The Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority, Dr Kamal-Deen Ali has said Government is set to launch a National Seafarer Development Policy aimed at improving the welfare, working conditions and career prospects of Ghanaian seafarers.
He disclosed this during activities marking the International Day of the Seafarer, observed annually on June 25.
According to him, President John Mahama is expected to launch the policy in the coming months as part of efforts to strengthen Ghana’s maritime workforce and increase the country’s participation in the global shipping industry.
Dr Kamal-Deen said the policy will provide a comprehensive roadmap for promoting Ghanaian seafarers, creating employment opportunities, among other benefits.
“It will show the action plans that we will take to promote, first and foremost, Ghanaian seafarers and to increase our world tally of seafarers. It will also show how this country can benefit economically from the remittances of seafarers,” he said.
Acknowledging that several prospective seafarers face challenges accessing funding opportunities because maritime training institutions, such as the Regional Maritime University, are not covered by some existing national educational financing schemes, he noted that the Authority is considering a support mechanism, which could take the form of a loan or grant system, to assist students pursuing maritime careers.
Beyond the proposed policy, he indicated that other initiatives are being developed to strengthen the welfare and social protection of seafarers.
“Contributing means that they can contribute, yet not a tier one, they can contribute tier two and tier three. We should be able to create a fund to cover certain emergencies. For example, if a Ghanaian seafarer needs to be evacuated from Rotterdam to Ghana because of a medical situation, we should be able to help in doing that.”
On gender inclusion, Dr Kamal-Deen said the Authority has intensified efforts to increase opportunities for women in the maritime sector.
He revealed that the Ghana Maritime Authority now encourages shipping companies engaging Ghanaian seafarers to reserve opportunities for women and has initiated mentorship programmes to support their professional development.
“One of the things that we have done since we entered office is that whenever we engage a shipping company to open or to get opportunities for our seafarers, we insist that a good number of them must be women also,” he noted.
He continued: “We have also started engagement that is looking into the welfare of women, and the Ghana Maritime Authority has brought them on board so that we can create guidance, we can create mentors for them to look up to.”
By Samuel Yeboah Adams
