Kenyan seafarers have recently lost dozens of jobs and missed out on opportunities on cargo and cruise ships over the past year due to non-compliance with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Convention.
More than 1,500 Kenyan seafarers have lost their jobs for failing to secure a Seafarers Identification Document (SID) after failing to comply with the SID Convention, which provides for a globally standardised identification document for seafarers.
The document is now issued electronically to seafarers to facilitate access to shore leave, transit and transfer at maritime borders while meeting the integrity and security requirements of states when ships call at their ports.
Kenya ratified the SID Convention on February 4, 2022 becoming the 38th country to do so. It entered into force on August 4, 2022 after a six-month window to put in place the necessary measures to implement the Convention, which was fully implemented globally last year.
In East Africa, Tanzania has complied with the conventions by issuing thousands of SIDs to its seafarers, becoming a major source of maritime employment for dozens of cargo and cruise ships.
Thousands of Kenyan seafarers and crew members working for various shipping companies have lost their jobs as a result of the international labour law, which requires all seafarers to be in possession of this document from May 2, 2024.
More than 1.5 million Kenyan seafarers are affected by these restrictions.
However, Kenya will have to wait longer to be allowed to print the SID as it has not submitted a request to be considered on the compliance list at the forthcoming session of the IMO's Legal Committee (March 24-28).
Kenya was expected to submit an official request with documents outlining the features of the security system and the measures it has put in place to prevent counterfeiting.
The SID can only be printed once the IMO is satisfied that it meets all the requirements for printing the document, which will allow holders to travel without visas to board their ships and disembark at ports.
“Kenyan seafarers are being replaced by those from countries that have complied and acquired SID cards. We are also losing opportunities in branding Kenya as a source of seafarers’ market abroad,” said Stephen Owaki, the secretary general of the Kenya Seafarers Association.
Some 363 Kenyans were recently replaced from a Brazilian cruise ship when others missed out on a planned MSC project that required 800 crew.
MSC had selected seafarers from Kenya to pilot the single-nation crew model.
In September 2024, more than 700 were repatriated from MSC ships leaving the Northern Hemisphere.
The Kenyan government said it had transferred the process of processing SIDs to the Immigration Department after the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) was blamed for delaying the process.
“We have submitted 10,000 names of seafarers to be considered in the first phase of issuance of SID cards to the Department of Immigration to ensure all security features are met. We hope to comply soon,” said Geoffrey Kaituko, the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Mining and Blue Economy. The United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Florida and the Caribbean have already adopted the concept as a security measure and to reduce cases of human trafficking.
Andrew Mwangura, an East African maritime expert, said the nature of seafaring means that seafarers spend months at a time at sea, and the opportunity to go ashore provides a mental and physical break from the routine and contributes to good health and a better attitude towards their work.
“After the 9/11 attacks in the USA in 2001, the ILO adopted e-SID after the revision of the Seafarers’ Identity Convention No 108 of 1958 to No 185 in 2003 to introduce biometrics aimed at facilitating shore leave, transfers and transit at maritime borders while respecting the security requirements of port states. We urge Kenya to fast track the process to allow Kenyan crew members to easily have a right of shore leave,” Mr Mwangura said.
