This archive report was first published on 7 July 2019.
President Uhuru Kenyatta will on Monday commission the Bandari Maritime Academy at the Kilindini Port in Mombasa County, marking a significant step towards addressing the shortage of qualified seafarers in Kenya and the region.
The academy, previously known as Bandari College, is a centre of excellence in maritime training and was established as part of ongoing reforms in the maritime transport industry in the country.
According to a gazette notice issued on November 16, 2018, the institution aims to be an institution of excellence in teaching, training, scholarship, innovation, and research in maritime skills.
Kenya's blue economy sector has the potential to contribute up to $4.8 billion to the country's GDP and create over 52,000 jobs in the next 10 years, making it an important sector in the growth and development of the economy.
President Kenyatta appointed Prof Muragu Kinandu as the chair of the Bandari Maritime Academy board for a period of three years starting May 3, 2019.
Kenya needs to streamline the recruitment and training of seafarers to take up emerging job opportunities in the country's off-shore oil and gas exploitation.
According to the International Chamber of Shipping, African seafarers make up less than 25,000 of the world's 1.5 million seafarers, with South Africa having only 1,500 seafarers and numbers from Kenya, Ghana, and Nigeria combined being much lower.
