Maritime Academy Targets Global Seafarer Competitiveness, Places 43 Cadets Onboard Vessels
The Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) has begun a new phase of practical training for its cadets, with 43 students currently undergoing onboard training as the institution moves to bridge the gap between classroom learning and real life experience at sea.
The Head of Quality Assurance Department of the Academy, Akeem Lawal, who represented the Acting Rector, Kevin Okonna, disclosed this on Thursday at the League of Maritime Editors’ conference in Lagos, themed: Lagos/Eastern Ports: How to Reverse Existing Imbalance in Disproportionate Cargo Vessel Calls.
Lawal said the Academy is deliberately moving away from a training model centred largely on the classroom to one that exposes cadets directly to the operational realities of ships and prepares them for the changing demands of the maritime industry.
He said the Academy had begun securing vessels for its best-performing cadets, with the performance of those currently onboard being monitored through quarterly reports, adding that feedback so far indicated that the cadets were performing well. He said the initiative is part of a broader effort to ensure that graduates of the Academy could compete with maritime professionals anywhere in the world, stressing that the Academy could not afford to operate only to local standards.
Lawal said its training must remain aligned with the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, 1978, as amended, noting that international compliance remained critical to the credibility and competitiveness of Nigerian maritime professionals.
He said the Academy is also repositioning its curriculum to prepare cadets for emerging developments in shipping, particularly digitalisation and decarbonisation, as the global industry moves towards new technologies and environmental standards. Lawal explained that the transformation of the Academy is not limited to infrastructure, but also involved strengthening its quality management systems, upgrading training facilities and developing the capacity of its personnel.
He disclosed that the Academy has secured ISO 21001:2025 Education Organisation Management System certification from the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, alongside ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management System certification.
According to him, the Academy achieved the certifications without engaging external consultants, instead training 75 members of staff to become system auditors and lead auditors, a move he said had helped embed quality assurance across the institution.
Beyond its internal reforms, Lawal said MAN is expanding partnerships with maritime institutions and international organisations to improve knowledge exchange and professional development, including its participation in a World Maritime University project coordinated by the International Maritime Organisation.
He disclosed that the Academy is among five institutions selected across Africa for the project, which would provide opportunities for lecturers and students to participate in exchange programmes across Africa and Sweden, with the second phase expected to commence with another engagement in Nigeria later in the year.
Lawal also disclosed that the Academy has trained 11,788 participants online, while work was ongoing on curriculum review and other measures aimed at strengthening maritime education and training in Nigeria.
He said the Academy’s transformation is about building a new generation of maritime professionals capable of competing globally, urging maritime stakeholders and the media to pay greater attention to the progress being recorded at the institution and support efforts to project Nigeria’s maritime training capacity internationally.
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