DG NIMASA Advocates Greater Role for African Women in Maritime

·        Pledges to sponsor delegates to WISTA Africa conference in Accra

·        Reiterates pivotal role of blue economy

In line with the global focus on enhancing the role of women in the maritime and shipping sector, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has announced the Agency’s readiness to support initiatives aimed at getting more African women involved in the industry. Dakuku said this last week when the president of Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA), Ghana, Jemilat Mahamah, paid him a courtesy visit at the NIMASA headquarters in Lagos.

He pledged that NIMASA will sponsor a high-powered delegation to the 6th WISTA Africa Region Conference holding in Accra from April 2 to 4. According to him, the theme of the conference, “The role of women in harnessing the potential of Africa’s blue economy,” coincides with the focus of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) this year, which is, “Empowering Women in the Maritime Community.”  

The Director General stated, “Globally, the focus in the maritime industry today is how to get more women involved in the sector, whether as seafarers, ship owners, etc. So every effort to encourage the participation of women in the sector is supported by NIMASA. You can count on our support.”

He added, “It is interesting that this year is dedicated by the IMO to empowering women in the maritime sector, specifically, shipping. Your conference coincides with the thematic thrust of the IMO this year. Therefore, it is very easy for us to align with the global agenda of the international maritime community and support your initiative of hosting the continent in Accra.

“You can count on the support of NIMASA and, by extension, Nigeria. We believe and support everything that would give women a role in the maritime sector. There is no sector that would exclude 50 per cent of the population and expect that sector to thrive. If we exclude women, we are excluding 50 per cent of our population from benefitting in the economic activities in the maritime sector.”

Dakuku said the focus of the WISTA conference also accorded with current efforts by African leaders to create economic activities in the continent by maximising the benefits of the blue economy.

“The blue economy is one critical sector that will create employment for our people, contribute to economic growth, and give opportunities to all our people, whether they be men or women. So it is timely and most appropriate that you are focusing on how to get 50 per cent of the continent’s population involved in the blue economy, be it fisheries, fishing, or underwater mining, aquaculture or any of the activities that go on in the blue economy. That totally aligns with our vision of making the blue economy play greater role in the economic growth of our country and our continent,” Dakuku stated.

Earlier, the president of WISTA Ghana emphasised the place of the 45-year-old organisation in the maritime world. “We basically promote women in the shipping industry, and we mentor the young and coming ones,” Mahamah said of WISTA, which got Observer Status at IMO last year and has a membership of about 3, 500 women in the maritime industry from across over 40 countries.

She used the opportunity to invite the NIMASA Director General to the 6th WISTA Africa Region Conference and also sought the support of African countries, especially Nigeria, towards the conference.

Mahamah thanked Nigeria for leading the way in the enactment of relevant cabotage laws to enhance shipping activities in the continent.  

President, WISTA Nigeria, Mary Hamman, was among prominent Nigerian women maritime professionals that took part in the visit.  

The 6th WISTA Africa Region Conference in the Ghanaian capital will be opened by the country’s President Nana Akufo-Addo. It will be attended by IMO Secretary-General Kitack Lim and Vice President of Liberia Joseph Boakai, among other prominent leaders and maritime industry experts from across Africa and beyond.

IMPLEMENTATION OF SUSTAINABLE BLUE ECONOMY IN NIGERIA

"Never depend on single income, make investment to create a second source,”       this assertion by Warren Buffet speaks volumes of the Nigerian economy which has over the years been dependent on oil exports for survival. This alone exposes us maximally to the effects of the global economy.  This article explores the place of the maritime industry in the development of the Nigerian economy, both locally and globally.

It is saddening to note that despite the fact the maritime sector has great potentials and is said to be the next to crude oil in terms of revenue and job creation, the sector’s contribution to the Gross Domestic Product is very low. In fact, it is so low that the bureau of statistics does not capture it in their analysis of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contributing elements.

Before we go into details of the effects of the global economy and other factors on our local economy, it is very pertinent to explain how the economy works, and how we can manage it so that it can grow over time. Economic growth is simply described as the increase in the market value of goods and services over time. In Economics, it is the outward shift in its production possibility curve (PPC). What this simply means is that there’s an increase in the production capacity of a given economy. This explanation is what gives rise to the increase in the GDP and Gross National Product (GNI). In layman’s terms, it means that there’s been an additional income or spending power for everyone.

