A regional push to harmonize coxswain training and certification across the Eastern, Northern and Southern African regions is taking shape as countries seek to improve safety in coastal and inland water transport systems.

The discussions emerged during a stakeholders’ consultative workshop convened on 18th-19th May under the umbrella of the Maritime Organization for Eastern, Southern and Northern Africa (MOESNA), where delegates from several member states deliberated on the development of a regional coxswain training curriculum.

Participants at the meeting said the region’s waterways continue to experience avoidable accidents partly because of weak training structures, fragmented certification systems and the absence of harmonized standards governing coxswains who operate small vessels on lakes, rivers and coastal waters.

Experts argued that the definition of a coxswain itself requires review to reflect the realities of modern maritime transport in both inland and coastal waters.

“There is a need for a new and clearer definition of a coxswain because the responsibilities today are broader and more technical than they were in the past,” Professor Annish Hebbar of World Maritime University (WMU) told the participants.

The proposed regional curriculum seeks to standardize training for operators of small commercial and passenger vessels across the MOESNA region, which includes countries heavily dependent on inland waterways for transport, fishing and trade.

Delegates noted that many countries in the region still lack structured coxswain training programmes, while others operate under outdated systems that do not adequately address emerging safety and operational demands.

One of the key proposals emerging from the workshop was the categorization of training into different tiers depending on vessel size, operational area and experience level.

The proposed framework recommends three levels of training targeting those entering the profession with formal education, practitioners who already possess informal operational experience without any basic education, and coxswains seeking career advancement into higher maritime qualifications.

Stakeholders emphasized that the curriculum must be competency-based and shaped by industry players rather than purely academic institutions.

“The industry must lead the process because they understand the practical challenges they face,” said Enoch Okwema, the Bandari Maritime Academy, which carried out the study.

Participants further recommended that the region borrow from international best practices, particularly the standards established under the International Maritime Organization’s International Maritime Organization Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) framework used globally in the maritime sector.

However, concerns emerged over the risks of relying too heavily on the STCW framework without first developing local regulatory structures suited to the realities of inland and small-scale maritime operations in the region.

Irene Otieno of the Kenya Maritime Authority (KMA) cautioned that while STCW offers useful international benchmarks, many MOESNA member states currently lack the national regulations required to effectively anchor such a curriculum.

She warned that the standards under STCW are highly sophisticated and largely designed for mainstream international shipping operations, making them potentially unsuitable for many small-scale operators and traders who dominate inland and coastal transport across the region.

“The standards are extremely high and if applied directly without contextualization, they may lock out many small traders and operators who rely on these waterways for livelihoods,” she observed.

The concerns were echoed by Captain Talib Ibrahim, Director of the Institute of Maritime and Seafaring Studies at the Technical University of Mombasa, who argued that the curriculum should strike a balance between international best practices and regional operational realities.

He noted that while harmonization is necessary, the region must avoid creating training standards that become inaccessible to ordinary boat operators because of cost, academic requirements or rigid certification procedures.

Participants instead proposed that member states first strengthen domestic maritime regulations capable of supporting and implementing a harmonized curriculum before fully adopting elements of international conventions.

Another major issue raised during the consultations was the recognition of prior learning and operational experience, especially for thousands of coxswains already working informally on lakes and coastal routes.

Delegates argued that many experienced operators risk exclusion if the new system ignores practical experience accumulated over decades.

As a result, the meeting proposed a dual assessment approach combining formal examinations with competency-based practical assessments to accommodate experienced operators who may lack formal education.

“There are people who have operated boats safely for years but have never stepped into a classroom. Their experience must be recognized,” a participant noted.

The workshop also highlighted the lack of common certification standards across the region, making it difficult for coxswains trained in one country to work in another.

To address this, stakeholders proposed the establishment of a common regional framework for certification recognition supported by mutual agreements among member states.

Officials said such harmonization would ease labour mobility, strengthen maritime professionalism and improve enforcement of safety standards across shared waterways.

Participants observed that although many MOESNA member states already possess legal and institutional frameworks governing maritime transport, the regulations differ significantly from one country to another.

The challenge, they said, is how to harmonize the different national laws and institutions to serve a shared regional objective without undermining national mandates.

The meeting further underscored the important role of the private sector in developing and implementing the curriculum.

The proposed curriculum is expected to undergo further validation before adoption by member states.

Maritime officials hope the initiative will ultimately reduce accidents, improve professionalism and create a mutually recognized certification system capable of supporting safer and more efficient maritime transport across the region’s inland and coastal waterways.