- She said the old seafarers should be given room to practice and also help young people join the sector
- The union has urged the national government to create job opportunities locally for young and old seafarers
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The Seafarers' Union leaders have raised concern over their members' employment and certification issues.
Secretary general Atia Swaleh said so many of their members are jobless due to lack of certification.
She said Kenya has very skilled seafarers but the government has not prioritised their needs.
"Some seafarers have certificates but are jobless because of age limits yet we know that the only thing that can prevent us from working is a medical problem," Swaleh said.
She said the old seafarers should be given room to practice and also help young people join the sector.
The union has urged the national government to create job opportunities locally for young and old seafarers.
"If the international vessels and shipping companies cannot give our seniors job opportunities because of age limit, let the local shipping companies groom the young seafarers joining the space," Swaleh said.
"There are so many institutes training seafarers but what next after the training?"
The law requires seafarers to go for evaluation after every five years.
The evaluation is to determine if a person is physically fit and can sail.
"I suggest all partners sit down and dialogue with local companies to create jobs for seafarers,"
"We have so many seafarers who are unable to pay back their loans due to lack of stable incomes. Some cannot even access the loans," she said.
She urged all seafarers to remain united and disciplined to achieve their goals.
The Kenya Maritime Authority is looking into improving maritime education and training in the country.
Safety director Julius Koech said the organisation wiil uplift its training to international standards to make the seafarers more marketable.
"We have been advocating and championing mutual recognition agreements with other nations. Most recent move is the MoU the government signed with Korea to mutually recognise each other's certificates. This has opened up opportunities for Kenya's seafarers to sail on South Korean plug vessels," he said.
"We also have an agreement with one of the largest ship owning nations, Panama. Seafarers with Kenyan certificates are now able to sail on Panamanian ships and countries such as Jamaica. Another agreement with Liberia is almost being finalised."
Koech said that they are also putting in place different strategies to enhance safety and encourage safety culture both in the merchant ships and small vessels.
The Maritime education, training and labor director Peter Munga said that there has been efforts to support seafarers who are important people not only in the maritime sector but also to the economy of the country.
"Many countries do not get involved in looking for seatime opportunities for their seafarers but in Kenya, the government has been on the forefront to look for opportunities. This is a very unique," he said.
Koech said the authority will continue pushing for Kenyans to get the existing opportunities.
"The Kenya seafarers is a brand, just the way it takes time to build a brand, that is the same way we need to deal with seafarers. You cannot take seafarers whose work is not well known in a ship. With time, we will improve the quality of our training and maintain the discipline of our seafarers," he said.
He urged investors to tap into the maritime sector by putting their money in ships.
As KMA and with the strategic plan in place, he said, they have plans to purchase ships to ensure they have opportunities for Kenyan seafarers.