from an early school-going age," he said.

Dr Macharia added that Kenya had recently developed a shore-based Maritime Training Curriculum to enhance the efficiency of maritime service providers that include port operations, ship agencies, clearing and forwarding services and container freight station operations.