One may want to know why economic growth is so important. Economic growth is one of the major determinants of a healthy economy. One of the biggest impacts of long term economic growth of a country is that it would have a positive impact on national income and level of employment, which generally would increase the standard of living and the wealth of a country and its people. This increase in the national income would also boost the government’s treasury by way of extra tax income for spending on national development.

No economy in the world today operates in isolation. Events in one country or region can have a significant effect on the growth potential of another country. Nigeria is not excluded from this. Our economy today is overly dependent on the price of oil which is controlled by the Organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC) who also controls the amount of crude exported by each member country each day. This is a major determinant whether Nigeria would have a budget surplus or deficit. This is Nigeria’s major source of revenue and this affects us greatly which calls for the need to diversify our sources of revenue.

Other factors that may affect the Nigerian economy in 2019 include the Nigerian election, the United States dollar and the rate of interest in the USA. Of note in particular is the election that would be taking place in 2019. This is laden with uncertainties and has caused a decrease in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the country. It has also led to capital flight and paucity of funds in the local economy pending the outcome of the election.

Other factors that may limit our capacity to grow our economy includes the scarcity of physical capital and infrastructure, technology, capital flight, human capital and government’s laws and policies.

Notwithstanding that the factors listed above limits our capacity to grow and develop the economy, the Nigerian Maritime and safety Agency (NIMASA)  forecasts an increase of 10% in maritime business and implores stakeholders to invest in the sector for huge returns.  Therefore, there's need to begin internalizing our externalities so as to expand our economic capacity. The Nigerian Maritime industry is under-utilized, but it has the capacity to increase the production possibility curve of the Nigerian economy. So many aspects of this industry is not utilized to full capacity or anything near it. One way to achieve this would be to make a huge investment in the maritime and shipping sector. This sector can bring in good revenue that could surpass the oil revenue if properly harnessed. Looking closely at the charts, Nigeria is no way near China that has greatly benefitted from the maritime industry.

NIMASA in its forecast for the year 2019-2020 has projected an increase of 10% in the Nigerian maritime and shipping business, notwithstanding the limitations or barriers to achieving that. Dr. Dakuku, the director general of the agency had stated that "the maritime sector remains a pivot to the stability and growth of the economy, hence the need to provide guidance for industry players as it will attract more foreign direct investment and ultimately improve the nation’s GDP.

On this backdrop, it’s imperative for stakeholders to seize this opportunity to grow their business. It's also an opportunity for new investors in the sector. The opportunities for greatness and fame are unlimited wherever one is inspired to invest in the maritime sector. Dr. Dakuku stated that the areas for growth which can be utilized by investors in the country include financing and acquisition of assets for coastal and international trade, manpower development, maritime safety, ship building and repairs, recycling, marine insurance and support services.

Speaking of opportunities, it is expected that the activities of the non-oil sectors will increase and the new Lekki deep seaport will create new opportunities for investors. It is also projected that there would be an increase in local sea business in 2019. Therefore, this provides an opportunity for Nigerians to invest.  These opportunities, though capital intensive, would see an increase in the economic production capacity, increase in the national income, rise in employment level and reduction in youth restiveness. It would also increase government’s revenue and the general standard of living for the average Nigerian.

There’s also the need to open up other seaports in the country which would help in decongesting the seaports in Lagos and increase economic activities in other cities like Calabar, Warri, Port Harcourt and it’s environs.

There are other opportunities in the inland water tributaries. These include transport, fishing and sport. These tributaries needs to be developed because there’s need to create opportunities for those living close to the waters so they can bring their produce to the urban areas. This would enhance their source of livelihood and would greatly reduce the rural-urban migration.

These opportunities are subject to the provision of an enabling environment for businesses to thrive. This is the role of government to provide such environment to attract investors.  Truth be told, if government does not work optimally by providing an enabling environment in its laws and policies, businesses can never thrive. This generally affects everybody’s ability to succeed. It is a biome that cascades down to everything and everybody. Therefore, one can say that the government has a very strong role to play in ensuring that maritime businesses succeed by providing an enabling environment and ease of business conditions in the maritime sector.

