New law opens gate for reforms in maritime sector

By Patrick Beja

The maritime industry is bracing for reforms after the passing of a new legislation, the Merchant Shipping Bill 2008.

The Bill that was passed by Parliament a fortnight ago, is likely to open gates for reforms in the industry.

It has sparked excitement and optimism, and experts see new investment opportunities. Stakeholders say the legislation would catapult Kenya into a strong maritime nation capable of training and deploying crew to foreign vessels.

"The passage of the Bill that we have advocated for over the years will allow training of seafarers. This will in turn take many Kenyans out of the streets to well paying jobs on ships," said an industry expert, Sylvester Kututa.

Mr Kututa, national secretary of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) Kenya chapter, said the task now is the training for seafarers and marketing Kenya’s maritime labour abroad.

And Mrs Nancy Karigithu, Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) director-general, explained that the process of compiling an evaluation report to be presented to the UN International Maritime Organisation (IMO) had begun. The report would seek Kenya’s approval for compliance with international conventions.

"We will submit our updated report to seek whitelisting at the end of this month and we expect to be cleared by IMO in May," she said.

The report would include maritime training curriculum, which was launched by the transport ministry four months ago.