Shipping career summit to unveil opportunities in maritime sector

The 2014 edition of the Annual Shipping Career Summit organised by Ships & Ports Communication Company Limited is expected to empower participants, especially youths, to take advantage of opportunities in Nigeria’s maritime sector through mentoring.

Bolaji Akinola, chief executive officer, Ships & Ports Communication, who disclosed this, said the annual summit was created to enlighten Nigerians on the various career and investment opportunities that abound in the nation’s maritime sector, adding that this year’s edition, eighth in the series, would hold at the Petroleum Training Institute (PTI) in Effurun, Delta State, on August 21, 2014.

According to him, Nigerians should ordinarily not have any business with poverty or unemployment considering the country’s vast resources, especially in the maritime sector.

“The maritime sector is where every attention should now be focused. Those who rule the seas rule the world. If we truly desire to become one of the top 20 economies of the world by 2020, we must pay closer attention to our maritime sector,” Akinola said.

Nigeria’s maritime sector, according to him, is endowed with enormous natural resources, which provide great potentials and opportunities necessary to achieve sustainable growth and development.

“Our country is blessed with a vast coastline of about 850 kilometres and an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of well over 300,000 square kilometres. The country also has navigable inland waterways of 3,000 kilometres, eight major seaports, 11 oil terminals, and over 170 private jetties, as well as six major Inland Container Depots (ICDs), and two Inland Freight Stations,” he said.

Giving an insight into the genesis of the summit, Akinola said the maiden edition was held in Lagos in July 2006, the second edition was held in Abuja in July 2007, third edition in Ibadan in July 2008, and fourth edition in Ilorin in June 2009. The summit has also been hosted in Abeokuta, Yenagoa and Makurdi in 2010, 2011 and 2012, respectively.

He said Warri was chosen for this year’s event “because of its large population of youths and because it is a natural maritime domain with ports in Warri, Koko and Burutu; a maritime university; several maritime training institutions; the NIMASA shipyard and several shipping operations domiciled in the state”.

Career and investment opportunities to be discussed at the summit, according to Akinola, include investment/business opportunities in the maritime industry, opportunities in non-oil export, ship handling, engineering career at sea, and building a career in seafaring.