Playing the role of the government, Dr. Dakuku, as head of NIMASA is working so hard to ensure that Nigerians take an important role in this maritime sector. It can be recalled that in 2018, NIMASA, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, (MoU) with the World Maritime University, Malmo Sweden to develop human capacity for the Nigerian maritime sector. It is his wish that Nigerians play an active role in this sector, because he knows the benefits that can come from investing in this sector.

Still working hard to ensure that Nigerians take an active role in the maritime industry, Dr. Dakuku, disclosed in 2018, that Nigeria has been able to ratify 40 conventions passed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) covering Maritime Safety, Labour and Marine Environment. One very important convention that was ratified, led NIMASA to inaugurate Marine Litter Marshals to assist the agency in ridding the oceans of unwanted waste materials that could cause environmental degradation and also impede safety of navigation on the nation’s territorial waters.

For the sake of Nigerians, Dr. Dakuku in 2018 went for the full implementation of the cabotage act all in his bid to empower Nigerians. I still recalled what he said,

“Our laws forbid foreign vessels operating in our territorial waters save for compliance with the Cabotage Act. There shall be no sacred cow when we commence clampdown on erring vessels. We want to increase the number of Nigerians who participate in the marine aspect of your business and we are working closely with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to have a joint categorization of vessels operating under the Cabotage Act in order to ensure the full implementation of the Act”.

That being said, let’s fast-forward to 2019. In the 2019-2020 forecast document, Dr. Dakuku reiterated government's effort in the area of sustaining an enabling environment especially in the areas of safety of vessels in the gulf of Guinea and the reduction of militancy in the Niger Delta. According to the director general, he is expecting that the national assembly will pass into law the bill to criminalize and punish maritime offenders. This in itself will give assurance to the international community and investors in particular, the local stakeholders of government's willingness to support their businesses.

Apart from creating good laws and policies, there’s the need for government to provide funding to the sector. Funding is like the fuel that powers any business. A business without funding sources will definitely flounder under the weight of it’s own debts. Dr. Dakuku, noted that funding for the sector is not enough, he stated that the government needs to increase the cabotage vessel financing fund (CVFF) while looking for other sources of finance. Worthy of note is the provision of funds for stakeholders and interested investors to plough money in the business of ship ownership and management. This will greatly impact the sector for growth.

Because of the potentials inherent in this sector, the Dakuku led administration of NIMASA is negotiating with government at the highest level to push for a special intervention fund, special interest rates and other incentives that will drive optimal growth and performance in the sector. It must also be noted that from the 2019-2020 forecast document, Nigeria is making huge investment in building human capacity to see that more Nigerians will get involved in shipping business and operation.

Putting all these in place without fixing the issue of technology is like building a house on a sandy foundation. Technology has important effects on business operations. Technology has both tangible and intangible benefits that would help one make money in business. Now that there are newer technologies, like the amazon’s deep learning platform and google’s field programmable gate arrays. The Nigerian Maritime industry could invest in these new technologies in the area of ship and fleet management. There are many of such technologies and there’s need for training and re-training of staffs to enhance productivity and efficiency. There’s no gainsaying the fact that there would be greater levels of automation and digitalization of processes that would create impacts in the maritime sector, and Nigeria needs to improve in their game if they have to compete globally.

In the words of Warren Bennis, "leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality," and this is what Dr. Peterside Dakuku is doing at the helms of affairs at NIMASA. He saw the opportunities in the maritime industry and has continued to provide enabling environments for maritime businesses to thrive for Nigerians in this sector.

He has projected that the year 2019 will see an increase in maritime business which will add at least 10% to the GDP and a general increase in the purchasing power of the ordinary Nigerian.

It is believed that when all is effectively implemented, there would be an increase in economic activity, which will position Nigeria on the way to economic recovery after the 2015 recession and an economy that can sustain job creation and produce the kind of revenue that Nigeria needs to defend our country at home and abroad.

After studying the 2019 maritime forecast document, I say to all stakeholders in the maritime industry to have a fruitful 2019 and let new adventures begin.

