Concerns as unlicensed firm recruits seafarers

Former Seafarers Union of Kenya Secretary General Steve Owaki (left) and young sea cadets during a media briefing in Mombasa where they called on the government to speed up the issuance of seafarers identification documents. [File, Standard]

Veteran seafarers and maritime experts have sounded the alarm over the activities of an unregistered firm allegedly recruiting Kenyans to work aboard foreign ships without authorisation.

The company, whose officials have reportedly been hosted at a luxury beach resort, has conducted recruitment exercises for over a month without a licence from the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA).

Former Seafarers Union of Kenya (SUK) Secretary-General, Andrew Mwangura, expressed deep concern that the firm was enlisting Merchant Navy officers despite not being listed among KMA-licensed manning agents. ‘’This is unacceptable. We have clear rules of engagement on how seafarers can and should be enlisted if there are any onboard or even ashore jobs for seafarers,”Mwangura said.

He warned that the situation reveals worrying gaps in regulatory oversight and endangers the rights and safety of Kenyan seafarers in the face of unchecked activity by both local and foreign recruitment agencies.

Veteran seafarers’ unionist Steve Owaki urged Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs, Hassan Joho, to intervene.

“We call on the CS to assert his authority and ensure transparency, accuracy, and protection in the recruitment of Kenyan seafarers to guard against exploitation,” Owaki said.

Mwangura noted that a search on the KMA’s official website confirms the company is not registered as a manning agent. Efforts by The Standard to obtain a response from the company were unsuccessful.

‘’This fundamental regulatory breach should have triggered immediate investigation and intervention. Yet somehow, the firm has been operating openly from a prominent hotel, interviewing candidates for positions aboard merchant vessels. This suggests either a troubling regulatory blind spot or, more concerningly, deliberate oversight,” explained Mwangura.

Mwangura further alleged that the firm appears to possess sensitive personal data belonging to Kenyan maritime officers.

‘’The company has been directly contacting officers with detailed knowledge of their qualifications and employment histories – information that should be protected and not readily available to unauthorised entities,’’ he said.

The issue, he said, becomes even more concerning when viewed alongside previous maritime recruitment scandals. Kenya is still reeling from an incident in which seven seafarers, recruited through informal channels in Lamu, were arrested in Madagascar. The group allegedly travelled without proper documentation and were never compensated for their work.

“If not investigated and addressed decisively, this paints Kenya as a rogue maritime jurisdiction where illegal recruitment flourishes unchecked,” Mwangura warned.

Owaki echoed his sentiments, condemning the unauthorised access and handling of personal data.

‘’We are soon going to see the delayed rolling out of the critical Seafarers Identification Document (SID) by the government, which also contains sensitive personal information for seafarers. We need an assurance that their data, which mostly is under the custody of KMA, will not be leaked. Owaki said.

Other maritime stakeholders have also called for immediate suspension of the firm’s operations and an urgent probe into how it acquired access to the seafarers’ records.

Mwangura called upon maritime authorities to address these irregularities before more Kenyan seafarers fall victim to unscrupulous recruitment schemes.