It is an institution where students enter into a binding agreement to pay approximately 40,000 USD for a training program lasting six to nine months. The faculty—numbering about 20—is composed entirely of foreign nationals, primarily Indian citizens. It is also a place where students are required, upon registration, to open a bank account dedicated to their future payroll once they secure international employment. The workshop facilities are notably sophisticated for an Ethiopian higher education environment.
Students in blue or white T-shirts, and others in full police-style uniforms complete with rank insignia, rush between buildings for classes. This creates what is perhaps the liveliest and most energetic vibe within the Bahir Dar University compound. The atmosphere is defined by a rigorous routine and strict discipline; as one staff member describes it, “It is sort of a paramilitary approach.”
This is the Ethiopian Maritime Training Institute (EMTI), which operates under Bahir Dar University. While it claims to be a joint venture between the university and a South African investor, the university does not technically hold an equity stake. According to one staff member who spoke to The Reporter magazine: “The instituteproduces labor that secures foreign currency for the country; the university’s ‘share’ is contributing to this national aim, but it does not technically own any equity in the institute.”
The institute currently maintains an enrollment of about 400 students and is celebrating its 26th graduation round. Program durations typically span six to nine months, with specific tracks ranging from four to 12 months. The institute focuses on post-graduate training for engineering and electro-technical graduates, transitioning them into specialized marine engineers and officers.
Having operated under this model for 18 years, the institute is now at the heart of an ambitious government initiative.
Ambitious Seafarer Plan in landlocked Ethiopia
Roughly two weeks ago, news emerged of a plan to introduce maritime training across nearly all national universities, aiming to increase the number of annual trainees twentyfold.Accordingto the institute, the new initiative aims to train Ethiopian seafarers for deployment on foreign vessels, enabling them to earn international wages and remit foreign currency back home. While such training is an established practice, the unprecedented scope of this initiative lies in its scale and urgency.
To date, Ethiopia’s maritime training ecosystem remains limited. At its center is the Ethiopian Maritime Training Institute, which offers specialized programs for engineering and electro-technical roles. Although trainees are drawn from more than 35 universities across Ethiopia, those institutions do not host maritime training themselves.
The other institution, Babugaya Maritime and Logistics Academy, along with training centers linked to the national shipping enterprise, provides shorter courses focused on basic safety and operational readiness, such as firefighting, first aid, and survival techniques required under global maritime regulations.
Sources at Bahir Dar University informed The Reporter Magazine that the new initiative is being driven by a government push.
By expanding maritime programs to nearly all state universities, the government intends to surge the annual output of seafarers from 400 to 9,000—aiming for 45,000 graduates in just five years. This ambition invites necessary scrutiny: is it practical to scale so rapidly without compromising quality? More importantly, the true motivations behind this aggressive expansion deserve closer inspection.
Landlocked Ethiopia is now positioning itself as a supplier of labor to a global industry facing a persistent shortage of skilled seafarers.
Scale vs. Substance: How Realistic?
Ethiopia’s maritime push is rooted in a broader economic strategy. The country’s Blue Economy Strategy (2023–2027), developed by the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, positions maritime employment as a potential export sector.
The strategy identifies a shortage of skilled maritime personnel as a key constraint, calling for expanded training capacity aligned with international standards.
Seafarers themselves confirm that global demand for their skills is surging. “There is a high demand for seafarers worldwide; there is a genuine shortage in the field,” says Abebe Alemayehu, a Marine Electrical Officer currently serving on a Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) commercial vessel. In the current market, Ethiopian seafarers working on international vessels earn an average monthly salary of USD 6,000.
While some experts view the initiative favorably, many others remain skeptical about its feasibility. “Recently, the captain traveled to Hawassa University to assess the situation,” noted a staff member at the institute. “Establishing a maritime academy is vastly different from other disciplines; it is far more complex and demands highly specific workshop facilities.”
FransJoubert- CEO of the YCF Group, stresses the necessity of grounded expectations. “It is important to set realistic expectations about the pace of such partnerships. Moving from early discussions to operational, STCW-accredited delivery requires extended periods of time. International accreditation, qualified faculty, simulator infrastructure, and sea-time placement capacity cannot be short-circuited. We would rather launch fewer partnerships successfully than many that fail to earn shipowner confidence,” he told The Reporter.
