By Seun Ibiyemi
The contribution of the Maritime industry cannot be overlooked despite the challenges facing the sector. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in its capacity is contributing heavily into the Federal Government account for the growth of Nigerian Economy, despite the agency not being saddled with responsibilities of income generation
The Agency under the leadership of Dr. Bashir Jamoh in the year 2021 improved contribution to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government, from N31 billion in 2020 to about N37 billion.
NIMASA is the apex regulatory and promotional maritime agency that was created from the merger of the then Nigerian Maritime Authority (NMA) and the Joint Labour Industrial Council (JOMALIC), both former parastatals of the Federal Ministry of Transportation, on August 1, 2006. It carries out the responsibility of regulating the Nigerian maritime industry through the relevant instruments of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act of 2007; the Merchant Shipping Act of 2007 and the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003, and of recent, the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences (SPOMO Act of 2019).
The primary areas of focus for NIMASA are among others, maritime safety administration; maritime labour regulation; marine pollution prevention and control; search and rescue; provision of direction and ensuring compliance with vessels security measures; air and coastal surveillance, as well as Cabotage enforcement. Others are shipping and registration; training and certification of seafarers, as well as marine capacity development. It also performs state and flag duties.
The agency is also charged with the responsibility of developing and implementing policies and programmes that would facilitate the growth of local capacity in terms of ownership, manning and construction of ships and other maritime infrastructure, establishing procedures for the implementation of conventions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Since Jamoh took the leadership baton of NIMASA, the agency has been working to fulfill its mandate and obligations using the tripod of Triple S – Security, Safety and Shipping development. This is borne out of the fact that the survival and smooth functioning of the maritime industry rest on these three key elements.
The agency in 2021 deployed the most modern technology using the instrumentality of the Deep Blue Project to implement the first ‘S’ of the tripod, which is security, to stem the tide of piracy and other forms of criminality in the country’s waterways.
The objective is to keep the waterways secure for all maritime activities to thrive, thereby positioning Nigeria’s economy on the path of rapid growth.
The result of the implementation of this leg of the tripod is the drastic reduction in the rate of piracy in the Nigerian maritime environment. Statistics released by the International Maritime Bureau, IMB, showing piracy incidents in the Gulf of Guinea dropping from 81 in year 2020 to 34 in 2021 representing 58.02% was not by accident,
IMB report also shows a 62% decrease in the number of crew kidnapping incidents in the Gulf of Guinea which reduced from 150 in 2020 to 57 in 2021.
IMB said, “The Gulf of Guinea region recorded 28 incidents of piracy and armed robbery in the first nine months of 2021, in comparison to 46 for the same period in 2020.”
According to IMB, “The overall reduction of piracy and armed robbery incidents in the region is a testament to enhanced maritime security and response coordination measures adopted by regional and national authorities.”
The effort is boosted by the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act of 2019, which provides the legal teeth that are needed to fight piracy in the Nigerian maritime environment. It is now possible to prosecute maritime offences in the law courts. As a matter of fact, NIMASA has so far secured 20 convictions in cases bordering on piracy in the country’s waterways within the last year.
The process for the implementation of the Cabotage Act that would allow for shipping development of the third leg of the tripod to swell indigenous ownership of vessels has reached an advanced stage. When operational, it would hopefully address the imbalance of the domination of the Nigerian shipping industry by foreign carriers.
The process for the implementation of the Cabotage Act that would allow shipping development of the third leg of the tripod to swell indigenous ownership of vessels has reached an advanced stage. When operational, it would hopefully address the imbalance of the domination of the Nigerian shipping industry by foreign carriers.
NIMASA is working assiduously to implement the second leg of the tripod, which is safe on the country’s waterways. This is because security and safety are interwoven
Wreck removal exercise was another milestone in the incremental achievement of the ‘Triple S’ strategy of the current Management of NIMASA, anchored on Maritime Safety, Maritime Security and Shipping Development.
In December 2021, NIMASA launched the third phase of Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), called NSDP Tera, sponsoring 200 cadets to different countries.
The Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP) is a programme created by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to address the dearth of trained and certified seafarers in the Nigerian maritime industry.
With a combination of modern technology, relevant law and support of the Federal government, NIMASA is working to fulfill its mandate of regulating operations in the maritime industry, securing the Nigerian maritime environment and developing indigenous capacity for shipping expansion.