‘85% Of Officers Onboard NSML Vessels Is Nigerians’

The NLNG Shipping and Marine Services Ltd (NSML) said it met its Nigerianisation target of having 85 per cent of Nigerian officers onboard its vessels in December 2022.

Abdulkadir Ahmed, managing director/CEO of NSML told newsmen in Lagos at the weekend, during the NSML Fleet Officers Conference gala night, that the company’s Nigerianisation target is about having a full spectrum of Nigerian officers to manage NSML vessels but as an international company involved in international business, a certain number was reserved for foreign seafarers.

“We put the target at 85 per cent while the 15 per cent is reserved for foreign seafarers to have that cultural mixed. We attained 85 percent of Nigerian officers onboard our vessels in December 2022 and we are still maintaining that.

He said the conference, which takes place every two years, gives the company the opportunity to bring officers onboard vessels together to interact with the leadership in the office, socialise, review the performance of the company, and chart the way forward.

“Our officers are an essential part of our business because they lead and manage our very important asset, which is the vessel. The idea of the Officers’ conference was because they are always at sea and going from one port to another, which is why every two years, we try to bring them ashore to spend some time with us in the office.

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“This is about the fourth edition because we were not able to hold it in 2021 due to COVID-19,” he said.

He said seafaring is an international profession that is regulated by an international body and there are minimum requirements that every seafaring training institution must meet.

“The standard is uniform globally. There is nothing like the Nigerian standard in seafarers’ training. So, the Maritime Academy of Nigeria complies with the standard. They also offer that international certification, which every officer onboard an oceangoing vessel must have,” Ahmed said.

The Officers’ Conference is held both locally and internationally. The company held the international version earlier in October in London.

In each of the Officers’ Conferences, the company tries to have a mix of seafarers in attendance. For instance, at the Nigerian Officers Conference, the majority of officers in attendance were Nigerians but the company brought in foreign officers to join them while some Nigerian officers were also taken to attend the international conference that was meant for foreign officers.