Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Victor Ochei; representative of Director, Maritime Safety and Security, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Imam Aminu; Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh; representative of the Minister of Transportation, Augustine Makama; Executive Director, Finance and Administration, NIMASA, Chudi Offodile; and Executive Director, Operations, NIMASA, Malam Shehu Ahmed, during the 2021 Day of the Seafarer on Friday in Lagos.
… Presents eventful 15-month Stewardship, Collapse in piracy statistics in Nigerian waters***
… As Amaechi seeks Fair Treatment for Seafarers***
The Director General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr. Jamoh Bashir has urged the international maritime community to reconsider the removal of the war risk insurance premium charged on cargo headed for the Gulf of Guinea, in view of the workability of the Deep Blue Project, a network of air, land and sea security arrangements which has significantly eliminated insecurity in both the Nigerian waters and Gulf of Guinea.
Dr. Jamoh made the observation on Friday in Lagos, on the occasion of the 2021 Seafarers Day, while reacting to a Lloyd’s List response, which posited that though intelligence report affirmed drastic reduction in piracy and other sea crimes in the Gulf of Guinea, the situation needed to be further watched, before the desired relief can be granted.
“It is significant that critical stakeholders in the world shipping community, like Lloyd’s list, are recognising Nigerians efforts to make the Gulf of Guinea safe and secure for Seafarers and ships,” Dr. Bashir Jamoh stated, stressing therefore that, “It would be unfair for the world to sidestep such huge investment and commitment to maritime security and retain the high war risk insurance premium on ships bound for our waters.”
The Director General insisted that the war risk insurance in the present dispensation, is a disservice to Nigeria and investors in the maritime environment, reiterating Nigeria’s commitment to enduring maritime safety and security, particularly, of ships and crew members.
Speaking on the sustainability of the security arrangements (Deep Blue Project), Jamoh highlighted that over 600 persons, drawn from the armed forces, Navy, Airforce, Police, and the Nigerian Civil Defence have been specially trained, to operate the highly sophisticated assets being deployed to combat the menace of crime on the waters.
Expartiating on the roles of NIMASA as the Coordinating arm for the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection project , otherwise called the Deep Blue Project, Dr. Jamoh stated that the control of the assets is through the C4I, a euphemism for Control, Command, Communication and Computer Intelligence system, which though is domiciled on land, but actually has personnel interfacing with assets on air sea platforms.
He also revealed that the land Assets Comprise of 16 armoured vehicles which will move around and address maritime insecurity in the creeks and send messages to the C4I.
The air component of the assets consists of two special mission aircraft, three special mission helicopters and 16 unmanned drones while the Sea platform include two special mission vessels, and 17 interceptor boats.
The NIMASA Boss assured that personnel training would continue, and with the full deployment of all the assets under the project, the gap which the cancellation of the Secure Anchorage Area (SAA) contract by President Muhammadu Buhari has now been totally bridged, emphasizing that the nation’s first gain from the project, is the collapse of piracy statistics, in both the Nigerian and Gulf of Guinea waters.
The Seafarers’Day address, which more or less read like a plethora of eventful 15-month record of stewardship, was encapsulated and implemented under a three-prong vision tagged, Maritime Security, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development.
Also read: Shippers Association says Deep Blue Project Nigeria’s panacea for curbing maritime insecurity
In a related development, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi of an earlier session at the Eko Hotels, had extolled stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime industry, even as he tasked them to find a creative means of ensuring improved welfare for Seafarers, including a more enduring solutions to issues affecting Seafarers’ work.
While appreciating Seafarers’ all over the world for their enormous contributions to global commerce and economy, Amaechi noted that Seafarers “contend with perils of the seas and sometimes put their lives on the line just to ensure that goods are safely delivered at designated ports.
“This is one of the reasons we celebrate the Seafarers every year”, the Minister of Transportation said, adding that the workable solutions to the issues that would be relevant to the Seafarers’ after the pandemic such as working condition of the Seafarers.”
He identified the Deep Blue Project launched by President Muhammadu Buhari as a major effort by Federal Government to curb the hazards of Seafaring, and emphasized that the provision of the integrated maritime security architecture was “to help combat these maritime criminalities that hinder the security of ships and crew members”.
The highlight of the morning session was the presentation of the Certificate of Competency (COC) to cadets of the Nigerian Seafarers’ Development Programme (NSDP), by the NIMASA Director General.
Ends
