47 seafarers graduate after completing basic safety training

Forty-seven seafarers in Lamu have been issued with certificates after completing basic safety training at Bandari College in Mombasa.

Speaking in Lamu on Saturday during an award ceremony presided over by Governor Issa Timamy, Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) official Wilfred Kagimbi said the Standard of Training, Certification and Watch-keeping for Seafarers (STCW) was aimed at upgrading the qualifications of the seafarers.

Among the successful graduands was Zulekha Mohamed Shariff who was the only woman.

“It is well to prepare them to benefit from upcoming opportunities in the ongoing LAPSSET project and other offshore oil and gas jobs in the sector as well as improve their ability to be employed for local and international fleet jobs,” said Kagimbi, who is the head of maritime safety.

Lacked qualifications

He said KMA sponsored 405 seafarers to undergo STCW basic safety course and ratings at the Bandari College upon realising that Kenyan seafarers lacked standard qualification to access to sea employment opportunities on the international fleet.

“With the assistance of the Seafarers Union of Kenya, suitable seafarers were identified for the KMA programme from both Mombasa and Lamu counties,” Kagimbi said.

He said the issuance of certificates to seafarers in Lamu County, who completed the required KMA-sponsored maritime training programme at the Bandari College, will inspire more seafarers.

He further explained that the initiative by KMA also emphasises the significance of embracing the required standards of maritime education and training by local seafarers in the advancement of seafaring opportunities in Kenya.

“This noble initiative will enhance the number of qualified and certified seafarers in Kenya thus increasing the marketability of Kenyan seafarers in the global maritime labour market as well as improve maritime safety and security standards on Kenyan waters,” he said.