As IMO Commends Efforts

Joseph Oluwarotimi Fashakin. Executive Director, Operations, NIMASA

NIMASA was in May, 2013 appointed the Designated Authority, DA, in charge of the implementation of the International Ships and Ports Security, ISPS, Code after the dissolution of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS).

Since becoming the DA for the implementation of the ISPS, Code in Nigeria, recent events indicate a slide in implementation efforts owing to factors which has to do with internal workings at NIMASA.

While we are certain that the men and women who have made Nigeria proud in the implementation of the Code before now are still in NIMASA, there are indications that things are not the way they used to be.

The Executive Director, Operations, Mr. Joseph Oluwarotimi Fashakin, who is in charge of Maritime Safety and Security matters is definitely working hard at ensuring safety on our waters but he needs to do more to boost the morale of his men and officers who are often at sea, on the field/terminals on supervision/verification duties.

As the commander in charge, he must look inwards, reassure his officers and men, encourage them in their tasks and make provisions for their welfare as they carry out their duties.

He must provide all working tools/gadgets for his men to enhance their efficiency to enable them perform optimally. Evidently, much still needs to be done in the battle against criminalities on the waters to sustain the successes recorded thus far in the area of safety/security.

In spite of the success recorded in the Implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) code in Nigeria, the Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside has repeatedly stated that the Agency will not rest on its oars until the full implementation of the code is attained even as NIMASA has embraced relevant trainings to acquaint its operational Staff of the rudiments of ensuring that Nigerian Ports and Jetties remain safe for economic growth and development.

As far back as 2006, IMO Audit Team has been visiting Nigeria for inspections and training of NIMASA/and other Ports Facilities Security Officers, PFSO’s    on the rudiments of Safety and Security.

During one of such trainings, the Director General of NIMASA Dr. Dakuku Peterside said, “This training is a continuation of the series of trainings highlighted for technical support by the IMO for enhancement of Nigeria’s maritime security to sustain the high standard of the implementation in line with global best practices. The training will equip participants with in-depth skills of carrying out audits which will further reflect high level compliance by stakeholders”.

The Agency received several commendations from the US Coast Guard for its drive in the implementation of the code having surpassed the 70% Benchmark in National compliance level.

It is also on record that NIMASA in its efforts to ensure compliance to safety and security issues and standards had to shut down some facilities within and outside Lagos for breaches/infractions of safety rules.

Only recently, International Maritime Bureau, IMB,  Piracy Reporting Centre said no vessel was reported hijacked in the period under review, marking the first time Nigeria had such record since the first quarter of 1994. The report noted that in the first quarter of 2019, Nigeria experienced a decrease in reported piracy incidents, compared to the same period in 2018.

The IMB Director, Pottengal Mukundan, said that Nigeria was gaining advantage from coordinated responses to incidents via its maritime regulatory agency, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA,and the Nigerian Navy.  He called for sustenance of the collaborative effort.

An elated Dr. Dakuku Peterside, stated that NIMASA would continue to do all in its powers to ensure that piracy in Nigerian territorial waters was drastically reduced, if not eradicated. Dakuku said the Federal Executive Council’s recent approval of the Deep Blue Project, which is an all-encompassing maritime security architecture, was a clear demonstration of the fact that the President Muhammadu Buhari Government was leaving no stone unturned in its determination to tackle the menace of piracy.

In his words “This report by IMB is not a surprise because if you consider how seriously the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government is paying attention to maritime safety and security, which led to the approval of the Deep Blue Project geared towards tackling all illegalities in the maritime sector, you would understand that these are the best times to invest in maritime in Nigeria.”

Therefore, the winning Team NIMASA on Safety and Security matters must be kept intact and encouraged to do more-with all necessary incentives!