Kenya’s Maritime Sector in Crisis, Need Urgent Reforms

By Andrew Mwangura

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

Despite Kenya’s enviable geographical position along the Indian Ocean coastline and its much-touted Blue Economy initiative, our maritime sector remains in shambles.

While officials continue to make grand pronouncements about harnessing our maritime potential, the reality on the ground or rather, at sea, tells a different story.

As someone who has worked closely with the maritime community for years, I have witnessed firsthand the systemic dysfunction that threatens not just individual careers but our nation’s maritime ambitions as a whole.

Kenyan Seafarers’ Plight

Let’s begin with the human cost. Kenyan seafarers, the backbone of our maritime industry, face a perfect storm of challenges that have left many abandoned, exploited, or forced to abandon their careers altogether.

These professionals, who spend years training and accumulating certifications at considerable personal expense, find themselves systematically excluded from employment opportunities.

Many qualified seafarers languish in unemployment while watching less qualified candidates – often those with political connections or the means to pay bribes – secure positions on vessels.

When they do find work, Kenyan seafarers frequently encounter substandard working conditions, delayed wages, and contracts that fall far short of international standards established by the Maritime Labour Convention.

The wage disparity between Kenyan seafarers and their international counterparts performing identical duties borders on discriminatory, creating a two-tier system that devalues Kenyan expertise.

Perhaps the most troubling issue is the lack of any robust support system. When faced with exploitation or abuse at sea, Kenyan seafarers have nowhere to turn.

Our government has consistently failed to establish adequate welfare mechanisms or legal protections for these workers, leaving them vulnerable to the whims of unscrupulous employers.

Broken Training Pipeline

The problems begin early in a seafarer’s career journey. The cadet nomination system for shipboard training – a critical component of maritime education – has devolved into a showcase of nepotism and corruption.

While other maritime nations have established transparent, merit-based systems for allocating these valuable training opportunities, Kenya’s approach more closely resembles a patronage network.

Deserving students from humble backgrounds, who have often made enormous sacrifices to complete their initial training, find themselves unable to secure the mandatory sea time required for certification. 

Meanwhile, those with connections or financial means jump the queue, creating a maritime elite that has more to do with who you know than what you know.

Bandari Maritime Academy (BMA), which should be a center of excellence, has instead become emblematic of our maritime sector’s broader problems.

The institution suffers from outdated curricula, inadequate training facilities, and leadership that appears more interested in maintaining the status quo than driving innovation. 

Despite significant investments and partnerships announced with fanfare, the actual quality of education remains stagnant.

This problem extends beyond Bandari to numerous private Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions that have sprung up across the country.

Many operate with inadequate oversight, producing graduates with certificates but without the practical skills and knowledge necessary to compete in the global maritime industry.

The Kenya Maritime Authority’s failure to enforce rigorous standards has allowed these substandard institutions to proliferate, flooding the market with poorly trained seafarers who struggle to find employment.

Leadership Vacuum

At the heart of these failures, lies a profound leadership crisis across multiple institutions. The Kenya National Shipping Line (KNSL) which should be our flagship maritime enterprise, has been reduced to a shell of its former self through years of mismanagement. 

Despite repeated promises of revival, KNSL remains virtually non-existent in international shipping, a victim of leadership that lacks both maritime expertise and business acumen.

The Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) tasked with regulating the sector and ensuring compliance with international standards has similarly faltered under leadership that appears disconnected from the realities of modern maritime operations.

The authority has failed to effectively advocate for Kenyan seafarers, enforce standards for training institutions, or develop policies that would enable Kenya to compete globally.

This leadership vacuum extends to the State Department of Shipping and Maritime Affairs, where middle-level officials seem more versed in bureaucratic procedures than maritime affairs.

The department has consistently failed to articulate a coherent vision for Kenya’s maritime future or develop the policy frameworks necessary to realize it. Instead, initiatives are announced with great fanfare, only to disappear without implementation.

Crewing Agent Problem

Perhaps nowhere is the exploitation of seafarers more evident than in the operations of manning and crewing agents. 

These intermediaries, who connect seafarers with employment opportunities, often operate with minimal oversight and accountability.

Many charge exorbitant fees, misrepresent contract terms, and provide little to no support once seafarers are deployed.

The situation has become so dire that many Kenyan seafarers now view these agents as predators rather than facilitators.

Some agents have been known to confiscate seafarers’ documents, demand kickbacks from wages, or abandon seafarers in foreign ports when problems arise.

Yet despite numerous complaints, regulatory authorities have taken little meaningful action to reign in these practices.

The Path Forward

The situation may seem bleak, but solutions are within reach if there is political will to implement them.

First and foremost, we need a complete overhaul of leadership across key maritime institutions, bringing in professionals with actual maritime expertise rather than political appointees. 

These institutions need leaders who understand both the technical aspects of maritime operations and the global business environment in which they operate.

Second, we must establish transparent, merit-based systems for both cadet nominations and seafarer recruitment.

This requires not just new policies but robust oversight mechanisms to ensure compliance. 

An independent seafarer welfare board, with actual enforcement powers, could go a long way toward addressing the exploitation that has become normalized.

Third, the government must invest in upgrading our maritime education infrastructure to meet international standards. 

This means not just new equipment and facilities but also curriculum reform and faculty development. Without qualified instructors and modern training tools, we cannot produce seafarers who can compete globally.

Finally, we need comprehensive regulatory reform for crewing agents, with strict licensing requirements, regular audits, and severe penalties for violations. 

The current system of self-regulation has clearly failed; it’s time for government to step in and protect its citizens.

Kenya’s maritime potential remains largely untapped, not because of external constraints but because of our own failings in leadership, governance, and vision. 

As we watch neighboring countries develop thriving maritime sectors, we must ask ourselves whether we are willing to make the difficult changes necessary to compete.

Our seafarers deserve better. Our maritime institutions deserve better leadership. And Kenya deserves a maritime sector that reflects our potential rather than our problems.

The time for incremental change has passed; what we need now is a fundamental reimagining of how we approach maritime affairs.

The blue economy cannot be built on a foundation of corruption, incompetence, and exploitation. Until we address these core issues, Kenya’s maritime ambitions will remain just that – ambitions without achievement.

Mwangura is a maritime policy expert and advocate for seafarers’ rights of 38-plus years