Charkin Maritime Academy gets NBTE accreditation for ND programmes

• Fixes date for entrance examination

Charkin Maritime Academy (CMA), a maritime education and training institution situated in Port Harcourt, at the weekend made public its interim accreditation from the National Board for Technical Education (NBTE).

The accreditation from the NBTE is for CMA to run two critical National Diploma (ND) programmes, namely Nautical Science and Marine Engineering, according to a statement from the institution.

CMA is one of the first private maritime academies in Nigeria to be given accreditation by the NBTE to run Diploma programmes in the two courses.

Already, the school has kick-started the process of admitting fresh students for the 2021/2022 academic session just as it has fixed February 13, 2021 as the date for its entrance examination.

A statement signed by the Acting Provost of CMA, Dr. Egben Okore, stated that with the NBTE accreditation, more Nigerians and foreigners intending to build a rewarding career at sea could now be trained in the noble profession of the shipmaster and marine chief engineer without leaving the shores of Nigeria to spend foreign currency for the same training.

Founder of CMA, Sir (Dr) Charles K. Wami, said, “Receiving accreditation from the NBTE to offer National Diploma in Nautical Science and Marine Engineering in the academy in 2020 has been one of my happiest moments in my four years as CMA Founder

“Our passion to build capacity for the Nigerian maritime industry and the need to fill the gap in unmet demands for the admission of young Nigerian school leavers into institutions of higher learning helped us in no small way. I could not be happier for the academy, her Governing Council, the Academic Board and Staff.”

Wami said to achieve this feat ans sustain the tempo, CMA gave it all in terms of building training infrastructures such as modern classrooms, 200 – capacity cadets’ hostel and dining saloon, modern library, marine engineering laboratories and workshops as well as multi-purpose hall.

Others were the recruitment of qualified and experienced staff (including Master Mariners, Marine Chief Engineers and Maritime Education and Training Experts); procurement of teaching aids, especially marine simulators, namely Full Mission Bridge; Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS); Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) ; Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD); and high voltage; basic and advance dynamic positioning simulators.

The Founder also disclosed that within the same period, the management of the CMA constructed additional two standard Survival Pools, lifeboats, life crafts and launching davits; as well as marine diesel engine models.

According to him, CMA entered into a partnership with international shipping companies to provide sea time experience for the cadets.

He stated that all these were carried out in line with NBTE guidelines for the approval and accreditation of new programmes for the school.

CMA owned by Charkin Maritime and Offshore Safety Centre (CMOSC) was founded by Wami in 2016.

The CMOSC is a training centre that has accreditation from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Offshore Petroleum Industry Training Organization (OPITO), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR); the Nautical Institute (NI) of London, among others to train maritime and offshore industry practitioners.

The CMOSC is a two-time NIMASA award winner for the “Best Maritime Education and Training Institution of the Year,” among other awards from international oil companies (IOCs) and other maritime organizations, according to the statement.

“It is on record that CMOSC has trained over 12,000 Nigerians and foreign nationals both in STCW maritime courses as well as oil and gas offshore courses between 2015 and 2019,” it added.