The Maritime Centre of Excellence (MCOE), the training wing of the NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML) recently received international accreditation for its courses, making it first of its kind in Africa. The Managing Director of NSML, Abdulkadir Ahmed and other members of the management team shared the journey to the attainment of the accreditation and other sundry issues with some selected maritime journalists at an interactive session in Lagos. Raymond Tedunjaye reports.
Excerpt:
What is the whole idea about NSML?
Before NSML was created, even before NLNG first train was built, the NLNG shareholders acquired vessels and those vessels were manned and managed offshore. So, NSML was created with the sole purpose of domesticating international maritime skill sets, locally and providing opportunities for Nigerians to participate in that sphere.
When it was created, it was created purely from a manning point of view. So it was NLNG Ship Manning Limited. Basically, it is that entity that employed the seafarers, developed them and then deployed them onto vessels. As part of that evolution as we went along, the next step, ofcourse, is to now take over the technical management of the assets, the vessels themselves, an activity which was done by foreign companies offshore. The same process of development went through where people were developed, competencies and capacities developed and once we got to that level where we were comfortable, we now took over the technical management of the vessel and when we did that, NSML then evolved into NLNG Ship Management Limited.
As we went along, we then took over the technical management of the Bonny Terminal, and went further to set up the Maritime Centre of Excellence, which is a training consultancy and project management entity.
The entire business was centered towards providing services in-house but the evolution of the company entailed that once we are able to provide those services in-house, we are then able to now branch out and be able to provide those services externally and that also really led us to looking at our vision which is really centered around being a leading integrated and international maritime services company, supporting the growth and development of the Nigerian maritime industry and the best way we can do that is to reach out to the industry and work with the industry and provide services to the industry.
So to cut a long story short the activities of NSML isn’t just simply limited to Nigeria LNLG. Of course, NLNG will always remain a core customer but our services and activities cut beyond NLNG energy and also it is opened to third parties within the Nigerian and African energy logistic business.
Just recently NSML announced the accreditation of its training centre, the Maritime Centre Of Excellence (MCOE), by the United Kingdom Maritime & Coastguard Agency (MCA), Being the first of such accreditation in Africa,how did NSML attain this feat?
As one of the founding staff of the MCOE, we sat for an entire year, just developing the processes and the structures to actually get it to that gold standard level. MCOE accreditation is one of the highest standards you can ever see. We had support from a parent company and all of that to be able to actually achieve it. It got to the level of audits, and the audit itself was just a test of your own process of that course. And everybody that came to do the audit had said, this is absolutely fantastic, this is world class. And it was very easy for MCA to just come. They did a desktop review, and they had zero comments. And then they had the auditor come over, and he was absolutely blown away.
But then there was a lot of work at the back end just to get to that kind of standard. There are a lot of investments, a lot of hard work, and it took us about two to three years to get all the documents in a row to actually get that accreditation. So again, the accreditation is just a testament of our standard and nothing more. I think one of the errors that we see is that you see people running after accreditation without really focusing on the standard and I think it should be the other way round, you spend a lot of time getting your standard up and then you can worry about accreditation later. For us that is critical because again we have assets, we have vessels that is why it’s quite important for us.
What is the impact of the accreditation on maritime development in Nigeria?
The impact is enormous. We have been going abroad for trainings in the past and now we decided to set up the center where, we will start domesticating some of these courses. So these two courses that we’ve highlighted are those types of courses that we don’t need to send anybody abroad. You know, not only in our company, but all the other companies around. Now it has reduced about 70% of the cost of training abroad.
We’ve been inundated with several requests since we’ve made that announcement and they can all come here and do the sort of training and it’s one of those ones that they can do and then get refreshed but then again it’s for seafarers who are working as officers on board ships especially international going ships and these certifications are international certifications.
You know by domesticating the training, you cut 70% of the cost. Because usually the costs are usually your flights, your estacodes, your living expenses there. And even the training costs there are quite high.
But if you can cut all of that out, you can then cut the training to at least 30%. In our own case, what we had even seen is that it has even created access for more people to train at once. For example if you have a budget to train a certain number of people, if you have to send them abroad you can only do about five or so but if you domesticate the center you cut the cost by 30% and then, you can train a lot more people.
So for us, it was more or less like a strategy and I think it was not just in our company as the MD pointed out.
We have other IOC’s or external bodies coming to us because they have seen exactly the same value and are also cutting their costs. So, it helps and then you get the same international standard,
How prepared are you to handle pressure associated with such accreditation?
The element of accreditation is not just simply looking at your curricula. It’s about looking at your readiness. So when the MCA came to audit the MCOE, they were looking at the readiness of the institute to effectively and qualitatively provide those courses.If they felt we were not ready, if we did not have the capacity, it doesn’t matter that the curriculum is good, they wouldn’t have accredited us. So, in terms of readiness, absolutely, we are.
We wouldn’t have gone for accreditation if we were not ready. We are a training center and we’ve identified those programs, those courses that we have the capacity and the facility before we went for the accreditation. And when we went for that accreditation that was what they came to evaluate. Not just simply the curriculum, but equally the physical capacity to effectively provide those courses. So the accreditation itself tells you that we’ve been adjudged by a stringent, independent auditor to be capable.
So we are not concerned about whether it will bring challenges or we are not ready. We are ready and that was why we went for the accreditation.
The Maritime Centre of Excellence (MCOE) isn’t just a training institute, it is a Marine Project Consultancy and Training outfit, so it goes beyond just training because obviously, competence is a marketable skill especially when it comes to shipping and the MCOE is that entity within NSML that is able to provide that service of course, being the ability to provide that service requires that you have competent individuals that are constantly being trained, kept abreast of new developments so that they will continue to effectively and efficiently manage our assets as well.
