The highly anticipated meeting between the Ghana Maritime Authority and the International Maritime Employers’ Council (IMEC), took place on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, at the Conference Hall of the Authority.

The IMEC delegation, led by Head of Training, Mr. Rob Gale, was accompanied by Captain Joshua Addo, Managing Director of Bernhardt Schulte ShipManagement.

The delegation was warmly received by the Director-General of the Authority, Mr. Thomas K. Alonsi, together with Management Members and Staff of the Maritime Services Division.

The IMEC operates from offices in Hampshire in the United Kingdom and in Manila, Philippines, representing over 250 shipping companies worldwide. Some of these shipping companies are employers of Ghanaian seafarers and seafarers trained in Ghana and have acquired the country’sCertificates of Competencies (COCs).

Collaborative efforts by stakeholder organisations to ensure that the rights of seafarers are properly streamlined to bring about fair employment conditions, have gained prominence in recent years.

This has in the past been the preoccupation of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) since 2006, enacting the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC) as the fourth pillar of International Maritime Law, to ensure better working and living conditions for seafarers. The other three pillars are the SOLAS, STCW and MARPOL Conventions.

As a concerned maritime country, Ghana has taken steps to domesticate other maritime labour-related Conventions like the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (no. 188), which is currently with the Parliamentary Select Committee on Transport, awaiting approval.

Ghana has as well initiated processes to ratify the ILO Convention 185. This Convention is a revision of the Seafarers’ Identity Documents, 1958, and is also at the stakeholder consultation stage.

The convergence of the Industry’s Experts at the Authority served a number of purposes. It explored opportunities and advancements for Cadetship Programmes offered in Ghana by the Regional Maritime University and discussed challenges and achievements within the country’s Maritime Labour workforce.

It furthermore sought to exchange knowledge, identify potential solutions to bottlenecks and fortify Ghana’s Maritime Sector. This is expected to pave way for a prosperous and resilient Maritime Industry.

The training regimen Seafarers receive in Ghana through the Regional Maritime University has left an indelible mark on the minds of maritime employers globally. It will be recalled that last year, officials of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association let loose a volley of praise for Ghanaian seafarers they oversee and singled them out as the best they have worked with.

Again, the heroics of seven (7) Ghanaian Seafarers who braved the odds in November 2022, to save drowning illegal immigrants crossing the English Channel from the French archipelagos, also drew the world’s attention to the expertise of Ghana trained Seafarers.