The Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA) has called for stronger assessment and certification standards for seafarers to ensure that maritime personnel meet evolving international competency requirements and remain competitive in the global shipping industry.
The Deputy Director-General of the GMA, Mubarik Masawudu, said the quality of assessment was critical to maritime safety because assessors and examiners were responsible for determining whether seafarers possessed the knowledge, skills and competence required to perform their duties safely aboard vessels.
He made the call at the opening of a one-week regional familiarisation training on the assessment, examination and certification of seafarers held at the Regional Maritime University last Monday.
Organised under the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Model Course 3.12, the programme brought together assessors, examiners, instructors, maritime training institutions and officials from Ghana, Nigeria, Liberia, Cape Verde and The Gambia to strengthen regional capacity in seafarer assessment and certification.
Mr Masawudu said more than 85 per cent of goods transported globally were moved by sea, underscoring the vital role of seafarers in international trade and the socio-economic development of nations.
He said maintaining high assessment standards was therefore essential to protecting the lives of seafarers, ensuring the safety of vessels and safeguarding the goods transported by sea.
“It is important to continuously set the standards high for assessment so that we ensure the safety of the lives of seafarers aboard vessels and the security of our goods,” he said.
Technology
He indicated that rapid technological advancement, automation and changing operational requirements were transforming the maritime industry, making continuous training and professional development of assessors and examiners increasingly important.
Mr Masawudu said the growing global demand for skilled seafarers presented a significant opportunity for Africa, particularly because of the continent’s youthful population.
He said the global maritime industry was expected to require about 90,000 additional officers in 2026, while an estimated 1.9 million additional seafarers would be needed by 2050.
Standards
The IMO Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa, Captain Dallas Laryea, said the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention remained the cornerstone of international standards governing the training, assessment and certification of seafarers.
He said the maritime industry was undergoing major changes driven by automation, digitalisation and the transition to cleaner fuels, resulting in new competency requirements.
These, he said, included digital technology, cybersecurity, data management and remote operations, making it necessary for assessment systems to evolve accordingly.
New approaches
A Technical Officer of the IMO’s Maritime Training and Human Element Section and facilitator of the workshop, Milton Alfredo de Jesus Baron Perico, said the programme was designed to expose participants to current approaches to seafarer assessment, examination and certification.
He said the rapid transformation of the maritime industry required training institutions and maritime administrations to review and update their systems regularly.
The acting Vice-Chancellor of the Regional Maritime University (RMU), Dr Jethro W. Brooks Jnr, urged assessors and examiners to embrace continuous professional development, saying maritime regulations, technologies and operational requirements were constantly evolving.
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