As Agency Bags Excellence  Award

L-R: Head, Shipping Development Department of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Mr. Anthony Ogadi, Director, Special Duties in charge of External Relations and Technical Cooperation, NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, Director, Africa, Port of Antwerp International, Belgium, Nico Vertongen, Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Belgium, Paulette Gondry-Van Trier, Director General, NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Senior Event Executive, Antwerp Port Authority, Kathleen Reinehr, Managing Director, Grimaldi Agency, Nigeria, Ascanio Russo and Registrar of Ships, NIMASA, Mrs. Nneka Obianyor during the visit of the delegation from the Port of Antwerp to NIMASA in Lagos.

In its bid to boost trade and encourage foreign direct investment opportunities in the Nigerian maritime sector, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is set to partner with the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. This position was made known by the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, when he played host to a team from the Port of Antwerp in Belgium led by the Director, Africa Port of Antwerp International, Mr. Nico Vertongen, in Lagos.

Following discussions, the NIMASA DG disclosed that the Port of Antwerp had had a long standing relationship with the ports community in Lagos, noting that from 2017 till date, 302 vessels have called between the Port of Antwerp and the ports community in Lagos.

Dakuku revealed that within the period, 33 vessels conveyed export goods from the port of Lagos terminating at the Port of Antwerp, with 22 Belgium-flagged vessels calling at Nigerian ports and several other volumes of transaction.

In his words “We have always had a business relationship with the port of Antwerp either as destination ports or ports of origin. We are glad to know that you are in Nigeria and planning to lead a business mission sometime in November to the Lagos Port Community. Our position is straight forward and clear; we welcome the business mission with our doors open and believe there is a lot we can do together,”

Dakuku also stated that the November meeting will be the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship in diverse ways that will also give opportunities for exchange of ideas. “It  will also open opportunities for training for our people and it will give you a better understanding of how the ports in Lagos, Nigeria, in Africa work, leading to the volume of trade between ports and other operations,” he added.

The DG who expressed concerns about the isolated negative representation of the Nigerian maritime sector in the media, said efforts were being made to stem it. He told the delegation that the Agency, which has the responsibility to ensure maritime security in the ports and waterways, had put in place a number of strategies, including a legal framework on piracy and maritime crime and acquisition of assets to build up response capability, to stop the pirates and criminals from operating within the coastal waters. The Agency is also building up alliance with Nigeria’s immediate neighbours, Dakuku stated.

“Therefore, in November, we will have the opportunity of setting up business to business meetings; we have a number of Nigeria businesses that are interested in doing business with operators in Belgium, precisely in the ports of Antwerp. And as you have notified us today, we will begin to prepare ship owners in Nigeria; those who have set up ship repair yards, ship building yards, operators and all of those for business to business meeting in November and it is believed that it will be rewarding”, Dr. Dakuku said.

The Director, Africa of the Port of Antwerp International, Mr. Nico Vertongen, who spoke on behalf of the delegation said the Port of Antwerp intended to come to Nigeria in November on a business mission with the intention of boosting the already existing relationship between the ports community in Lagos and the Antwerp port.

He expressed their readiness to partner NIMASA on port security, safety and also possible areas of training, adding that the meeting will further be an opportunity for the duo to be official partners.

NIMASA has continued to embrace collaboration and partnership, thereby allowing it to fully actualise its dream of creating a robust maritime sector in line with best global practices.

In a re lated development, NIMASA has won the Outstanding Maritime Operations Regulator of the Year (Sea and Offshore) Awards in recognition of the Agency’s commitment and strategic initiatives towards the development of the sector.

Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh (left), who represented the Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, receiving the Outstanding Maritime Operations Regulator of the Year (Sea/Offshore) award from President of the Institute of Tourism Professionals, Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, at the National Tourism and Transport Summit held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja recently.

The Institute of Tourism Professionals (ITP), organizers of the National Tourism and Transport Summit, said NIMASA earned the Award by their their unrelenting efforts at Maritime Development in Nigeria.

The DG, by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Bashir Jamoh  charged stakeholders and investors to tap into the huge opportunities in maritime tourism, which is a crucial part of the Blue Economy. He assured potential investors that NIMASA would help to create an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive.

He also urged coastal states to follow the example of Lagos in making conscious efforts to harness their maritime potential.  Dakuku explained that with Nigeria’s maritime endowments, maritime tourism could be a major revenue earner and huge contributor to the government’s economic diversification agenda.

“While the tourism potential in other aspects of the economy are being maximised to a reasonable extent, the potential of coastal and maritime tourism in Nigeria remains grossly under-tapped. Lagos is the only state that has shown substantial commitment towards developing maritime tourism as a critical pillar of its economic development. Other states need to emulate Lagos in order to grow our Blue Economy”, the DG said.

According to him, with a coastline of about 852 kilometres and an inland waterways of over 8, 000 kilometres, Nigeria has the natural habitat to grow its maritime tourism industry to be one of the biggest in the sub-region.

Participants at the two-day event deliberated on ways of harnessing the interdependence of tourism and transport for the sustainable growth and development of the tourism industry, in particular, and the Nigerian economy, as a whole.