By Elizabeth Larkwor Baah, GNA
Tema, Aug. 24, GNA – Captain Dallas Laryea, the Regional Coordinator for West and Central Africa at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), says seafarer assessment, examination and certification systems must evolve to keep pace with rapid technological developments in the maritime industry.
Captain Laryea said the growing use of automation, digital technologies, autonomous shipping and alternative fuel sources was changing the skills required of seafarers; hence, the need to ensure that maritime professionals remained competent and capable of performing their duties safely.
He said this at the Regional Maritime University during a regional workshop on seafarer assessment, examination and certification, organised to strengthen the capacity of maritime administrations and training institutions in line with international standards.
The one-week training captured maritime administrations, training institutions and other industry stakeholders, with participants drawn from maritime professionals and representatives from Cabo Verde, Angola, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Ghana during the IMO Model Course 3.12 training.
He said shipping was an international industry that depended on globally recognised standards to ensure that seafarers, regardless of where they were trained, acquired the knowledge and skills required to operate vessels safely and efficiently.
He said the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for seafarers’ convention remained the cornerstone of international standards governing the training, assessment and certification of seafarers, saying that the maritime industry was undergoing significant transformation, which required corresponding changes in the way seafarers were trained and assessed.
The future seafarers would increasingly require competencies in digital technologies, cybersecurity, data management and remote operations, in addition to traditional maritime skills; as such, assessment systems must therefore be designed to determine whether seafarers possessed the competencies required to work effectively in an industry that was becoming increasingly technology-driven, he said.
The IMO official said the adoption of the Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships Code, known as the MASS Code, in May 2026 further demonstrated the need for maritime training and certification systems to respond to emerging technologies, explaining that as ships became increasingly autonomous, the responsibilities and competencies required of maritime personnel would also change.
He also identified the transition to alternative fuel sources as another development that would require changes in maritime training and assessment and therefore encouraged maritime administrations and training institutions to continuously review their assessment and certification systems to ensure that they remained relevant to developments within the industry.
Captain Laryea said IMO Model Courses continued to provide useful guidance to member states and maritime training institutions seeking to improve the quality, consistency and credibility of seafarer certification processes.
He stated that the regional workshop would enhance the capacity of participants to conduct effective assessment and examination while providing an opportunity for participating countries to exchange experiences and review their existing practices.
Captain Laryea urged participants to actively participate in the discussions and share their experiences to help strengthen maritime administration capacity across the region.
He said stronger assessment and certification systems would contribute to safer and more sustainable shipping by ensuring that only competent personnel were certified to perform duties onboard vessels.
He commended the Ghana Maritime Authority for its continued support for regional maritime activities and for providing a platform for capacity building within the West and Central African maritime community, adding that the knowledge and experience gained from the workshop would contribute to strengthening certification systems and preparing the maritime workforce for the technological demands of the future.
GNA
Edited by Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo/ Christabel Addo
Reporter: Elizabeth Larkwor Baah, GNA
[email protected]
