Maritime Labour and Trade Union
OPINION: When Seafarers Die, Condolences Are Not Enough — The World Must Do Better
OPINION: When Seafarers Die, Condolences Are Not Enough — The World Must Do Better
By Sunil Kapoor | Adapted for Waterways News
Merchant ships are burning at sea. Not warships. Not naval vessels. Ordinary commercial ships — carrying cargo that keeps the global economy turning — crewed by civilian seafarers simply doing their jobs.
Following the latest wave of attacks on merchant vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez issued a statement expressing deep concern over seafarer casualties, reaffirming that attacks on innocent civilian shipping are unjustifiable under international maritime law. The words were appropriate. But they were also familiar.
Every time a merchant ship is attacked — every time a seafarer loses his life in someone else’s geopolitical conflict — the same kind of statements appear. What is never quite clear is what those statements mean for the man standing watch tonight on the bridge.
When the System Failed: Lessons from Covid
The pandemic offered a sobering preview of how badly the protective system around seafarers can break down under pressure.
Governments insisted that no seafarer could remain aboard beyond twelve months. Port state authorities enforced this strictly. Yet those same governments often refused to issue visas for incoming crew, or declined to allow serving crew to disembark. The result was an impossible catch-22: the rules demanded crew changes that the system made impossible to execute.
Ships began carrying relief crew who had joined but could not replace their predecessors — seafarers already beyond their contract limits continued sailing as unofficial “passengers.” On paper, compliance. In reality, a fiction everyone accepted.
One incident from that period stands as a symbol of the system’s failure. A vessel arrived in port carrying the body of a seafarer who had died onboard. His remains, kept in the ship’s freezer, were refused permission to be landed at port after port. The crew sailed on — carrying their dead colleague — while his family thousands of miles away waited for a funeral that could not happen.
War, Missiles, and the Weight on Nigerian Seafarers
When Russia invaded Ukraine, merchant vessels were suddenly trapped in Ukrainian ports as missiles fell around them. The crew aboard those ships were commercial seafarers — not soldiers. Yet the burden of getting them home fell almost entirely on ship managers and the seafarers themselves.
Today, the Strait of Hormuz has become a new crisis point. In March 2024, the bulk carrier True Confidence was struck by a missile off Yemen. Three seafarers were killed. They were not combatants. They were doing their jobs. The damaged vessel drifted for months before any port agreed to receive it.
Now more than 1,000 ships are reported stuck or transiting the strait under threat. Some political voices have publicly urged shipowners to show courage and sail through. But bravado spoken in political offices lands on the shoulders of masters and crew — people for whom the danger is not rhetorical.
When an incident happens and a seafarer dies, a basic question deserves an answer: who gave the order to sail? On what assessment was that instruction based? A vessel may be insured. Cargo may be insured. A human life cannot be replaced.
Nigeria Watch: What This Means for Our Maritime Sector
Nigeria has significant stakes in this conversation. A substantial number of Nigerian seafarers serve aboard international merchant vessels, including those transiting high-risk corridors like the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, and now the Strait of Hormuz. When geopolitical conflict puts commercial shipping in the crosshairs, Nigerian families are among those waiting at home.
Closer to our shores, the Gulf of Guinea has its own long record of attacks on merchant vessels — piracy, kidnapping for ransom, armed robbery at sea — where seafarers have repeatedly borne the human cost of systemic failures. NIMASA, the Nigerian Navy, and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy have invested in frameworks like the Deep Blue Project to address maritime insecurity in our region. But the broader question raised by Kapoor applies here too: when seafarers are endangered, does the response match the rhetoric?
The industry has repeatedly demonstrated that it can organise practical solutions in emergencies — repatriating crew, rerouting vessels, supporting families — when official structures move too slowly. That should not be the norm.
Ninety percent of world trade moves by sea. Nigeria’s import-dependent economy, its crude oil exports, and its ambitions as a blue economy hub all rest on the safety and welfare of seafarers. Behind every crew list is a family waiting for a safe return.
Statements of concern will keep being issued after every tragedy. But for the families of seafarers who do not come home, the message from this industry must be unambiguous: statements are not enough.
Sunil Kapoor is a shipowner and maritime commentator. Thioriginal piece has been adapted for Waterways News readers by Raymond Gold, Co-publisher and Research Reporter for Waterways News
Dockworkers Threaten Nationwide Port Shutdown Over Stalled NJIC Wage Talks
Give Terminal Operators Until Week’s End to Open Wage Talks
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News | Lagos
Dockworkers could shut down Nigeria’s ports next week unless terminal operators begin long-delayed negotiations on a new wage agreement. The warning comes from the Dockworkers Branch of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN).