US Coast Guard Commends NIMASA, Offers Advise on Port Security

The United States Coast Guard has commended the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for its efforts to improve security and operational efficiency within Nigeria’s maritime domain. The commendation was given on Thursday in Lagos by a visiting coast guard team led by Lt Commander Janna Ott. The delegation was in Nigeria to inspect facilities and ports.

Ott, a representative of the US Coast Guard in International Port Security Programme, said NIMASA had taken laudable steps to improve Nigeria’s compliance with the International Ship and Port Security (ISPS) code.

Ott said of NIMASA, “You do have a really great team here. They were very helpful.

“I thank them for their frank and open discussion in allowing us to give them our observations. Hopefully, they can take whatever we have given them to heart and start working on them right away.”

She, however, urged greater vigilance in terms of access to the ISPS zones at the ports.

“It’s very important that you know in your port facilities who is gaining access and they are authorised to be there before they go through those gates of the ISPS zone,” Ott stated. “You also need to be consistent with the proficiencies of all the security personnel in holding people accountable that are coming through those port facilities. We already had a very good discussion with NIMASA,” she added.

Responding, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, said the country had made significant progress in addressing the issue of access control around the port areas. Dakuku, who spoke through NIMASA’s Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Bashir Jamoh, said, “The issue of access control is one of the paramount areas. The access road, access control, those are very important areas.

“Similarly, on access control, we just introduced stickers to the ports. We started implementing it early this month.”

He said the federal government had taken measures in partnership with the private sector to ensure that all port facilities in Nigeria were easily accessed.

The DG said NIMASA had recorded steady progress in its implementation of the ISPS Code, stressing that Nigeria has moved from implementation to enforcement.

He told the US Coast Guard team, “The issues you mentioned, we are dealing with them. One of the things we have introduced is training. We are aware that some of the facilities have these issues. Right now, most of them are going into biometric access control, which you observed in some of the terminals, like MRS, Five Star Logistics, etc.

“We would do more in training and continuous visit to these facilities and create better awareness for them to implement effective access control strategies. We will be consistent in the things we do because we have our executive management’s buy-in and support to do our job.

“In fact, we have gone from just implementation to enforcement, where after several engagements and if facilities do not comply with those required standards, we start to sanction them and even get them shut down.”

The United States Coast Guard is Nigeria’s peer review partner towards ISIS Code implementation compliance. They regularly visit Nigeria to monitor implementation of the ISPS in Nigeria.

WAGE: NIGERIA DOCK LABOUR GETS NEW LEASE OF LIFE

…As NIMASA, STOAN, MWUN Others Sign Collective Bargaining Agreement 

In a bid to ensure a better living standard for dock workers in the Nigeria maritime industry, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) alongside other associations in the sector under the aegis of the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) have signed a Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), which is intended to improve the welfare of dock workers in line with global best practices.

The agreement which was painstakingly documented involves increases in their wages and allowances and certain emoluments and benefits, which includes; payment of redundancy and retirement benefits by terminal operators to aged dockworkers, payment of specified allowances to a deceased dock worker’s next of kin and pension contribution scheme for dock workers amongst other items listed in the agreement.

Speaking during the signing ceremony of the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) held in Lagos yesterday, the Chairman of the NJIC, Mr. Gambo Ahmed who is also the Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services of NIMASA and equally represented the Director General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside at the occasion, noted that dock labour is an integral part of the maritime industry, hence the need to place priority on their welfare.

He urged operators to bear in mind that the welfare of the dock workers will impact a lot on ports operations and in turn the entire economy, hence the need to ensure that they are properly catered for. “When the welfare of the dockworkers’ are put into proper perspective, we will have a healthy maritime sector, thereby leading to the actualization of a robust economy,” he stated. 

At the event, the Chairman of the Seaports Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) Dr. (Mrs.) Vicky Haastrup stated that without the dock workers, there will be no ports, because the workers play a major role in economy of the ports, hence their welfare is paramount.

While commending NIMASA for its efforts in coordinating the NJIC, she observed that the initiative has brought about understanding among stakeholders in the ports and also given room for the peace and orderliness the maritime sector is enjoying. “We must all work together to ensure that the interest of the common dock worker is protected,” she said.  

