Master Mariners blame lack of accommodation on board ships for decline in female Seafarers

By Dapo Olawuni

The Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) has said that most vessels in operation and even those recently being built do not have provisions for the accommodation of female seafarers.

President of the association, Capt Tajudeen Alao in a chat with our correspondent last week said that this was one of the factors responsible for the global decline in female participation in the seafaring profession.

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has raised concerns about the low level of participation by females in the seafaring profession and has, selected tagged the 2019 Day of the Seafarers as “On board with gender equality”

Nigeria is expected to join the rest of the world in commemorating the Seafarers Day 2019 celebration on 25th of June (Tuesday) 2019.

Speaking with our correspondent, Capt Alao said that there is a decline in female seafarers due to lack of planning on the part of the Federal Government.

He lamented that female seafarers, especially in Nigeria are not well treated.

He noted that many female cadets are being admitted and graduated yearly at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) Oron, even as some of them were trained in the Philippines under a scheme tagged National Seafarers Development Program (NSDP)

The NSDP is a pet project of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) geared towards addressing the dearth of seafarers in Nigeria.

Speaking on the woes of female seafarers, Captain Alao told our correspondent that “The issue is lack of planning. Female cadets went to MAN Oron, female cadets were sent to Philippines, but accommodation for females on board were not considered as constraints when employing these young ladies, there is no provision on old ships at all”

“Even as a policy now, no provision is made for new built ships, and you cannot get seatime in the office”

“IMO and shipowners must provide for these lapses in new ships being built”