Speaking in Lagos on Wednesday, the branch President, Comrade Bolaji Agboola, said members were increasingly angry and frustrated. He accused operators of terminals and jetties covered by the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) agreement of stalling talks on a review of workers’ rates.
The previous agreement expired at the end of May 2026, with new rates due to take effect from June 1, according to Agboola. He argued that dockworkers should already be earning revised rates. He said the branch’s Executive Council could no longer contain the agitation.
He urged the Federal Government to intervene through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). He wants operators at the table before the close of work this week. Otherwise, he warned, port operations may be disrupted next week.
Agboola said the leadership had kept engaging members to manage the situation, but patience was wearing thin.
Waterways News could not immediately reach terminal operators for comment.
NIGERIA WATCH
Why it matters. A shutdown at the ports would quickly reach importers, exporters, freight forwarders and the barge and jetty operators who feed cargo to and from the terminals. Any stoppage would also hit Nigeria’s push for faster cargo clearance.
Background. NIMASA convenes the NJIC. It is a tripartite arrangement for Collective Bargaining Agreements on minimum standards for the dock labour industry. Wage reviews have run on a roughly two-year cycle, and past rounds have also dragged. In 2021, union officials complained that talks were dragging even after proposals were tabled. In October 2023, MWUN threatened to resume a suspended strike after talks with shipping employers collapsed.
What to watch.
NIMASA’s move: Whether it convenes the parties before the end of the week.
Jetty coverage: Agboola’s complaint includes jetty operators under the NJIC. Jetties are already a flashpoint between dockworkers and operators.
Inland impact: Any slowdown at the terminals will affect the waterway operators and boat transporters who move goods and people around the Lagos ports.
Maritime Labour and Trade Union
Mental Health at Sea: Nigeria Leads Africa as NIMASA, ITF Seal Africa’s First Seafarer Mental Health Pact
Mental Health at Sea: Nigeria Leads Africa as NIMASA, ITF Seal Africa’s First Seafarer Mental Health Pact
Agency and global transport union to embed wellbeing training in maritime curricula
By Okeoghene Onoriobe | Waterways News
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) to promote the mental health and wellbeing of Nigerian seafarers and cadets through training, awareness and capacity building.
The agreement was endorsed at the close of a three-day Seafarers’ and Cadets’ Wellbeing Awareness and Train-the-Trainers Programme, themed “Stress: Understanding, Early Management and Coping.” NIMASA organised the programme with the ITF.
NIMASA Director General Dr. Dayo Mobereola said the partnership will support capacity building and the integration of a wellbeing module into maritime training curricula. The goal is to make wellbeing a permanent part of preparing for life at sea. He was represented by the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr. Jibril Abba, who signed for NIMASA.
In the DG’s words, seafarers’ wellbeing is “essential to safe shipping.” He said the programme will equip training institutions, agency officers and union partners to identify and manage stress and provide psychological first aid. He cited a 2019 ITF/Yale University study in which one in four seafarers surveyed showed signs of depression and about one in six showed signs of anxiety.
ITF Africa Regional Secretary Mr. Safiyanu Dauda Mohammed, who signed for the federation, said it is the first such agreement the ITF has entered into with any African country. “We are starting with Nigeria,” he said.
The President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Francis Bunu, welcomed the deal. He said seafarers need to be mentally sound to do their jobs, and called it a significant day for Nigerian seafarers.
Also present were the National President of the Nigerian Merchant Navy Officers and Water Transport Senior Staff Association, Chief Engr. Bob Joseph Yousou; ITF Wellbeing Coordinator Dr. Asif Altaf; and ITF Inspector Mr. Hamani Amadou.
The programme underscores the need to refocus attention on seafarers who work in difficult conditions and spend long periods away from their families. Both parties say the partnership reflects the principle that a healthy seafarer is a safe seafarer.
NIGERIA WATCH
A first for Africa, but delivery is the test. Nigeria’s lead position is a diplomatic win for NIMASA and the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.
Seafarer welfare has been on NIMASA’s agenda for years. In 2018, then-DG Dakuku Peterside threatened sanctions on ship owners who defaulted on the seafarers’ contributory pension scheme. In early 2024, the ITF’s UK-based Seafarers Trust approved a grant for a seafarers’ recreation centre, to be built with MWUN and NIMASA. Stakeholders will want to know what became of those commitments before this one is celebrated.
