Kenyans have been asked to recognise the potential of the maritime industry as a major employer in the next decade.
Kenya Maritime Authority director-general, Nancy Karigithu, says the country will require 400,000 seafarers by 2015, a situation that calls for developing human capital.
''As a country we need to position ourselves for the international crewing market by putting in place the appropriate legal, policy and institutional framework,'' Mrs Karigithu says.
Although Kenya has lagged behind in positioning maritime and implementing international treaties and conventions, the current efforts to enact the Merchant Shipping Bill could help jumpstart the sector.
She asked MPs to "do justice" to the piece of law and pass it without delays.
The Merchant Shipping Bill, 2008, is intended to overhaul the laws and domesticate international conventions to enable training of seafarers in the local colleges 13 years after it was stopped, the director-general said.
"The Bill incorporates 24 conventions that Kenya has ratified with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for the regulation of the industry. It also takes into account the technological changes that have taken place in the maritime industry since 1967, when the current legislation was enacted,'' Mrs Karigithu said.