On his part, the President General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju applauded the initiative and pleaded that all parties involved should endeavour to fulfill their obligations as contained in the agreement.

Accordingly, he stated that it has never been this good in the industry, but for the supervision of NIMASA through the NJIC initiative; the industry is witnessing a new dawn with this CBA that is being signed. He also used the opportunity to pledge that the leaders of the Union will continue to ensure the sustenance of peace and harmony in the maritime sector in the interest of the sector and the Nigeria economy as a whole.

L-R: President of the National Association of Stevedoring Companies, Mr. Bolaji Sunmola, Chairman National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) and Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, NIMASA, Mr. Gambo Ahmed, President General, Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), Comrade Adewale Adeyanju  and Director, Maritime Labour Services Department of NIMASA, Mr. Ibrahim Jibril during the signing ceremony of the Collective Bargaining Agreement for Dock Labour by the NJIC in Lagos.

The Chairman, Ports Consultative Council, Otunba Kunle Folarin and the President of the National Association of Stevedoring Companies, Mr. Bolaji Sunmola also joined in commending the efforts to maintain peace at the ports and called for continuous engagement, as it remains a panacea to a robust maritime sector.    

In his vote of thanks, the Director, Maritime Labour Services of NIMASA, Mr. Ibrahim Jibril noted that NIMASA believes that all parties will ensure full implementation of the agreement and that this will help the Ease of Doing Business initiative of the Federal Government as well as improved turnaround time in all activities in the ports.   

The NJIC is the body responsible for negotiating and reviewing of minimum standards for dock labour industry. It was constituted in 2008 following the need to establish minimum standards for the Dock Labour Industry after the ports were concessioned in 2006.

The Agency is statutorily empowered under section 27(1) (b) of NIMASA Act 2007 to facilitate the NJIC meetings and circulate signed Agreements to all concerned parties. Further to this, the Agency is also to ensure strict compliance on implementation of the CBA.

CABOTAGE IMPLEMENTATION: NO MORE VESSEL WAIVERS NIMASA WARNS

…Commences clampdown on erring vessels.

After several warnings the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA has commenced clampdown on vessels that do not comply with the provisions of the Cabotage Compliance Strategy introduced last year to ease the implementation of the Cabotage Act 2003 in Nigeria.

The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said the Agency will no longer encourage the application of any form of waivers under the Cabotage Act, particularly from the oil firms operations as such does not help the growth of the Nigerian maritime sector and economy at large.

“Our laws forbid foreign vessels operating in our territorial waters save for compliance with the Cabotage Act. There shall be no sacred cow when we commence clampdown on erring vessels. We want to increase the number of Nigerians who participate in the marine aspect of your business and we are working closely with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to have a joint categorization of vessels operating under the Cabotage Act in order to ensure the full implementation of the Act”, he said

A detention order for a Motor Tanker, MT NAVIGATOR CAPRICORN, which is a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Carrier, has been approved for contravening sections of the Cabotage Act.

The vessel was first boarded in October 2018 and all infractions of Cabotage non-compliance were noted and communicated accordingly to the charterer/Owners representatives with a 90 days grace period to comply. The 90 days expired on the 31st January 2019. It is noteworthy that Owners made undertaking to remedy the notable infractions when the vessel was issued a detention warning in October 2018.

While NIMASA is currently engaging the owners and charterers of the vessel on the need to comply with the laws of the land, MT NAVIGATOR CAPRICORN has been moved to Lagos Anchorage to allow space for other LPG vessels to discharge at the NOJ Jetty.

It is noteworthy that the NIMASA DG had led members of his team to meet with the Oil Producers Trade Sector (OPTS) in Lagos where he urged industry players to draw up a five-year strategic plan for the cessation of application for Cabotage waiver and also pursue the utilization of Nigerian-owned vessels for marine contracts.

You will also recall that in August 2018, NIMASA introduced a new Compliance Strategy for Cabotage Implementation in Nigeria to ensure full implementation of the Cabotage Act, 2003 to secure jobs for qualified Nigerians in the maritime sector.

