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According to the former NIMASA boss the agency was created
in 2007 following the merger of National Maritime Authority (NMA) and Joint
Maritime Labour Industrial Council (JOMALIC) deriving its powers from Merchant
Shipping Act, 2007, NIMASA Act, 2007 and Coastal and Inland shipping (cabotage)
Act, 2003. The Agency, is a Maritime Safety Administration responsible for
regulating shipping activities in Nigeria with a view to achieving safer
shipping and cleaner oceans as mandated by the International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) through its various Conventions and Protocols.
He continue, the enabling acts gave NIMASA statutory powers
as specified by International Conventions and protocols for the enthronement of
global best practices in ensuring safety of Navigation and prevention / control
of marine pollution in the shipping industry as regulated by the International
Maritime Organisation (IMO), in which Nigeria is a contracting member state.
The agency also has responsibility for development of indigenous shipping
capacity.
“International Maritime Organisation (IMO), is an organ of
the United Nations charged with the responsibility of regulating global
shipping trade with special focus on safety of Navigation and prevention of
Marine pollution as contained in the United Nations Convention on the Law of
The Sea, (UNCLOS). Article 194, 211, 212, of UNCLOS specifically mandates
states to adopt Laws and regulations for the prevention, reduction and control
of pollution of the marine environment from vessels flying their flags or of
their registry, he added.
Dr Dosunmu pointed out that the IMO has 167 Maritime Nations as members including Nigeria due to our vast Maritime Coastline. It issues conventions and protocols which all members’ state assent to, regulating global shipping trade. Such Conventions as Marine Pollution Prevention (MARPOL), and its various annexures i.e. Discharging of oily waste, Noxious substances and dangerous goods, Discharging of sewage, Garbage including plastics, Air emission, etc.
The former nimasa boss stressed further say Other Conventions
like London Protocol on Prohibition of Dumping of Waste in the Marine
Environment, International Convention on Wreck Removal (Nairobi Convention),
Training and Certification of Seafarer (STCW ’95), Safety of Life At Sea
(SOLAS), Convention on Ship Recycling to Ensure Environmental Sound Practices
(Hong Kong) Convention, to mention just a few. All these convention have been
domesticated in Nigeria and NIMASA is the Focal Agency for implementation of
the conventions through the discharge of its technical mandate which cannot be
performed by any other Agency in Nigeria.
He made it cleared that NIMASA being the Safety
Administration of Nigeria has counterparts in 167 Maritime Nations responsible
for ensuring safer shipping and cleaner oceans through the instrumentality of
the technical mandate it performs viz Port states inspection, Flag states
inspection, Search and Rescue, Maritime Capacity Building, Maritime Security by
ensuring our waters are safe from Piracy and Sea robbers, Prevention/Control of
Marine Pollution, Administers the Training and Certification of Seafarers(STCW
’95), shipping development, coastal and inland shipping (Cabotage) and maritime
labour administration. According to Dosunmu All these functions by NIMASA
require technical expertise and can only be performed by a Safety
Administration. The same technical functions are performed by Maritime Safety
Administration of UK, MCA, US Coast Guard, Safety Administration of Greece,
Finland, Cyprus and all other member countries of IMO.
“It is therefore my humble position that emphasis of
Government should be on how to strengthen NIMASA to deliver more on its
technical mandates and not merging it with Agencies that are not compatible
with its philosophy and objectives. However, I am happy Ms Hadiza Bala Usman
the former MD of the Nigerian Ports Authority has been appointed by President
Tinubu as the Special Adviser Policy Coordination. Hadizawhom I know is very
abreast of the Nigerian Maritime sector would be able to advise the President
accordingly due to her expertise and experience in the industry.
‘I can say the proposal in my view is like suggesting a merger of Nigerian Navy with Nigeria Civil Defence because the later has responsibility for protecting critical National assets. For instance, technically speaking, all ships that call on Nigeria waters carry minimum of five Certificates which include Certificate on safety equipment, Certificate on radio equipment, and certificate on crewing etc.
These certificates are carried by all ship calling
on Ports Globally. NIMASA Surveyors, under its Port states responsibility must
board these ships to ensure compliance with global requirements. NIMASA also
carries out flag state inspection on all ships before they are registered to
determine their fitness for purpose. In this regard, the ships are subjected to
preregistration survey and condition survey. All these are in line with the
Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Convention and STCW ‘95 Convention.
“Again the activities of over forty (40) Floating production
storage offloading (FPSO) and Floating Storage Offloading (FSO) like, Agbami,
Bonga, Egina, Akpo engaging in crude oil exploration and production offshore
Nigerian waters are potential polluters. It is the responsibility of NIMASA to
monitor and ensure that there is no pollution of the marine environment to
protect aquatic life and our Ecosystem. To do this, NIMASA must invest heavily
on the procument of offshore Reception Facilities to collect and process the
wastes from these platforms. All these are in line with MARPOL Convention, and
the mandate requires technical know-how which NIMASA over the years has
developed capacity to handle.
In his words: Let me quickly point out that there is no doubt that in the course of discharging her technical mandate, NIMASA generates revenue and uses part of it to prosecute its technical regulatory functions. The surplus at the end of the year is paid into the federation account in line with the target set by Ministry of Finance.
However, the critical and urgent
nature of some of these technical activities and the fact that they require
instant response is part of the reason NIMASA is allowed to retain its funds
and sometime not allowed to go through the bureaucracy of tendering e.g a
vessel that is sinking or an unexpected
oil spill and pollution of the waters, or wreck that needs to be removed to
ensure safety of channels for Navigation, flag state inspection, survey,
regular patrol of our coastal waters and enforcement of necessary regulations.
He therefore warn them, saying It is my strong view therefore that the proposed merger will be counterproductive with huge negative implications for Nigeria in the global shipping community. Our waters may be considered no longer safe for international shipping and that can affect the volume of maritime trade and eventually lead to drop in revenue.
Another
implication is that our waters can become a destination for rickety ships and
thereby becoming a dumping ground for ship wrecks and derelicts. As at today,
Nigeria is the leading maritime Nation in West and Central Africa in terms of
ship traffic and cargo. This feat was not achieved in a day. It is the
cumulative effect of the reforms successive administrations introduced to strengthen
the capacity of NIMASA as a Maritime Safety Administration for the country.
“As former Director General/CEO of NIMASA, Executive Director (NIMASA), Assistant General Manager (NPA) and representative of Nigeria on the Council of International Maritime Organisation (IMO), my advise is that the Federal government under the able leadership of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR should consult major maritime stakeholders on issues affecting the Maritime industry for proper guidance.
According to him The industry is the gate way to the economy of Nigeria and also very critical to the logistics aspect of the oil and gas industry since most of the crude oil production and exploration activities take place offshore Nigerian waters. Trial and error will not work. Rather, NIMASA being the regulator should be strengthened technically. The whole idea of merger should be set aside until wider consultation with the industry stakeholders is held, added.