This is a summary of an opinion article by an outside author. The views are the author’s, not Maritime News BD’s.
Writing in The Daily Star on 8 November 2025, Ahamedul Karim Chowdhury, adjunct faculty at Bangladesh Maritime University, argues that Bangladesh trains more deck and engine cadets than the shipping market can absorb, leaving graduates waiting for the 12-plus months of sea time needed for a first certificate of competency while their skills fade.
He notes that foreign cadets can often seek berths on seafarer identity documents, while Bangladeshi cadets usually need work visas first, shutting them out of last-minute joining opportunities. Citing Vietnam’s partnership with a Dutch training college, he proposes a 12-16 week finishing track co-designed with employers, seafarer-mobility arrangements with crew-change hubs such as the UAE, Singapore and Hong Kong, intake numbers set against forecast demand as in the Philippines, a national placement portal with ethical recruitment oversight, and protection of certification integrity.
Source
- The Daily Star (opinion): “How Bangladesh can secure global jobs for maritime graduates” (8 November 2025)
File photo: an earlier ministerial visit to the National Maritime Institute. Photo: Press Information Department / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
This article is a summary prepared by Maritime News BD from the report(s) listed above; it was not independently reported by Maritime News BD.
