The Shippers Association, Lagos State (SALS) on Thursday suggested a new port order for the Nigerian ports, to streamline maritime activities, in line with international standards.
The President of the association, Mr Jonathan Nicol, made the suggestion in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
“The greatest problem we have in this industry is that we always have people who are not fit in maritime administration because they are not groomed.
“You don’t really make progress if you actually meet people not on ground to continue with a system that will last for posterity.
“We need well-qualified individuals to man all the government agencies in the maritime industry,’’ Nicol told NAN.
He said that directors in maritime parastatals with requisite qualifications would assist the government to achieve its aims of making the maritime industry a hub in West Africa.
Nicol commended the organisers of the Nigerian Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), for their efforts in ensuring that government provides the industry with training vessels.
The shipper told NAN that the training vessels would expose the cadets to sea-time training, adding that Nigeria could afford to buy such vessels.
He said Nigerian cadets should complete the training package by using the nation’s ocean-going vessels which could also pick up bulk cargo or move petroleum products.
Nicol warned that a `league of half-trained seafarers’ was not healthy for the nation’s shipping community.
The shipper, however, said that government was weary in putting down money to purchase training vessels.
According to him, this is because the previous training vessel which government bought was not properly managed.
Nicol said, “a single vessel can train more than 36 cadets, while a big vessel can train about 74 cadets’’.
