Namport recognizes its sixth captain

Earlier this month, the Namibian Ports Authority (Namport) announced the conferring of captainship seals to its 6th Captain from the Marine Division, Captain Changs Maswahu, who has been at the company for 14 years.Maswahu hails from the Zambezi region and says that the journey was full of hurdles as the course of studies demanded every facet of his being from emotional, and physical to mental commitment. According to him, attaining this level of competency and qualification requires dedication, determination and hard work. “I am tremendously proud of Captain Changs. He wanted to give up at some point due to the strain of the course, but we encouraged him to continue and today he has emerged victorious. It just proves that one must never give up, hard work truly does pay off,” commented Port Captain, Lukas Kufuna, about the latest achievement of his colleague. Kufuna’s personal goal as Port Captain at the Port of Walvis Bay is to produce eight Namibian Class One pilots and is well on his way to achieving this target as currently, six pilots have attained their qualifications under his mentorship. The training that trainee pilots undergo is internationally recognized, as it complies with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) regulations, recommendations and conventions, the IALA guidelines, Training and Qualification Standard of EMPA (European Maritime Pilot Association) which places the Namibian pilots on par with their counterparts in terms of skills and competency.Maswahu started off as a Cadet in 2005 and enrolled at the Durban University of Technology under the Namport sponsorship program. He completed his S1 and S2 (theoretical) in 2005 and in the year 2006 was sent to sea to complete 12 months of sea time (a requirement to obtain an Officer of the Watch (OOW) Class 3 Certificate of Competency) employed by Unicorn Shipping as a Cadet.He obtained his OOW CoC in 2008 and was employed as Third Navigation Officer and promoted to Second Navigation Officer onboard Unicorn Tankers between 2008 and 2012. At the same time, Maswahu pursued his piloting career at Namport, completing and passing the authority’s sponsored STC pilot training in 2014 and obtaining pilot licenses 3 000 GRT up to 30 000 GRT.His increasing passion for the industry propelled him to further his studies in 2016 (S3 and S4), obtaining his Chief Officer Certificate of competency in 2017 and continued at sea for another 12 months, employed as Chief Officer.Ultimately all his experiences and studies would result in him attaining a Master Mariner Unlimited Certificate of Competency this year. Maswahu also holds a Diploma for Harbour Masters which he obtained from the Lloyd’s Maritime Academy in December 2020, also financed by Namport. “I would like to encourage young Namibians to consider pursuing a career in piloting, especially young women as this industry is dominated by men. I believe, a career in piloting at Namport is one that is not populated just as yet as the company still employs foreign Nationals due to the shortage of class 1 holders in the country. To my fellow Namibian trainee pilots already in the program, I would like to say keep pushing regardless of the challenges today, class 1 is just a few miles away and very much obtainable. Finally, thanks to all those who believed and supported me throughout this long journey,” encouraged Maswahu,

Namport recognizes its sixth captain

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Republikein 2026-09-04

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Namport recognizes its sixth captain

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Republikein 2026-09-04

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