Experts: Use retired Kenya Navy ships to train local seamen

Recently retired Kenya Navy vessels, KNS Galana and KNS Tana, should be converted into training vessels for merchant mariners aspiring to work onboard seagoing vessels.

Maritime experts say given that most universities and colleges are unable to afford the training vessels, the two ships should act as common training facilities for all.

Andrew Mwangura, former Seafarers Union of Kenya (SUK) Secretary General, said Kenya’s maritime ambitions are constrained by a critical shortage of skilled seafarers.

He said the lack of the mandatory hands-on training infrastructure has denied most Kenyans jobs in international shipping lines that are currently facing labour shortages.  

According to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the world faces a shortfall of 89,000 qualified officers by 2026.

''Yet within this challenge lies a remarkable opportunity. The recently decommissioned Kenya Navy Ships (KNS) Tana and Galana—vessels of proud service and enduring potential—can be refurbished and repurposed as national training ships for Kenya’s Maritime Education and Training (MET) institutions,'' Mwangura stated.

The two naval vessels, which were commissioned in 1994 as part of the Galana-class logistics fleet, Tana and Galana, served the nation with distinction for three decades. 

Designed as medium landing ships, they transported troops, vehicles, and supplies across coastal waters—supporting amphibious operations, humanitarian missions, and anti-piracy patrols such as Operation Sledge Hammer.

Each vessel, displacing around 1,000 tonnes and exceeding 50 metres in length, was powered by robust diesel engines and equipped with cargo holds and medical bays. 

"However, by 2024, obsolescence and escalating maintenance costs rendered them unsuitable for modern naval duties. Their ceremonial decommissioning at Mombasa Naval Base marked the end of an era—yet also unveiled an unprecedented opportunity to repurpose these assets for civilian training and national development in line with Kenya’s Vision 2030, which envisions the blue economy contributing 10 per cent of GDP by 2030," he said.

Mwangura explained that Kenya’s maritime training institutions—including the Mount Kenya University (MKU) Malindi Maritime Academy, Bandari Maritime Academy (BMA), Technical University of Mombasa (TUM), and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT)—produce hundreds of graduates annually in disciplines such as nautical science and marine engineering.

He explained that while these programmes comply with STCW standards and deliver high-quality classroom instruction, they fall short in providing mandatory sea-time experience—a requirement of 12 months of onboard training for certification. 

Another former SUK official, Steve Owaki, said it is extremely expensive for ordinary parents to support their children who aspire to take up careers at sea as cadets. 

"Many have fallen off and opted to do other courses due to the high cost of enrolling in colleges in Egypt, Oman and the Philippines, which have modern equipment, including training vessels that students use to attain the mandatory seatime," Owaki said.

Kenyan cadets often seek placements abroad at prohibitive costs, sometimes exceeding Sh5 million per cadet, leaving many unable to complete their qualification process.

Currently, only limited opportunities exist through initiatives like the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), CMA CGM, Orion Bulkers, Wilhelmsen Ship Management or the Maersk Cadet Program, which offers just ten slots annually. As a result, thousands of trained graduates remain unemployed, even as the global maritime workforce shortage deepens.

Refurbishing Tana and Galana, according to Mwangura, represents a strategic, sustainable, and cost-effective solution.

The estimated Sh500–800 million refurbishment cost is a fraction of the $380 million (Sh49 billion) required for a new training vessel.

He stressed that the project could be executed locally at the Kenya Shipyards Limited (KSL)—which successfully overhauled KNS Shupavu (an Offshore Patrol Vessel—OPV) in 2024—by upgrading propulsion systems, navigation suites, and safety equipment. 

Mwangura said that with the repurposing, any military hardware will be removed, and in its place, Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS) systems, radar simulators, and Bridge Resource Management (BRM) stations will be installed, along with the conversion of engines for biofuel compatibility as well as the expansion of accommodation to host up to 100 cadets.

These upgrades would create dynamic, sea-going training platforms capable of coastal voyages from Mombasa to Lamu, simulating real-world merchant marine operations under Kenya’s flag and oversight by the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA).

He said once all is done, a formal handover of the vessels to the Ministry of Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs would align perfectly with its mandate to promote sustainable ocean resource management. Through an inter-ministerial memorandum, the ships could be operated by a consortium of MET institutions.

He said that cadet students from maritime colleges like Mount Kenya University (MKU), Malindi Maritime Academy, Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture, Bandari Maritime Academy and Technical University of Mombasa, among others, can access the training vessels. 

Beyond cadet training, the vessels, Mwangura observed, could serve as floating research platforms, supporting studies in oceanography, marine ecology, and ballast water management—advancing Kenya’s contributions to UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water.