What impact would this have on marketing Nigerian human capital to the global maritime industry?
Part of the things we are doing of course is first things first. You have to be relevant at home before you can seek relevance outside. All we are putting in place is to ensure we have the right set of skill sets, the right set of competencies, the right set of standards, the right set of capabilities to provide the world-class service in our local environment, and then we can expand. We’re in discussions with various entities across Africa today, recognizing what we can do. But again, part of the discussion is bringing people to the table, we cannot do it alone some of it will be through partnership, through joint ventures, through collaboration, but there’s so much that can be done within the context of Africa. As I’ve said we are in the energy logistic business and as you rightly pointed out, so Nigeria is the African hub for energy logistics.
So there’s so much that can be done to turn Nigeria into that global hub for not energy, but equally the logistic business. It takes more than one, it takes more than us, it’s about working together with others but most importantly collaborating with the government and what we are doing now is trying to make Nigeria a home for qualified seafarers, just like the Philippines.
You go to the Philippines; they control seafarers at home. So now we are bringing that home to Nigeria by having this specialized training.
What are your challenges?
We see the shipping and marine business as a business like any business with opportunities and with opportunities, come challenges. However, our role is to simplify challenges. So, there are challenges obviously within the context of shipping challenges and those challenges are not peculiar to us. It is an industry set of challenges. One of them is regulation; fast evolving regulation. Regulations are changing. New regulations are being put in place.
There are also the peculiarities of the ease of doing business in Nigeria but like I’ve always said, the essence of business is to find solutions to challenges because if there are no challenges, then we won’t be in business so those challenges from our point of view are also opportunities. For example, Nigeria is a country with more than 200 million people.
From the last count, I think 60% are below the age of 30. So we have a large pool of young people that have the capacity to be seafarers. It’s about providing them the opportunity.
So yes, there are challenges of skilled manpower. The training center is basically aimed or targeted at least addressing
Can your vessel compete with international flags?
Absolutely, we are already competing internationally right, we’re not just simply competing on cost but also completion, on quality and competence.
How many vessels do you have under the management of NSML and how many cadets have benefited under your seating training in vessels?
That’s an easy one. So currently we have 11 LNG vessels under our management and two LPG vessels, 13 under our management and of course the goal is to expand.
I am sure some of you remember that recently we took over the technical management of one of the most advanced LNG vessels in the world and these are new vessels that are cutting edge in terms of efficiency, decarbonization, and carbon emission.
So we are one of the few ship management companies that have those kinds of vessels under our management today. We’re hopeful we’ll take a second one sometime next year.
But most importantly we are equally diversifying our vessel, the type of vessels that we manage, which is why we have now moved into managing LPG vessels. We have two vessels under our management.
We are hopeful because LPG again is something within the African setting, we believe is a good area. So we are quite hopeful that in the next year or so we’ll have a couple more coming to our management.
With regard to the number of cadets that have been on our vessels, it’s over 200 in the last six to seven years. We typically do between 40 and 50 cadets a year.
In Nigeria, we have a poor maintenance culture. What measures have you put in place to maintain these standards?
This is probably the most difficult question that has been asked all morning, but thanks for that question and again you’re right that it’s not just simply about achieving accreditation and I always tell the team, it’s not the fact that you’ve crossed the war ever especially in an environment that is ever moving. You can’t stay still, so you have to go back to fundamentals and I’ve always said fundamentals in the shipping industry start with standards competence and capacity. So, the best way to ensure we maintain that is to continuously train, retrain and develop our people. Those are the standards, especially in an environment that is fast evolving. So for us, maintaining the standards of this accreditation, actually we want to even expand it. Today we’ve only accredited two courses. The plan is to ensure that all the courses at that center is fully accredited. And accreditation is not just about your systems, it is also about your processes but most importantly about your people. So you have to continuously invest in those three. Systems, processes, people. And that’s the best way you can ensure that you maintain it.
If you slack in any one of those areas, then the standards will drop. And for us in MCOE, before we even went for accreditation, we focused on those standards.
We focused on developing our systems. We focused on putting in place an enriched and appropriate set of processes. But most importantly, we focused on developing our people.
We cannot stand still so that’s the best way to ensure that we maintain that creation envision, you know, a kind of synergy where you can use this competence to create something in here, isn’t just about one entity or two entities. It’s about really bringing everybody to the table; from the regulators to the players to everybody; alignment of efforts by various entities, players, both public and private sector. For us in NSML, and I really always go back to that foundation, that purpose, the domestication of international maritime skill sets locally and I’ve always said your local environment is in your hand, it is what you define it to be.
Where do you see NSML in the next 10 years?
Well, let me start with what I would suggest is in my field, my area of expertise, which is where I expect NSML to be in the next 10 years.
NSML as an entity started out as a ship mining entity. And we then evolved into a ship management entity.
And now, we as an integrated marine, shipping and marine services company, being able to provide a plethora of shipping and marine services. I don’t want us to end up assuming NSML is a training entity, no. Maritime training is an aspect of shipping and marine services. So, where do I see NSML in next 10 years? Basically we are already on that path towards being an integrated shipping and marine services entity able to provide all the plethora of shipping and marine services both offshore and internationally. Of course, our core business still remains the technical management of vessels, that is the foundation of our business and we’ll continue to do that but part of our growth and diversification is to go into Terminal management, which we are already in, in terms of Marine Projects and Consultancy, which the MCOE is into, vessel design, construction supervision, all of those activities that we are into. We’re equally expanding into offshore support. Tugboat services, we already managing the marine crafts, marine services in Bonny and that’s also an activity that we intend to expand into and we’re going to grow beyond who we are today to be a full-fledged integrated shipping and marine services company able to provide services both onshore and offshore, and internationally.