The Agency via a Marine Notice suspended considerations for applications of grant of waiver on manning for prescribed categories of officers in vessels engaged in Cabotage trade. The Agency no longer consider application for grant of waiver on manning requirements for vessels engaged in coastal trade with regards to 2nd officer, 2ndengineer, 2nd mate down to able seamen, ratings and stewards.

Special applications for Captains, Chief Engineers, Chief Officers, First Mate in the absence of qualified Nigerians are considered on merit, but on the condition that such organization make plan to train a Nigerian and put in place a transition plan to ensure that the Nigerian takes over the job within one year.

The whole essence of this was to ensure that Nigerians are not deprived of the jobs due them on showing requisite qualifications for the job.

FG COMMITTED TO ERADICATING SEA CRIME - DAKUKU

NIMASA UNDERTAKES SURVEILLANCE TRAINING FOR SECURITY AGENCIES

In its effort to rid the Nigerian maritime domain of criminalities, the Federal Government through the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has undertaken surveillance training for officers from the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Air Force, Nigeria Police, the Department of State Services (DSS), and NIMASA, on the C4I Integrated Surveillance Systems operation. The system will aid the coordinated view of the entire Nigerian maritime domain. 

Speaking yesterday at the graduation ceremony held at the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Centre (NMRDC), Lagos, Director General of the Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, restated the government’s determination to ensure that the country's territorial waters was free of piracy and all forms of maritime crime in order to facilitate economic development.

L-R:   Manager, HLSI Systems & Technology Ltd, Mr Mickey Har Gaash, Director General, NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Petetrside, Best Graduating Student, Mohammed El-Yakubu and the Executive Director (Finance & Administration), NIMASA, Mr Bashir Yusuf Jamoh during the Graduation of participatants special integrated course on maritime surveillance and security in Lagos, February 6, 2019.

Dakuku added that the C4I Integrated Surveillance Systems operation, organised by the Agency in conjunction with an Israeli security firm, HLSi Security Systems and Technologies Limited, was another step towards building human capacity for the maritime industry, particularly the Deep Sea project.

In his words, ''As part of our efforts towards tackling piracy and other maritime crimes, which continue to constitute threats to vessels plying our territorial waters, the C4I System Operator Course is a part of the 'Total Maritime Security Strategy’ adopted under this management to give us the best eye view of our domain and ultimately halt insecurity in order to ensure that our maritime industry optimises its potential of contributing majorly to Nigeria’s economic growth.”

While noting that crime free waters would further boost the investment opportunities in the nation’s blue economy, Dr Dakuku added that the Agency was aware of the issues that made the Gulf of Guinea one of the most challenging maritime domains in terms of security. This, he said, was why NIMASA was attacking the issue on all fronts, including sponsoring a bill that will make cases relating to piracy and other sea crimes to be decisively dealt with to serve as a deterrent to potential perpetrators.

The DG added that effective surveillance would aid quick response time to crime scenes, especially with the Agency’s possession of fast intervention vessels. He said all these put together would encourage investors and make the Nigerian maritime sector an investment hub.

In his remarks, the Nigerian Representative of HLSI, Mr Mickey Gaash, commended the participants for their exemplary conduct during the programme. Gaash said the training was the first in the series, saying it would be followed by advanced training on surveillance.

He also commended the NIMASA management for its dedication and commitment to ending piracy, not only in the Nigerian territorial waters, but also in the entire Gulf of Guinea.

The first batch of twenty two (22) graduates from the programme, who are to proceed to the intelligence gathering stage of the training schedule, were selected from all the participating armed forces branches and security agencies including the Army, Navy, Air Force, DSS and NIMASA.

The Deep Blue Project which has the establishment of an Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure in Nigeria at its heart, has the advantage of providing an eagle eye view of the entire Nigerian maritime domain.

Multilateral Cooperation Key to Vessel Safety, Marine Resources Utilisation- DG NIMASA

The Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, says the agency has created operational conditions that have prompted a turnaround in prospects for maritime safety and successful utilisation of the country’s enormous marine resources. Dakuku stated this in Abuja last week while delivering a lecture on “Maritime Safety and Shipping Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects,” at the National Defence College.

