Seafarer Decries Dearth Of Local Ships

A seafarer with a private shipping line, Isaac Daso, has decried the absence of Nigerian-owned ships operating on international waters.
Daso, in an interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt, Wednesday noted that the development has hindered the training of Nigerian seafarers.
He lamented that the absence of Nigerian-owned ships in international shipping trade has reduced the chances of Nigerian seafarers getting better placed positions in the shipping sector of the maritime industry.
According to him, Nigerian seafarers, who are better qualified and more experienced on the job are short-changed in the industry because they have to be subservient to seafarers of foreign descent.
He further said: ‘‘We have the manpower, we have the capacity, but we have poor reckoning all over the world because those ships operating on international waters are not owned by Nigerians’’.
Daso called on operators in the maritime industry to put their acts together and look into acquiring vessels that can be manned by capable indigenous seafarers.
He appealed to government to put policies in place to enhance Nigerians’ capability of owning international shipping lines.

Tonye Nria-Dappa