Sierra Leone: The Sierra Leone Maritime Administration (SLMA) on Friday 23rd April 2021 unveiled two young Sierra Leonean Seafarers, Navigator Nabieu Bangura and Marine Engineer Lamin Umaru Kanu some 46 years since the country last produced and sent representatives to serve as Sea Captain abroad, according to Executive Director, Paul S. Massaquoi.
Seafarers are the Cadet/Staff working on big international vessels flying flags of different countries. SLMA was born out of the Sierra Leone Port Authority through an Act of Parliament 20 years ago he said.
Both Navigator Nabieu Bangura and Marine Engineer Lamin Umaru Kanu are graduates from Fourah Bay College University of Sierra Leone and also the Regional Maritime University in Ghana where they obtained Masters degrees and required qualifications to serve as Seafarers.
According to him, this is one of the biggest achievements of SLMA for decades and a history made by the country based on the importance of this success, disclosing that Sierra Leone as a coastal state of the International Maritime Organisation and also member of the Regional Maritime University.
The SLMA Executive Director said as a member of an International Institution they are bound by International Regulations and laws, 25 of which the country had ratified but not even one has been domesticated, which was why when they took up office they decided to commence the process of domesticating two of the ratified treaties.
This is responsible for the country’s huge loss over the years on the blue economy he said, explaining that Liberia is at the top in the region and second in the world when it comes to maritime, whiles Sierra Leone sits at the bottom and blacklisted due to none domestication of the treaties being ratified at the international level.
He said the blacklisting would prevent international liners from entering the country’s sea, which eventually affects the country’s economy negatively, assuring that unveiling and sending the first set of seafarers will create the platform for Sierra Leone to be whitelisted.
“Among the 400 international vessels that are flying the flag of Sierra Leone, none of them have Sierra Leoneans onboard, despite being registered under Sierra Leone” he disclosed, stating that Sierra Leone do not even boast of having one Sea Captain yet the country have engineers who also furthered their education at the Regional Maritime University in Ghana where they obtained qualification to serve as seafarers but these dreams died due to lack of attention towards the blue economy.
Massaquoi maintained that after six months service at the sea, the two Sierra Leoneans will return with different buttons, which will take them to another level and in four to five years they will be elevated to the position of Sea Captains that means huge forex inflow into the country’s economy.
“This is our dream. We are more than determined to represent Sierra Leone and also demonstrate our country’s preparedness to tap into the blue economy,” Navigator Nabieu Bangura and Marine Engineer Lamin Umaru Kanu assured, disclosed that their aim is to attain the level of Captain in the not too distant future.
They said they did special Maritime programs on Marine Engineering and Navigation in Ghana with a course name ‘Cadetships’ a Para-military for a period of two years on which they both came out with flying colors, which placed Sierra Leone at a higher height at the Regional Maritime University in Ghana. AMK/26/04/2021