Dakuku said NIMASA’s Total Spectrum Maritime Security Strategy had engendered significant improvement in maritime safety and security in the country. The other measures adopted by the agency to better the state of safety and security in the marine environment, he said, include acquisition and utilisation of marine technology infrastructure (maritime domain awareness); improved compliance monitoring and enforcement activities; training/re-training; and conscious efforts to ensure adequate funding for the maritime sector.

L-R: DG, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside; Commandant, National Defence College, Abuja, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo; and Chairman, NIMASA Board, General Jonathan India Garba (rtd), at a lecture on Maritime Safety and Shipping Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Prospects by Dakuku at the National Defence College, in Abuja recently.

At NIMASA, he said, “We have moved from enforcement to education and enlightenment, to get operators to understand why they should comply with the rules and the risks in not complying, as well as help them to comply.”

Speaking further at the event, which had participation from several African countries, Dakuku called for multilateral cooperation, especially among African countries, to ensure vessel safety and enhance opportunities for the exploitation of marine resources, saying maritime security is a global problem.

“Shipping, perhaps, is the most globalised of all great industries in the world. Approximately 90% of world trade is transported by ships. Such as the case of Nigeria, this figure is close to 95%. There are over 50,000 merchant ships trading internationally today, manned by more than a million seafarers and carrying every kind of cargo. Thus, the safety of vessels is critical to the global economy,” he stated.

Dakuku said maritime safety had moved from the approach of tending to react to marine incidents only after their occurrence to a proactive regime entailing the prior initiation of solutions based on risk analysis.

The DG said research had shown that most maritime accidents in Nigeria resulted from human factors, stressing that industry actors have a greater role to play in the new approach to maritime safety, as they have a better control over the human elements. He said NIMASA was tackling the human factors that could imperil shipping in the country through its improved enforcement and monitoring mechanisms.

Underscoring the role of the human factor in the efforts to ensure safety of vessels, Dakuku said a study of marine accidents/incidents in Nigeria between 2016 and 2018 showed that 38 per cent resulted from collision (poor vessel traffic) – human error; 19 per cent resulted from fire explosion; 12 per cent was due to capsize; grounding and sinking accounted for eight per cent each; and oil spill caused 15 per cent.

He identified the challenges associated with maritime safety and shipping development in Nigeria to include poor compliance with regulations, insufficient manning, professional competence issues, lack of capital, piracy, inadequate technological infrastructure, and pollution.

Dakuku stated, “NIMASA has continuously dealt with safety challenges in the context of operations, management, surveying, ship registration, and the role of administration. Since international maritime safety has moved from a largely prescriptive and reactive safety scheme to a risk-based proactive regime, responsibility for safety is being placed on those in the industry to set out and create new perspectives on risk-based decision making.

“Hence, the way forward would be to adopt a Formal Safety Assessment (FSA) framework for maritime safety management.”

He said the FSA framework consisted of five key steps, namely, identification of hazards, assessment of risks associated with the hazards, finding ways of managing the risks, analysis of the risk control options (RCOs), and deciding on the options to select.

“The five-step process covers all aspects of safety analysis and suggesting suitable safeguards against all major and minor areas,” Dakuku stated.

Dakuku also disclosed that the six fast intervention security vessels, which NIMASA leased under its maritime security strategy project, had made tremendous impact. The initiative helped to increase Port State Inspection by 10.53 per cent in 2017, from 475 in 2016 to 525 in 2017. It also facilitated an upswing in Flag State Inspection, from 77 in 2016, to 98 in 2017, representing a 27 per cent increase. He said the rise in PSI and FSI had continued.

In his own remarks, Commandant of the National Defence College, Rear Admiral Adeniyi Osinowo, also emphasised the importance of maritime cooperation among African countries, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea, saying this is key to their maritime security, safety and development.

He said in African there used to have excessive focus on land, with little or no interest in activities in the sea. But increased political contacts among African leaders, according to him, have transformed that to “wealth blindness”.

“Wealth blindness in the sense that there is so much in the maritime environment in terms of economic resources and activities that could solve practically 70 to 80 per cent of our national economic problems. Our ability to explore and exploit the related opportunities are part of the problems,” he said.  

Those present at the lecture included Chairman, NIMASA Board, General Jonathan India Garba (rtd), members of the agency’s management team, and course participants of the National Defence College.