NIMASA receives committee report on revitalisation of Nigerian Ship Registration Office, eyes International Standard Certification
Pledges commitment to implement recommendations within 12 months
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Monday received the final report on the state of the Nigerian Ship Registration Office eighteen months after it constituted a committee of experts to carryout investigations and make necessary recommendations.
Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, while receiving the report of the committee in the Board Room of the Agency in Apapa, pledged NIMASA’s commitment to the immediate implementation of
the recommendations of the report.
the recommendations of the report.
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| The DG NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterdise and Engr. Emmanuel Ilori(Middle) with other members of the Committee on revitalisation of the Nigerian Ship Registration Office and other Executives of NIMASA at the NIMASA HQ for the official handing over of the Report to NIMASA on Monday |
He said: “We give you two commitments today. One is that, the implementation of the recommendations of the committee will be pursued vigorously with all sense of purpose and commitment and that 12 months down the line, if you have the opportunity of evaluating the acceptability of the Nigerian Flag, you will agree with those of us in NIMASA that the world has come to respect and accept the Nigerian Flag.
“Two, is that in the next few months, we will be pursuing vigorously the international standard certification of the Nigerian Ship Registration Office. As you are aware, we are going through ISO 2015 and we believe that any moment from now the agency will be certified and we will be the first in West Africa sub-region to have IMO certification amongst Maritime Administrations.
“But beyond that, we are pursuing and will be pursuing the international standard certification for the Nigerian Ship Registry. The idea is that Nigeria will be the first ship registry in the continent of Africa to earn five-Star International Standard certification.”
The Director General told newsmen that the Committee, made up of active shipowners, former ship registers as well as those who consume the services of those who fly the Nigerian Flag, was charged with
the responsibility of determining the status of the Nigerian ship Registry in line with international best standard.
the responsibility of determining the status of the Nigerian ship Registry in line with international best standard.
“We had singled out some of the best brains in shipping in our industry, including former registers of ship who will come and bring on board a lot of experience, exposure and the fact that they could identify challenges.
“We brought on board stakeholders, those who daily will fly the Nigerian Flag on our various seas, oceans and rivers and encounter challenges that there is in flying Nigerian flag. We also got those who consume services rendered by those who fly the Nigerian Flag. We put them together and charged them to determine the status of the Nigerian Ship Registry in line with international best standards,” Dakuku Peterside said.
He recalled that the committee was an offshoot of a recommendation from an earlier committee put together for the reform of NIMASA’s operations towards advancing Nigeria’s maritime goal and championing the rapid development of shipping.
“One of the recommendations of that committee was that there was urgent need to reform the Nigerian Ship Registration Office. The report of the committee was accepted by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and passed unto NIMASA to implement,” he said.
Dr. Peterside commended the committee members for their selflessness and dedication to a national assignment for the improvement of shipping in Nigeria, as he added that the committee had made good efforts in its report, to redefine the part of the Nigerian Ship Registry.
Earlier in his speech, Chairman of the Committee, Engr. Emmanuel Ilori, a revered marine engineer and ship surveyor, who had spent part of his professional service years working with Lloyd’s Register, thanked Dr. Peterside for the initiative in the quest to revitalise the ship registry in Nigeria.
Ilori said that of greater importance should be the implementation of the recommendations of the report, which he believed would turn around the fortunes of the shipping industry, as issues of technical integrity, confidence of financial community would have been taken care of.
“The reform that we are recommending, we believe that it is in the right direction. They will attract investment, improve the confidence of the financial community of the Nigerian Flag. It will raise our technical integrity.
“It will make sure that we achieve the necessary global acceptability, because the exposure at the moment is to be reversed. The return on investment with the Nigerian ships has to change. No more will they see Nigerian ships and make sure that they are detailed for arrest.
“By the time we finish this report, where Nigerian ships go, they must open their doors to them as it used to be. I will like to thank you once again for giving us the opportunity to serve, and I hope that the work of this committee will not go to waste, because a lot of time and energy had been devoted to producing this report,” Ilori said.
According to Dakuku Peterside, NIMASA will in the next 72 hours, announce an implementation monitoring committee for the reforms of the Nigerian Ship Registry.
