By Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo
Tema, March 6, GNA – Dr Kamal-Deen Ali, Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), says Ghana is intensifying efforts to increase the number of Ghanaian seafarers on the global maritime labour market.
He said the move formed part of a broader strategy to tap into the growing international demand for seafarers and create employment opportunities for Ghanaian youth.
Speaking at a media forum powered by Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority, Dr Ali said the initiative had received strong encouragement from President John Dramani Mahama, who had shown keen interest in boosting the country’s seafaring sector.
He noted that the global economy relied heavily on shipping and that without maritime transport, international trade would not function effectively.
Dr Ali said the shipping industry offered opportunities across its value chain, including ship construction, ship management, insurance, crewing and other maritime services.
He said the global seafaring workforce stood at about 1.9 million, fairly distributed between officers and ratings, explaining that officers were management-level personnel while ratings handled operational and technical duties.
Dr Ali, a retired naval captain, said the geographical distribution of seafarers remained uneven, with about 50 per cent from Asia, 33 per cent from Europe, nine per cent from the Americas, and only four to five per cent from Africa.
He expressed concern that despite Ghana’s strong maritime history, its output of seafarers remained relatively low.
Dr Ali said Ghana currently had about 5,000 seafarers, ranking about fifth in Africa behind Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Morocco and Egypt.
He noted that Ghana had historically been a leading seafaring nation in Africa, having established the Nautical College in 1958 and operated the Black Star Line.
He said although Ghana had produced many competent captains and maritime professionals, the overall number of seafarers remained below the country’s potential.
Dr Ali noted that global demand for seafarers was rising, with an estimated shortage of between 27,000 and 30,000, expected to increase to about 90,000 by the end of the year.
He said Africa’s growing youth population positioned the continent to help fill that gap, stressing that Ghana must take advantage of the opportunity.
Dr Ali identified the acquisition of “sea time,” the mandatory practical training required for professional certification, as a major challenge for Ghanaian maritime graduates.
He explained that cadets typically studied for about four years at institutions such as the Regional Maritime University and then required about one year of sea time before obtaining certification from the GMA.
He said securing sea-time placements had been difficult because shipping companies often hesitated to allocate limited ship space to trainees.
To address the challenge, the GMA had begun directly engaging international shipping companies to secure placements for Ghanaian cadets.
Dr Ali said the Authority was expanding its role from solely regulation to also promoting seafarer development.
He said the new approach was already yielding results, with several cadets securing placements with international shipping companies, including the Kuwait Oil Tanker Company and a Saudi shipping firm.
Although some placements initially involved only a few cadets, he said they could lead to more opportunities once the trainees demonstrated their competence.
Dr Ali said cadets undertaking sea-time training were usually paid monthly stipends ranging from 500 to 1,000 US dollars.
He added that the GMA was developing a comprehensive seafarer development programme to expand training and placement opportunities for Ghanaian maritime students.
Dr Ali expressed optimism that the programme would significantly increase the number of Ghanaian seafarers working globally.
He assured that despite the Authority’s promotional efforts, its regulatory mandate would remain uncompromised, noting that Ghana had recently been recognised under the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding as the best-performing country in the West African sub-region in quality port state control inspections.
GNA
Edited by Audrey Dekalu