By Steve Agbota, [email protected] 08033302331
“The statistics released by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) showing piracy in the Gulf of Guinea dropping from 81 in 2020 to 34 in 2021, representing 58.02 per cent was not by accident, but a product of conscious collaborative efforts by NIMASA, Nigerian Navy and other stakeholders in the region.
The IMB report also shows a 62 per cent decrease in the number of kidnappings in the Gulf of Guinea which reduced from 150 in 2020 to 57 in 2021,” these were the words of Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Dr. Bashir Jamoh.
According to him, NIMASA is committed to continuously collaborate with all stakeholders to ensure that Nigeria attains the status of not only the hub of maritime activities in the West and Central Africa region but also a major maritime player globally.
Jamoh, who spoke during an interactive session with media stakeholders in Lagos, said there is steady progress in terms of maritime security safety and growing capacity for the industry.
He said improved strategic collaboration with the Nigerian Navy, Nigerian Airforce, Nigeria Police Force, Nigerian Army and the office of the National Securiry Adviser has helped to reduce piracy attacks off the coast of the Gulf of Guinea, as there were no single attack on Nigerian waters in the 3rd quarter of 2021, as reported by the International Maritime Bureau.
Commenting on statutory levies stakeholders pay the Federal Government through the Agency, Jamoh reaffirmed that NIMASA levies are in accordance with the provisions of the Act which set up the Agency.
“The NIMASA Act 2007 which is our guiding principle only states that our charges must be a component of the gross freight and must be paid by shipowners not in terms of product to marketers or any other entity,” he said.
Speaking further, he hinted that all the payments, either in hard currency or Naira, are made into the Treasury Single Account (TSA) of the Federal Government, adding that in the long run, it was for the benefit of all Nigerians that the country did not further lose any source of revenue through underpayment in statutory charges or levies.
On the recent explosion which occurred on Trinity Spirit Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO), the NIMASA DG described the incident as unfortunate.
He said the NIMASA team is working with other relevant organs of Government to establish the immediate and remote causes of the fire explosion.
He noted that the issue of environmental pollution was highlighted in the preliminary report and the Agency would work with the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) through the use of the International Oil Pollution Compensation
(IOPC)funds for compensation of all the losses within and around the facility.
He said that the public would be informed of every detail concerning the incident as the situation unfolds.
However, he said the agency recorded an increase of 43.6 per cent in condition survey for Flag Registration in year 2021 as against the performance in year 2020, adding that in 2020, the Agency carried out condition survey of vessels under Flag Registration for 276 vessels, while in 2021, the figure increased to 489.
Despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, he maintained that the agency ensured improved Port and Flag State Administration in accordance with the safety requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act 2007.
He said NIMASA entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Maritime Transport Coordination Center (MTCC) in 2021 for developing capacity needed to reduce greenhouse gas emission in the maritime industry with emphasis on achieving 0.5 per cent Sulphur Oxide in bunker fuel.
Meanwhile, Jamoh disclosed that the Agency’s contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government, increased from figures hovering around N31 billion in 2020 to about N37 billion in year 2021.
He said the agency would strengthen its maritime safety and security enforcement mechanisms, organise a stakeholders’ engagement towards harnessing the potentials of a blue economy.