Local shipping lines and seafarers are set to benefit from increased job opportunities within African port States once the region fully implements the African Charter on Maritime Security and Safety Development.
The charter will empower Kenyan shipping lines, maritime training institutions, shipbuilders, and other maritime institutions to employ more workers and retain billions of shillings that are paid to foreign vessels.
Kenya is wooing African countries to ratify and implement the charter which will local players to undertake trans-shipments of cargo in a bid to recover a section of more than Sh600 billion revenue currently going to foreign registered vessels every year.
In the three-day Africa Maritime Cabotage and Blue Economy Conference (AMCBEC), which is being held in Mombasa and attended by representatives from 28 countries in Africa, Kenya is looking into the blue economy sector as the new frontier that would be crucial to addressing rising unemployment rate, especially among the youth.
Speaking during the official opening of the conference, Principal Secretary of State Department for Shipping and Maritime Affairs Geoffrey Kaituko said there was a need to empower local shipping lines to be able to operate within the region to improve intra-trade.
Mr Kaituko said once the charter is adopted, it will encourage local shipbuilding and ship repair, dry docking, and investment in the sector so that repairs and construction of vessels can be done here.
Kenya Maritime Authority chairman Hamisi Mwaguya said the charter will facilitate the implementation of various laws including cabotage, which has been applied in other countries with coastlines to protect their domestic shipping industry.
