By Godfrey Bivbere
The Nigeria maritime industry may soon be affected by a dearth of seafarers as youths are abandoning the profession.
Vanguard Maritime Report gathered that fresh enrolments into the Maritime Academy, MAN, Oron, the nation’s premium maritime institution has gone down just as is the case with other marine training organisations, as youths no longer seem to be interested in seeking a career in the seafaring profession.
It was further gathered that the low interest followed the redundancy currently pervading the various batches of trained cadets over the years.
Enrolment in MAN before last year according to the rector, Commander Emmanuel Effedua, was about 1,800, but he noted that the number has since gone down to less than 400 this year.
However, Vanguard Maritime Report also learnt that most of the aspiring professionals in the industry are finding it difficult to fund a full-scale training and career development programme that lasts for about 10…
