As the rest of the world marked the 2025 Day of the Seafarer on June 25 with the theme #MyHarassment-FreeShip, many Nigerian seafarers used the opportunity not to celebrate—but to voice years of pent-up frustration.
These seafarers, particularly graduates of the government-sponsored Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), say they feel forgotten by the very agency meant to protect their interests—the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
In emotional and angry outbursts across social media and interviews, many expressed bitterness over poor wages, lack of job placements, and systemic neglect. One seafarer, who spoke anonymously to Standarddailypress for fear of retaliation, said their suffering is worsened by “enslaving manning agents” who continue to exploit them with NIMASA allegedly looking the other way.
According to him, “These agents are signing employment agreements with seafarers instead of shipowners, in clear violation of both the Maritime Labour Convention and Nigeria’s own Merchant Shipping Act. Yet, NIMASA lets it happen.”
Many of these trained seafarers remain unemployed, unable to complete the sea-time training that qualifies them for full certification. “After spending billions on training us abroad, many of us can’t return to those countries for licensing. We’re stuck, jobless, and ignored,” he added.
Another seafarer, Austine Bisong, poured his heart out in a comment on NIMASA’s Facebook post. “We earn 5 to 7 times less than foreign seafarers on the same Nigerian waters. Is that fair?” he asked.
He listed more grievances—no proper welfare, long delays in document processing, lack of cadetship placements, and deeply rooted gender discrimination. “Many of our female seafarers are never hired—just because they’re women,” he lamented.
On the same Facebook post, user Mariviation called out NIMASA for its failure to enforce compulsory cadet placement on Nigerian vessels. “Each year, you celebrate the Day of the Seafarer while the officers you trained sit at home with no license or hope for a future. It’s heartbreaking,” he wrote.
Another seafarer, OZ Stephen Ilo, didn’t mince words: “NIMASA worst pass Nigerian Police.”
Other voices echoed the same disillusionment. From Douglas Oliver who said, “I’ve never seen an agency so out of touch with its people,” to Adebayo John Kehinde who added, “Unless you have connections, you don’t stand a chance. There’s nothing to celebrate in this administration.”
They all asked a simple question: Why are foreign seafarers paid in dollars while Nigerians are paid a fraction of that?
For many of them, the pain is both economic and emotional. Trained professionals, once filled with dreams of sailing the seas in service to their country, now find themselves unemployed, underpaid, or disrespected in their own waters.
And in all this, NIMASA has remained silent.
To many seafarers, this silence speaks volumes—of an institution they say has turned its back on its people.
