In the words of Henry George, “Social reform is not to be secured by noise and shouting; by complaints and denunciation; by the formation of parties, or the making of revolutions; but by the awakening of thought and the progress of ideas. Until there be correct thought, there cannot be right action; and when there is correct thought, right action will follow”.
This perhaps is the ideal description of the current happenings at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA where the awakening of thoughts and the progress of ideas has led to the right actions now quietly and effectively contributing to the economic growth of the nation.
It is the best of time in Nigeria as a system, and in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) as a major contributor of Nigeria’s revenue streams. Today, there is hope, hope galvanised by good governance and driven by commitment, accountability and good leadership as well as professionalism and all other good virtues that epitomise sound and productive core values.
The Agency under the current leadership has reached milestones in their humble articulated path to change, dealing with internal process, routine responsibilities and services; dynamic macro-sector challenges; as well as putting in place parameters as captured in its new vision statement “To be the leading maritime administration in Africa, advancing Nigeria’s global maritime goals”.
To achieve this novel objective, NIMASA has carefully designed and crafted strategic priorities encapsulated in Survey, Inspection & Certification Transformation Programme; Environment, Security, Emergency Search & Rescue Transformation Initiative; Digital Strategy Reforms; Capacity Building & Promotional Initiatives; Structural & Cultural Reforms-christened as 5 Pillars for the repositioning and restructuring of NIMASA and the maritime sector in Nigeria.
In its Survey, Inspection and Certification Transformation programme, the Agency conducted Certificate of Competency Examinations at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron leading to the issuance of different categories of CoCs to successful candidates. In the same vein, 3,752 Certificates of Competency were issued to Seafarers in 2017. This figure reflects a 149% increase in the total number of CoCs issued in 2016 (1508). Watch & Inland Water Crafts Certificates of Competency Examinations were also conducted in each quarter of 2017 at the Warri, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar District Survey offices.
Out of a total of 2504 candidates that sat for the exams in the different categories, 1809 passed, representing 72% pass rate. In the previous year 2016, the pass rate was 66%. The high pass rate that has been recorded in recent years is mainly attributed to improved preparatory classes and several other efforts designed to keep exam malpractice at bay.
NIMASA has also authenticated a total of 1,880 certificates for shipping companies and manning agents in 2017. When compared to the 1013 CoCs that were verified /authenticated within the same period in 2016, this shows that stakeholders increasingly contacted NIMASA when the CoC online verification portal was not active.
In furtherance of the Federal Government’s zeal to provide critical infrastructure that will boost economic growth in the country, the Agency leased six (6) Fast Intervention Security vessels which enhanced Port and Flag state functions and boosted marine operations in all the zones. The impact of the acquired vessels can be deduced from the paradigm shift that has led to 10.53% increase in the number of Port State control inspection (PSC) of vessels, 6.7% decrease in Ship detention under PSC, 27.3% increase in the number of Flag state control inspections (FSC) of vessels, 9.5% increase in Ship detention under FSC, 33.2% in Flag state renewals, 11% decrease in Search and Rescue (SAR) incidence and 64.7% increase in Search and Rescue (SAR) piracy.
The Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (RMRCC) which NIMASA hosts on behalf of countries in the West and Central African region and other Rescue Sub Centre’s are equipped with the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS) equipment to enhance its capacity to respond to distress calls from vessels and improve Search and Rescue Capabilities. Due to the Agency’s coordinated effort to ensure safety in the waterways, a total number of 140 Search and Rescue (SAR) activities were recorded in 2017. The SAR figures indicate a decrease of 14% from the number of incidents reported from the entire Nigerian SAR region in 2016 which was 163. This decrease can be attributed to the highly effective preventive measures adopted by NIMASA.
Furthermore, while the process of establishing an on-line Seafarers’ Verification Platform that would facilitate real time access to Seafarers’ database (For verification purpose) is ongoing, the process of automation of the Nigerian Ship registry has also commenced in the Agency. The aim is to facilitate the efficiency of ship registration process in Nigeria, increase the Nation’s tonnage as processing time would be reduced, hence boost the image of the country amongst the comity of maritime nations.
In the area of capacity building and promotional initiatives, the current leadership of NIMASA places premium on the quality of the Nigerian seafarers, believing that for the Nigerian seafarers to be competitive in the global labour market, they have to be well-trained and equipped with certificates from credible and recognized Maritime Training Institutions (MTIs). This has been achieved through effective supervision of Cadets, inspection of facilities of MTIs and Colleges offering programmes on seafarers’ capacity development.
In this perspective also, the Agency has made significant strides as over 2,600 Nigerians have gone through the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) since its inception in 2008, trained in different parts of the world. To achieve the full objective of the programme, NIMASA has mobilised and sponsored the placement of a total of 239 Cadets on board oceangoing vessels for their 18-months sea time training. This important component of the NSDP training is currently done in collaboration with the ARAB Academy, Egypt; and other renowned maritime institutions around the globe to make them become full fledge in professionals and employable anywhere in the world, hence impact positively on Nigeria’s foreign earnings.
The Agency has profited significantly from the deployment of the satellite surveillance Infrastructure whose primary purpose is to enable the Agency monitor shipping activities and the marine environment in real time for safety, security and administration of the maritime domain of the Nation. This package essentially exposes all illicit activities of operators while also aiding the Agency in providing the required assistance in the event of maritime distress calls.
Since the last two years the Agency as the designated Authority for the implementation of the International Ship and Port facility security Code (ISPS) has achieved over 80% compliance rate, from 10% rate three years ago.
Still on the area of capacity building, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency is set to take delivery of the 5th LARGEST MODULAR FLOATING DOCKYARD on the African continent. It is hoped that this Dockyard will save the Federal Government of Nigeria, at least, 100 million dollars annually. This will be direct savings from the dry docking of vessels operating in Nigeria, which are mostly done outside the country at the moment.
In realisation of the gap in indigenous participation in the affreightment of Nigeria’s international seaborne trade, the Agency, under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, is working towards re-establishing a National Shipping line. To drive this process to a logical end, an Inter-Agency Committee has been set up and it is hoped that the Carrier would be structured to be private sector driven, with stake-holding of 60% and 40% Nigerian Entrepreneurs and Pacific International Line (PIL) of Singapore respectively.
In the areas of Maritime Investment promotion and support to indigenous investors, the Agency has situated a One Stop Investment Centre (OSIC) at the Nigeria Investment Promotion Council (NIPC) while a recommendation of special forex intervention for vessel/vessels parts acquisition and loan repayment to indigenous operators has also been sent to the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for consideration and approval.
Nevertheless, to achieve its vision of being the leading maritime administration in Africa, advancing Nigeria’s global maritime goals, the Agency successfully hosted the 3rd Association of African Maritime Administrations’ (AAMA) Conference in Abuja.
The Conference was thus conceived as an interactive forum to discuss critical maritime issues with regard to the future of Africa and the continent’s participation in and contributions to global trade and Africa’s growth and development.
- Ekpo is of the Public Relations Unit, NIMASA.