While Francis acknowledges that such an expansion is possible, he remains cautious, describing the initiative as being in the “early-stage discussion” phase. He argues that the timeline remains a significant hurdle. “It needs time,” he said, indicating that a nationwide rollout will not happen in the near future.
The current reality for Ethiopian seafarers is a lack of advanced maritime training, which results in limited placement opportunities, according to Abebe. “A company may hire up to five Ethiopians, but if you look at other nationalities like Filipinos, Sri Lankans, or Russians, it may take over 100 of them at a time,” he noted.
“International shipping clients assess Ethiopian maritime training through a careful, long-horizon lens,” Fransadded. “It is in the national interest to describe what is operational accurately today and to announce future partnerships only once they are real and ready to deliver.”
Experts at Bahir Dar echoed this caution, warning that the move might be overly ambitious.
“If they push to implement this too quickly, standards will be compromised, and the initiative won’t achieve its intended goal,” one expert warned.
“One who knows the details know how unrealistic it is,” the expert shares his perspective.
Where Ethiopia’s Maritime Ambition Stands Today
The legal framework is in place. The Maritime Sector Administration Proclamation No. 549/2007 defines a seafarer as any person employed or assigned to work on board a vessel, including masters and apprentices, establishing a basis for Ethiopia’s participation in the global maritime labor market.
Discussions about expanding maritime training into universities have circulated widely, but implementation remains limited. At present, the only fully operational program is the EMTI partnership with Bahir Dar University. Plans to extend programs into campuses such as Hawassa University and Arba Minch University remain at the discussion stage.
“Several universities and other facilities have expressed interest in hosting maritime training at their own sites through partnership arrangements. Under this model, EMTI would provide the curriculum and quality assurance, while maintaining the critical placement link through EMA Marine,”Franstold the Reporter Magazine.
According to him, the institute is currently engaged in discussions at various levels with institutions such as Hawassa and Arba Minch.
Training, however, is only one part of the process. Certification requires practical sea time aboard operating vessels, a step that cannot be replicated inland. According to Franswho is also theCEO of YCF Manning Group, which operates both EMTI and the Germany-based placement agency EMA Marine, Ethiopia’s model is built around linking training directly to employment.
Candidates typically enter the system after completing a university degree in engineering, followed by specialized maritime training and mandatory safety certifications. Entry into the pipeline begins with structured recruitment and screening, including academic aptitude, medical fitness, and English language proficiency. Candidates are selected from universities across the country before entering pre-sea training at EMTI.
They are then deployed to vessels through international placement arrangements, where they complete between six and nine months(average)of supervised sea service before qualifying for certification.
Fransemphasized that this system only functions because training, placement, and employment are tightly integrated. He said the Ethiopian model depends on maintaining a continuous link between academies, manning agencies, and international ship owners, without which certification pathways would break down regardless of training quality.
He added that cadets enter specific streams, including Electro-Technical Officer (ETO) and Officer in Charge of an Engineering Watch (OICEW). They complete structured sea service of nine months for ETO or twelve months for OICEW, during which a supervised Training Record Book is maintained aboard. Final certification is issued after assessment by the relevant flag administration.
According to the official data from EMTI,there is a track record of 3,000 cadets and the issuance of over 9,000 professional certificates. Fransnotes that the program’s impact is further evidenced by its 100-plus Chief Engineers, signaling a successful move into senior maritime leadership. Currently, Ethiopian seafarers serve a global network of over 80 shipping clients, manning a combined fleet of more than 1,000 vessels. The CEO told the Reporter Magazine that itplans to increase its annual capacity to over 2,000 cadets. This expansion is designed to align with proven job placement opportunities rather than simply inflating enrollment numbers.
Fransalso linked maritime employment to wider financial flows in the Ethiopian economy, particularly through remittances sent by seafarers working abroad. He noted that these earnings are routed through Ethiopian banks, creating foreign currency inflows that support households and strengthen financial circulation. “The banking system, which extends personal lending to seafarers for property and other long-term purposes, benefits from a lower-risk loan profile precisely because seafarer salaries are remitted back through Ethiopian banks, supporting home ownership and wealth formation across seafaring families,” he said.
