Namfi students graduate

WALVIS BAY – Forty-one students from the Namibian Maritime and Fisheries Institute (NAMFI) graduated in various maritime and fisheries-related fields as the institution celebrated 30 years of training skilled professionals for Namibia’s maritime industry.

The 2026 graduating class includes students who completed qualifications in marine navigation, marine engineering, fishing vessel operations and other specialised maritime courses.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony that took place on Friday in Walvis Bay, Erongo governor Natalia /Goagoses not only congratulated the graduates but said their qualifications would help Namibia strengthen its capacity to take advantage of opportunities in the maritime sector without relying heavily on foreign skills.

“Namibia is a maritime nation with significant opportunities in fisheries, shipping, port operations, logistics and emerging offshore industries. These sectors contribute to economic growth, job creation and national development,” she said.

/Goagoses said Namibia should be in a position to fill specialised positions in the maritime industry with its own skilled professionals, particularly after 30 years of training through NAMFI.

“I refuse, after 36 years of independence and 30 years of NAMFI’s existence, producing hundreds of skilled Namibians every year, to import skilled people from elsewhere,” she said.

She urged graduates to apply the knowledge and skills they had acquired and take up opportunities in their respective fields. She also express concern about the institute’s leadership structure, calling on the government to prioritise the appointment of permanent management and establish a board of directors.

/Goagoses said the absence of confirmed management could affect accountability and the institution’s ability to grow and meet its mandate. “We want them to deliver. So I want to really call on all my leaders, all my central government, to make it a priority to give the necessary support to NAMFI, put up the board of directors and have the management confirmed so that we can have a substantive director,” she said.

Acting director of NAMFI, Meriam Mwiya, said the graduates represented an important investment in Namibia’s ambition to become an industrialised economy through skills development.

She said the institute was graduating approximately 10 students with diplomas in marine navigation for fishing vessel operations, seven deck officer Class 5 graduates and eight officers in charge of navigational watch.

A further 10 students completed diplomas in marine engineering for fishing vessel operations, while six graduated in the Able Seafarer Engine course.

Mwiya said the qualifications were important in preparing Namibians to take up positions in the country’s maritime industry. “Skills and knowledge remain skills and knowledge if they are not applied. It is now for you to make full use of these skills that you have acquired by applying them,” she told the graduates.

She encouraged them to continue upgrading their qualifications and developing their expertise, saying graduation should not mark the end of their learning journey.

“Continue to upgrade, upskill, reskill and relearn so that you become a master in your field of expertise,” she said. Mwiya also reminded graduates to uphold basic moral values, discipline and respect as they entered the workplace.

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