- The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding, (Mou) with Egypt, Australia, Bahamas Vietnam, and Dominican Republic on the certification of cadets.
- The agency has also concluded plans to sign the same deal with Singapore, Luxembourg and other European countries with a view to ensuring cadets or mariners who want to upgrade their certificate can do so with ease.
- The President of the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners, (NAMM), Captain Ade Olopoenia said the collaboration is one of the requirement of the International Maritime Organization, (IMO).
- Olopoenia said that the IMO requirement stipulates that countries work modalities of recognising each certificate so that seafarers can either work on board vessels belonging to the collaborating country or take career advancing examinations.
- With the signing of the agreement, Nigerian seafarers are now allowed to write some of their examination in the United Kingdom.
- He explained that partnership is about the Standards of Training, Certification & Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention drafted in 1978.
- It established such things as the requirement for 4 years of experience for a Master 1600 gt license.The big change came in 1995 when the US Coast Guard approached the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and asked it to amend the convention. Significant changes were made at the convention.
- The STCW 95 amendments did not have to be ratified like the original convention because it was an amendment to an existing convention.
“The amendments, however, completely re-wrote enforcement related to the Convention, and more importantly created an STCW Code (similar to the USCG licensing regulations) that set stringent standards for mariners to meet.” he added
Source: Vanguard
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