Confusion as Kenyan seafarers denied passes due to lack of NEA certificates

Several Kenyan seafarers bound for overseas jobs were denied boarding passes at Moi International Airport, exposing confusion in the labour market regulatory bodies.

A first-time recruit heading to a seaport within the Mediterranean Sea said they were denied passes because they lacked National Employment Authority (NEA) certificates.

"Officers manning a desk at the airport's departure lounge refused to allow me access, saying I must get a certificate from NEA. It was never a requirement," said the recruit.

The recruit who sought anonymity said it took the intervention of the officials of his manning agency to persuade the officers to allow the seafarer to continue with his trip.

Yesterday maritime experts expressed disappointment at the new regulations, warning that they have no basis in international labour law.

Former Seafarers Union of Kenya (SUK) Secretary Generals Steve Owaki and Andrew Mwangura said the regulations were ill-conceived.

“This is bureaucratic overreach with devastating consequences. Seafarers who are vetted and contracted by shipping companies are being turned back at the airport, not because of any failure on their part, but because of unnecessary paperwork that directly contradicts international maritime standards,” said Mwangura.

Owaki said the regulations wrongly lump seafarers and domestic workers or migrant workers together, rolling back developments and gains made since 2018.

The first 16 cohorts of Kenyan seafarers were recruited by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) Cruise Lines in 2018 following an agreement with the government.

"Kenyan seafarers' jobs on board foreign vessels are on the line because of cheap and misguided demands by NEA," Owaki said.

Owaki said that to date, there are an estimated 10,000-plus jobs in the hands of Kenyan seafarers who work onboard cruise and cargo vessels.

"For NEA to come up and start demanding an agency fee equivalent to Sh 500,000 from each of the registered manning agencies licensed by the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) is several steps backward and uncalled for,'' Owaki said.

Owaki said that Kenyan seafarers are protected by the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 from incurring any cost, including agency fees, during the key process of recruitment and placement.

All costs, Owaki said, including visa processing and medical, are handled by the shipowner(s), not the seafarers.

''It must be noted that the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006, was ratified in Kenya in the year 2014 and therefore automatically became part of Kenyan laws as well as the law that created the NEA. All these laws must therefore be obeyed and respected in equal measure by all, in particular government agencies. Nowhere in Kenyan statutes is it indicated that the law that created NEA is superior to the rest of the laws, including the Maritime Labour Convention, 2016," he said.

He added that NEA is a government agency that deals with migrant workers and not seafarers – over and above all, seafarers are not migrant workers.

The controversy deepens amid revelations that out of the 13 manning and crewing agents licensed by KMA, only six have verifiable agreements with shipping lines.

The remaining agencies appear to lack the core requirement that ensures seafarers are placed into genuine employment.

Mwangura stated that licensing agencies without such agreements violate the Maritime Labour Convention (MLC), to which Kenya is a signatory.

''The MLC explicitly prohibits charging seafarers for employment and requires states to ensure transparent, accountable recruitment systems. Experts warn that current failures expose Kenyan seafarers to fraud, abandonment in foreign ports, and loss of international credibility,'' he said.

“Kenya risks being seen as a supplier of underregulated labour rather than a professional maritime workforce,” Mwangura said. “This damages our standing in the global maritime community and denies our youth the opportunities they deserve.”

The situation echoes the devastating cruise ship job scam of 2001, when thousands of Kenyans lost money to fake overseas jobs. Maritime stakeholders fear history is repeating itself, only now under the cover of official licensing and conflicting regulations.

As a result of unfolding events surrounding Kenyan seafarers' engagements, Mwangura said that maritime stakeholders now demand that KMA conduct an immediate audit of all licensed manning and crewing agents and move fast to suspend licences for agencies without valid agreements with shipping lines.

''There should follow the publication of a transparent, public database of verified manning agents and annual monitoring and disclosure of recruitment records and placements as well.
clarification of regulatory mandates to ensure seafarer recruitment remains under maritime authorities, not the NEA,'' Mwangura insisted.

He said that the livelihoods of thousands of Kenyan seafarers hang in the balance.

“Kenya must act urgently to protect its workers, restore confidence, and uphold its obligations under international law,'' he added.