WASHINGTON: The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has assured all vessels calling at Nigerian ports of their security and safety. This was disclosed by the director-general of the agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside, at the opening ceremony of a 5-day training on International Maritime Organisation (IMO) led International Ships and Ports Security (ISPS) Code Compliance Training for Nigeria held in Lagos yesterday. The DG said Nigeria as a maritime nation takes the issue of safety and security seriously.
“Nigeria as a maritime nation take the issue of security very seriously that is why we are also taking issue of enforcement of ISPS code seriously because it is crucial to the work we do. “Therefore, all we can say to all those who call in our ports is to be assured of their safety and their security,”he said.
Peterside stated that the country has a pass mark in the compliance level of ISPS code implementation in Nigeria. “As at last count, we are rated 78 percent compliance level in ISPS Code implementation. No nation has hit the 100 per cent mark but we hope to be in the 90 per cent range any moment from now and any time a new assessment is done. But I think we are doing well in implementation of ISPS Code in the country,”he added.
The DG also stated that the training would help build capacity of the agency’s staff in enforcement and implementation of the code. “The training is to help build capacity of our people in the area of enforcement and implementation of ISPS code. “Like we said the best way to build an organisation is to build people with talent, skills, knowledge and talent and this have to be on a continuous basis. “The training will avail all participants with a good insight of the Destination Authority (DA) implementation process and a forum for deliberation on contemporary issues related to ensuring compliance by port facilities,” he further stated. According to him,the training was to sustain the positive trajectory of the ISPS video as recommended by the IMO.