He added that the system depends not only on income, but on trust. Families must be confident that seafarers are placed with reputable employers and supported through welfare and crisis response systems, factors he described as essential to sustaining participation in the sector.
He stressed that this scale is not only a training outcome but a commercial relationship built over time with international ship owners, who repeatedly return to Ethiopian cadets based on performance and reliability in service.
He added that the organization reports a placement rate exceeding 95 percent, compared to what it describes as an African average of around 20 percent.
But reliance on placement introduces a constraint that shapes the entire sector. “Practical sea time cannot be delivered inland. It has to be completed aboard commercial vessels operating globally,” Franstold The Reporter Magazine.
He added that sea time ultimately depends on a licensed manning agency’s ability to place cadets on operational vessels in real commercial trades.
It is not without its problems though.An Ethiopian Maritime Authority insider told The Reporter Magazine that the industry has another face: graduates left unemployed and at the mercy of illegal brokers. “There are various such cases we are aware of,” she said. According to the expert, the licensing of more companies currently being overseen by the Authority may help address the problem.
Franscautioned that expansion is a gradual process requiring international accreditation and industry confidence. “Moving from early discussion to operational STCW accredited delivery requires extended periods of time,” he said. “We would rather launch fewer partnerships well than many that have not yet earned ship owner confidence.” He added that expansion depends not only on classroom capacity, but also on infrastructure, faculty, and access to sea-time placements.
For those who enter the profession, the transition from training to life at sea can be demanding. Abebe, the marine electrical officer on a commercial ship on Mediterranean Shipping Company with nearly four years of experience on international container vessels, described the shift as both technically and personally challenging.
After completing a degree in electrical engineering, he undertook maritime training at EMTI through a six-month program combining classroom instruction with practical safety courses.
“The training was a strong foundation,” he told The Reporter Magazine. “But real ship experience is much more complex.” Even after formal training, adaptation remains ongoing. “When you arrive on the ship, everything is new,” he said. “You have to keep learning and adapting to different systems.”
His work centers on maintaining electrical systems, automation equipment, and critical onboard machinery. Daily tasks include planned maintenance as well as urgent responses to technical failures.
Working conditions can be intense. “Sometimes you work beyond 24 hours, even up to 36 hours continuously, especially on ports” he said, describing long shifts, time zone disruptions, and physically demanding conditions. Work onboard is governed by strict procedural controls designed to manage risk. “Every task starts with a work permit,” he said. “You have to specify what you are going to do, what safety equipment you will use, and how long it will take.” The process requires formal approval before work begins. “The captain and the chief engineer must sign it,” he said. “After finishing, you also have to close the permit.”
Another seafarer, Hailemichael Demeke, an electro-technical officer trained at EMTI and working on vessels operated by Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), described a more structured rhythm to daily operations onboard.
“My working hours start from 8:00 in the morning until 17:00,” he told The Reporter Magazine. “We begin with a toolbox meeting to plan the day’s tasks, then conduct an engine room round to check machinery conditions, visually inspecting, listening, and using tools if necessary.”
Tasks range from scheduled maintenance to unexpected repairs, followed by daily reporting. “If there is any emergency, I have to work beyond normal hours, even being called at night,” he added.
Hailemichael said early assignments depend heavily on onboard supervision. “In your first assignment, you work under a senior officer who guides you, but it depends on their behavior,” he said, noting that this can influence how quickly new seafarers adapt to the environment.
Beyond technical demands, he described social and cultural challenges at sea. “I was the only Ethiopian at some point, the only Black person onboard,” he said. “Food, language, family, and living in a limited space for a long time are some of the difficulties.”
Hailemichael also pointed to Ethiopia’s position in the global labor market as both a constraint and a source of emerging recognition. “Our seafarers are becoming well recognized, even though our number is like a drop of water in the ocean compared to countries like India or the Philippines,” he said. “Some nationalities may see you as a competitor… someone coming to take their job.”
