STCW approval: Stars Maritime Academy completes world class swimming pool.

Segun Oladipupo

As part of measures seeking approval of the international training standards of seafarers, Star Maritime Academy (SMA) has completed the construction of a world class swimming pool .

Cartoon Strip Ad 2

This is coming after the recent completion of the Fire House which has been certified to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) standard by the apex maritime regulatory agency, Nigerian Maritime Administrator and Safety Agency (NIMASA).

The swimming pool is one of the requisite tools for training of cadets in seafaring profession across the globe.

Rector of the Academy, Professor Reuben Ovia disclosed this in interaction with journalists at the school premises in Ogun state on Friday..

He added that the institute has intensified efforts to satisfied all the requirements for attaining an International Convention on Standards of Training Certification and Watch keeping for seafarers (STCW) for the Academy.

According to the Rector, there was a fluke okay in why NIMASA is yet to issue the Academy with the certification for higher training of cadets even after acceding to the requirements for the certification

He added that it could be as a result of politics within the agency saying that the institute has committed a huge sum into satisfying all the requirements

The Rector who noted that the school was accredited by the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) for the award of Ordinary National Diploma (OND), maintained that it could serve as training institutions for people yearning for studies in maritime education.

He added that private maritime institutions could serve the purpose of providing profession courses for cadets stating that government owned schools will not be able to provide all the training for all the people that beed it.

He said the challenges affecting the academic aspect of seafaring activities were enormous , while appealing for the regulatory agency to assist in raising human capital for the maritime industry.

He lamented that management of NIMASA has continued to frustrate efforts put in place by the school to get a holistic training for cadets, while affirming that SMA needs the collaboration and cooperation from the authorities and not the pull down syndrome which the academy is battling with at the moment.

The Rector decried the failure on the part of NIMASA officials to come inspect the newly built swimming pool noting that accreditation of the maritime academy for the training of basic safety mandatory courses like STCW ’95 as amended in 2010 was needed.

Citing instances despite the completion of the swimming pool, Ovai reiterated that the school has not commenced the training on Standards Training and Watch Keeping (STCW) even as he added that letters have been written to the regulatory agency for approval yet responses have been discouraging.

“Sometimes there is the need to rethink and encourage ourselves. Encouragement does not necessarily mean giving me money but to support with the best way to success and get things done the right.

“Am not issuing STCW because I have not been approved by the regulatory agency to issue STCW to students but as a result of that we have applied three times yet one excuse to another discouraging our existence .

“We are not asking for money from the agency or anybody but encouragement. The school is trying to raise human capital and we need the cooperation of the government rather than paint the academy black and I don’t think that is difficult from the regulator”,Ovai lamented.

Giving vivid knowledge of the implications for the school to run STCW programmes when approved by the government, the Rector affirmed that the process will bring about comprehensive learning for the cadets/seafarers’ , which informed the construction of the swimming pool and fire house.

He said Nigeria has the capacity to run the National Seafarers’ Development Programme (NSDP) back home but lamenting that reverse is the case because of political undertone.