Despite the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) investing over N45 billion through the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), indigenous seafarers in Nigeria continue to face worsening challenges ranging from unemployment and harassment to poor pay and lack of required seatime training, NATIONAL ECONOMY reports.
These long-standing issues resurfaced as the global maritime community marked the annual Day of the Seafarer with the theme: “My Harassment-Free Ship.” The Port Harcourt celebration in Rivers State became a rallying point for Nigerian seafarers to air their frustrations over conditions they say remain largely unchanged despite years of policy efforts and training investments.
According to global shipping statistics, over 80 per cent of the world’s volume of international trade is transported by sea, underlining the critical role played by seafarers in sustaining the global economy. However, experts said in Nigeria, those responsible for facilitating maritime trade continue to operate under difficult conditions, with limited opportunities, exploitative wages, and institutional neglect.
Speaking with NATIONAL ECONOMY, maritime professionals said unemployment remains one of the most pressing concerns among Nigerian seafarers. According to them, even though Nigeria boasts several maritime training institutions—including the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) in Oron, the Nigerian Maritime University in Okerenkoko, and the School of Oceanography in Lagos—many of their graduates are unable to find work due to a combination of industry stagnation, vessel shortages, and weak placement frameworks.
“The most critical thing is the placement for seatime,” said Adakole Ejegbudu, Technical Director of Flotilla Academy of Marine Technology (FAMT). “We have the Maritime Academy of
Nigeria (MAN) Oron, Maritime University of Nigeria, Okerenkoko, and many other privately owned institutions, including the School of Oceanography, Lagos, where the country trains cadets who are supposed to be seafarers, but they need some certifications.”
“Before a cadet is fully employed by a ship, one must have this seatime, which is the equivalent to having an industrial training in STEM courses,” he explained. “But there are tens of thousands of Nigerian cadets who are graduates from MAN Oron and several other institutions that have been waiting for seatime for 5 to 8 years. They can’t get a job. These people are stuck without getting seatime, and this is an important issue that Nigeria has to address.”
Ejegbudu recommended practical steps, saying, “The South African Maritime Administration (SAMA) was able to acquire old vessels, refurbish them, and use them to operate in their inland coastal waters. These vessels also served as training opportunities via seatime for their cadets. This is a low-hanging fruit that NIMASA can look into in a bid to provide seatime for Nigerian cadets.”
He added, “The agency can also insist that all Nigerian-flagged vessels take seafarers onboard for seatime. This is the primary challenge before we delve into issues like remuneration for other seafarers.”
In addition to the seatime gap, seafarers also contend with exploitation in the form of wage disparity. Many local shipping firms and even international companies operating in Nigerian waters are reported to pay local seafarers far less than their foreign counterparts for the same job functions. Maritime experts say the weak enforcement of labour standards and lack of strong union representation have made it difficult to reverse this trend.
Engr. Bob Yousuo, President of the Nigeria Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association (NMNOWTSSA), expressed deep concerns over the failure of companies to implement the industry’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) developed by the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and NIMASA through the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC).
“The Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been able to come up with the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC), which has mandated a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) welfare regime for seafarers,” he said. “But how many of the shipping companies are complying with the CBA?”
He continued, “Compliance demands implementation. It’s only when we have an individual company CBA that a lot of issues can be addressed. Without an effective CBA, the seafarers are just on their own because nobody’s here to guide them or fight for them.”
According to Yousuo, one of the most disturbing realities is that many seafarers are denied their right to unionise. “Almost 80 percent of Nigerian seafarers, or let’s say 70 per cent, belong to a union, but the shipping companies don’t allow them to belong to any union or association,” he said. “So, if they don’t belong to their rightful unions, who is going to fight for them? Who is going to speak for them? The shipowners have the power, they own the vessels. So they keep on doing whatever they like.”
Yousuo also highlighted instances of systemic discrimination onboard vessels. “If you go on board a Nigerian vessel where all the senior officers are foreigners, the senior crew who are Nigerians are always subjected to harassment and bullying. Even the shipowners who own the ship would back the foreign officers against the junior Nigerian seafarer if any issues happen on board the vessel,” he said.
“The shipowners treat the foreign seafarers as if they are superior, while the Nigerian seafarers who are the crew of the vessel are treated with disdain,” he added.
Beyond employment and union issues, seafarers also face regulatory and certification bottlenecks. Experts said the International Maritime Organisation (IMO)’s stringent certification standards are difficult for many Nigerian seafarers to meet due to the inadequacy of local training infrastructure. The certification process is further hampered by red tape and alleged corruption, making it difficult for seafarers to obtain and renew necessary credentials.
Additionally, Nigerian certifications are often not recognised internationally, limiting seafarers’ ability to seek employment abroad—even as the local job market becomes increasingly saturated.
According to stakeholders, the culmination of these problems has forced some unemployed or underemployed seafarers into illegal activities such as oil bunkering, theft, and piracy in the Gulf of Guinea region.
While many blame the federal government and NIMASA for the state of affairs, others acknowledge that the agency has made tangible efforts, particularly through the NSDP and its recent regulatory reforms. Still, they argued that without a comprehensive intervention—including the acquisition of training vessels, enforcement of CBA compliance, improved certification systems, and protection for unionised workers—the plight of Nigerian seafarers is unlikely to improve.
As the world celebrates the critical contributions of seafarers to global trade, Nigerian seafarers continue to wait for more than just applause—they are calling for systemic reform, respect, and real investment in their future.
Between Depleting Workforce And Declining Productivity