Inside Ethiopia’s Most Expensive Training Program
Maritime training in Ethiopia happens to be one of the most expensive. “For me, during my six-month training at the Ethiopian Maritime Institute, the total cost was 36,000 dollars,” Abebe said.According to him, training payment in Ethiopia is quite expensive,” he said.
“In my case you do not pay it while studying; instead, it is deducted from your salary once you start working as part of a cost-sharing arrangement.” The repayment burden is substantial. “So now 50 percent of my salary goes to repayment,” he added.
Hailemichael also pointed to similar cost pressures, noting that training expenses in Ethiopia are significantly higher than in some other maritime labor markets. “It’s expensive, around 33,000 dollars,” he said, explaining that repayment is made through monthly salary deductions after employment. He added that the difference becomes clearer when compared internationally. “One of my Indian colleagues told me it’s around $6,000 to $7,000, and in Russia you can even study for free,” he told The Reporter Magazine.
Structural limitations also persist. “Currently, we are trained mainly as engineers and electro-technical officers,” Abebe told The Reporter Magazine. “Training for deck officers and captains is not yet available.” This restricts career progression within the global maritime hierarchy.
Access to employment remains uneven. “There is a shortage of seafarers internationally, especially skilled officers and engineers,” Abebe noted. “But for Ethiopians, placement can still be limited. Some companies only take a few at a time. But from Some countries like the Philippines or Sri Lanka they take large numbers of seafarers at once,” he explained. “For Ethiopians, the intake is smaller.”
Administrative barriers further complicate deployment. “I had a case where I could not enter Brazilian waters,” he said. “I had to sign off and return to Ethiopia.” In another instance, he was unable to join a vessel in Thailand due to visa issues. “These restrictions can affect deployment even when you are ready to work,” he said.
Fransemphasized that maintaining international access also depends on strict compliance systems, including visa discipline and anti-trafficking safeguards, which help ensure Ethiopian seafarers remain a low-risk workforce in global deployment channels.
These realities point to a broader tension within the sector. Fransargues that scaling Ethiopia’s maritime workforce is not primarily a question of expanding training capacity, but of maintaining access to placement opportunities. “The common mistake is to treat it as a training volume problem. It is not. It is a placement and career management problem,” he told The Reporter Magazine. Certification ultimately depends on securing positions aboard commercial vessels, a process controlled by international shipping companies.
“Every cadet, regardless of which institution trained them, must complete between nine and twelve months aboard a commercial vessel to be certified,” he said, emphasizing that sea-time capacity must be secured internationally, vessel by vessel.
Scaling the sector also requires significant investment. “A genuinely STCW compliant maritime academy is substantially capital intensive,” he said, pointing to simulators, laboratories, specialized facilities, and ongoing accreditation requirements.
Ethiopia’s maritime sector is still in a formative phase. A functioning training pipeline is in place, and Ethiopian seafarers are already serving on international vessels, with institutions producing graduates aligned to global certification standards. However, the system remains dependent on external placement channels and constrained by limited training infrastructure, alongside regulatory and financial challenges that shape access to the global market.
Future growth will depend less on expanding classroom capacity inland and more on whether Ethiopia can sustain reliable access to international shipping placements. In practice, the sector’s trajectory is tied to global demand for seafarers and the country’s ability to remain a consistent supplier within that system.
Fransdescribed the structure as vertically integrated. “In our model there is no hand off,” he said. “The same group that trained the cadet also employs them.”
He said the core challenge is not simply increasing training output, but ensuring that graduates can be absorbed into the global shipping system. “Build demonstrably excellent institutions first, secure continued international industry acceptance, and then scale,” he said.
Despite the odds, Fransmaintains that the initiative may be achievable, but only if the success model is preserved. “Shipping companies take cadets at considerable commercial risk and cost; they will only continue to do so if they have confidence that those cadets will remain with them over an extended career,” he said, stressing the importance of retention, welfare systems, and sustained job placement.
While expansion into universities may widen access to training, the sector’s long-term trajectory will depend on whether Ethiopia can maintain a consistent alignment between domestic training capacity and international placement opportunities.
