Jamaica and Kenya sign MOU for Reciprocal Recognition of STCW Certificates for Seafarers by Nationals
signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Maritime Authority of Jamaica.
The Maritime Authority of Jamaica has today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Republic of Kenya to enable reciprocal recognition of STCW certificates for seafarers for their nationals.
On behalf of the Jamaican Government, MAJ Director General, Rear Admiral (ret’d) Peter Brady, signed the MOU during a ceremony conducted online due to pandemic restrictions. Nancy Karigithu, the Principal Secretary in the Kenyan State Department of Shipping and Maritime, signed on behalf of the Republic of Kenya, accompanied by Robert Njue, the newly-appointed Director General of the Kenya Maritime Authority.
The agreement means that Jamaican seafarers will now be able to serve on Kenyan-flagged vessels, and vice-versa. This undertaking is unique in that it establishes a Joint Committee on Shipping and Maritime Affairs. The joint committee’s mandate is not limited to the review of the implementation of the undertaking but extends to conducting joint studies in the field of maritime transport and facilitating discussions of maritime safety, security, education and training.
Describing the event as “symbolic of the relationship between our two countries”, Admiral Brady said: “The Maritime Authority of Jamaica, and by extension the Government of Jamaica, is tremendously proud to participate in this official signing ceremony between the Republic of Kenya and Jamaica. This is a significant occasion for both our countries’ seafarers and indeed our respective maritime parent bodies and Governments as we utilize the facility of the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers to allow our professional mariners to legally work on board the ships that are flagged by our two countries.
“We are linked by our past and we are determined to move our economies into the future by building partnerships and leveraging the maritime opportunities that abound in the global sphere,” he said.
Praising the “mutual benefits which will accrue under this arrangement”, Mrs Karigithu said: “We truly appreciate that going forward, the citizens of our two great nations can draw benefits in terms of maritime education and job opportunities in the shipping industry, following the execution of the undertaking on the recognition and endorsement of certificates as prescribed under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978, as amended”
Jamaica is a signatory to numerous International Maritime Organization (IMO) Conventions, many of which are now enshrined in its Shipping Act and regulations made thereunder. One such Convention is the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 as amended,( STCW Convention). This Convention establishes the minimum standards for the training and certification of seafarers who must meet the qualifications for operating international seagoing ships in the nautical and marine engineering departments of these ships.
The Convention, through a reciprocal provision, affords the employment of nationals on any vessel which trades internationally and for countries to recognize the qualifications of other nations’ seafarers whom they may employ on their respective ships. Jamaica now has undertakings for the recognition of certification under the Convention with nineteen countries including the United Kingdom. This allows its nationals, who have been awarded Certificates of Competency (COC) by the Maritime Authority of Jamaica, to work on the ships of these countries with whom it has a reciprocal arrangement, through the facility of the STCW Convention.
The Republic of Kenya, through the office of Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing Urban Development and Public works, State Department of Shipping and Maritime, Principal Secretary, requested to enter into a MOU with Jamaica to provide for reciprocal arrangements under the STCW Convention for their respective seafarers to work on board ships flagged by the two countries.
Admiral Brady commented: “We recognize that our seafarers must be trained and certified according to the standards laid down by the STCW Convention if international recognition is to be maintained. Our approved maritime institutions, represented here today by the Kenya Maritime Authority and the Caribbean Maritime University, and our administrations are recognized by the IMO’s panel of competent persons and are on IMO’s white list of countries which are deemed to give full and complete effect to the STCW Convention, as amended. This is very critical because internationally trading ships operate at global standards required by international rules and measures promulgated in treaties or conventions by the International Maritime Organization (IMO), and both our countries have acceded to the STCW Convention which has been enshrined in our respective domestic laws.
Left to right: Captain Steven Spence, Director of Safety, Environment and Certification; Bertrand Smith, Director of Legal Affairs;
Rear Admiral (Ret’d) Peter Brady, Director General
“I am proud to say, both Kenya and Jamaica proudly serve on the IMO governing body as Council members. This places an extra obligation on us to ensure that, among other areas of maritime safety and security and the observation of the highest marine environmental standards at sea, Kenyan and Jamaican seafarers who operate the ships which conduct global trade must also maintain their quality standards as highly trained seafarers with internationally recognized certificates of competence duly awarded by our respective Administrations.
It is hoped that this Undertaking will serve to strengthen our maritime relationships that will redound to our two countries’ economies and serve to build further cooperation in many other areas.”