What to watch out for:
Curriculum integration: Whether the wellbeing module actually enters the syllabi of Nigerian maritime institutions, and by when.
Funding and timelines: The announcement gives no budget, rollout schedule or reporting mechanism.
The Reach: The MoU speaks of seafarers and cadets. Many Nigerians who work on the water are informal inland operators, such as boat drivers and boat owners represented by groups like WABOTAN and ATBOWATON. They face stress, long hours and safety risks of their own. Whether wellbeing programmes will extend to this segment, or stop at the formal deep-sea workforce, is a fair question for NIMASA, NIWA and the ministry.
Mental health support is only as credible as its follow-through, and this MoU will be judged by what happens after the signing.
Maritime Labour and Trade Union
From Ship’s Deck to Union’s Helm: Bunu Honoured with MARCON Labour Leader Award
From Ship’s Deck to Union’s Helm: Bunu Honoured with MARCON Labour Leader Award
Named MARCON Labour Leader of the Year for Seafarer-to-President-General Rise
By Emetena Ikuku | Waterways News | Lagos
The President-General of the Maritime Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Francis Bunu Abi, has been named Labour Leader of the Year by the Maritime Correspondents’ Organisation of Nigeria (MARCON). The award recognises his leadership, his push for workers’ welfare and his role in keeping industrial peace in the maritime sector.
MARCON said the honour reflects Bunu’s sustained advocacy for maritime workers’ rights, his commitment to collective bargaining and better conditions of service, and his efforts to promote safety and constructive engagement among organised labour, employers and government agencies.
The award was presented at the 2026 MARCON National Conference on Sustainable Fishing on Wednesday, September 30, at Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos. Bunu was not physically present to receive it. The plaque was presented by the Secretary-General of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Godfrey Nwosu, to MWUN Vice President-General, Comrade Matina Njoku, and Comrade Kenneth Ibanga, the union’s Deputy Secretary-General for Protocol and International Relations, who accepted on his behalf.
A career built at sea
Bunu is a seafarer by training. He worked aboard vessels, locally and internationally, before moving into union leadership.
His climb through MWUN spans more than two decades. It began as an ex-officio member of the Port Harcourt Seafarers Unit, and he became chairman of the unit in 2001. He was elected Rivers State District Chairman in 2005 and returned unopposed for a second term in 2009. In 2013 he became President of the Seamen/Seafarers Branch and served a second term there as well.
He was elected Deputy President-General of MWUN in 2021. In 2024, the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) appointed him Dockworkers Regional Chairman.
On March 28, 2025, Bunu emerged unopposed as President-General at the union’s 6th Quadrennial National Delegates Conference in Lagos, succeeding Comrade Adewale Adeyanju. He is the first member of the Seafarers Branch to rise to the union’s top office.
Agenda under his leadership
Under Bunu, MWUN has stayed focused on workers’ welfare, collective bargaining, safety awareness and accident compensation. It has also kept up engagement with key agencies, including the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
Bunu holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Rivers State University. He has also had international training in collective bargaining, employee rights, management, communication, performance enhancement and leadership.
Chairman of the MARCON Conference Planning Committee, Paul Ogbuokiri, said the award recognises Bunu’s long service to organised maritime labour and his steady progression through the union’s ranks. He said Bunu’s path shows the value of hands-on industry experience in representing workers and encouraging constructive engagement in the sector.
The conference, themed “Sustainable Fishing in Nigeria: Pathways to Growth, Food Security and Coastal Livelihoods,” brought together policymakers, regulators, industry operators, researchers and other stakeholders to discuss how to develop Nigeria’s fisheries sector sustainably.
Nigeria Watch
Bunu’s recognition is a reminder of who keeps Nigeria’s maritime economy running. Workers are the human backbone of shipping and port operations, yet their welfare and safety rarely get the attention that policy announcements, concession deals and investment pledges do.
His background deserves note. A union president who has worked as a seafarer is better placed to speak credibly on wages, safety and compensation. The test of that leadership is whether agreements reached with NIMASA, the NPA and employers translate into real protections on vessels and on the quayside.
The award also comes at a conference on fishing and coastal livelihoods. Many of the people in that value chain, from artisanal fishers to small-scale boat operators on creeks and inland waterways, work outside formal collective bargaining. For them, the gap between what policy promises and what is delivered is widest.
Waterways News will keep asking whether the welfare and safety gains won by organised labour reach informal operators who are also part of the union through the Commercial and Private Boats District.
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