From right: Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Mohammed Bello- Koko, Chairman, Mission to Seafarers MTS Nigeria, Chief Adebayo Sarumi, ED Finance & Administration Adenrele Adesina, ED Marine & Operations, Hon. Onari Brown, during the working visit of NPA management to the MTS facility in Apapa, Lagos, Friday.

Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Mohammed Bello-Koko has said that the current state of facilities at the country’s Mission to Seafarers MTS, located on Marine Road, Apapa does not speak well for the image of Nigeria, especially as a major player in the global shipping arena.

The MTS, with world headquarters in London and Africa’s regional headquarters in South Africa, and found all shipping nations, is a facility where sailors from all over the world who bring vessels to the country are kept while their vessels are being discharged or dry-docked. Such a facility offers good relaxing place for the seafarers after several months of trauma, nightmares etc associated with sailing on the seas. In addition to offering relaxation services, it also provides healthcare, counseling and religious/spiritual functions to the seafarers to prepare them for the next long voyage.

Speaking in Apapa, Lagos, Friday when he led other top management team of the NPA on assessment visit to the MTS, the MD pledged to play a leading role in efforts to rebuild the facility and also galvanise other relevant stakeholders to rebuild the MTS abandoned several decades ago.

According to him, the current state of Nigeria’s MTS built before independence apart from not being good enough for the country’s image, does not present the kind of ambiance suitable for the seafarers from all over the world, thus the urgent need to revamp it and bring it to global standards.

“What we’re seeing here is what sailors from other parts of the world would come to and relax and spend some good time and you can agree with me that this is an eyesore, to say the least. This is not what we should have as a nation and this is not good for our image. We therefore decided to come and see it and we have also decided to participate in renovating it in order to bring it to globally accepted standards like what you see among other maritime nations.

“Every nation within the global maritime community has interest in developing this kind of facilities. In Nigeria, everything revolves practically around the port authority and probably some other few stakeholders, so we have taken the responsibility. The buck stops here and we will take that responsibility. We will lead other stakeholders into participating in renovating the facility, we don’t mind sharing the glory; it is all about Nigeria.

“As for collaboration in terms of the welfare of the seafarers, we’re working not just with the association alone but also with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, and other stakeholders. You can see that every year, Nigeria joins the rest of the global maritime community to mark the day of the seafarers. It is a day to appreciate the seafarers and draw attention to their roles and contributions to global trade supply chain.

“The day also brings to fore, the challenges faced by the seafarers in moving trade goods from one point to the other across the globe, so they are an integral part of the supply chain and without them, there is no shipping. They spend upwards of three-nine months on the seas in moving these trade goods with all the challenges and hazards inherent in the job. So their welfare and wellbeing would continue to be given a priority attention”, Bello-Koko said.

The Managing Director, who fielded questions from newsmen shortly after inspecting the facility, noted that Nigeria’s MTS established in the colonial days was one of the best in the world then, but assured that NPA would work with other relevant stakeholders to revamp the facility, which he also argued would help boost the rating of Nigeria’s seaports globally.

He thanked the chairman of the mission and a former Managing Director, Chief Adebayo Sarunmi for bringing the facility to the attention of the management of the NPA under his watch, insisting that fixing the facility would be in the overall interest of Nigeria.

He assured that Engineers from the NPA would work with those of the mission to ensure quality of work and timely completion too. He gave the NPA team of Engineers, who were also on ground during the visit to meet with those from the mission and report back to the management not later than Wednesday, next week.

A highpoint of the visit was a slide projection show of the design and structure of the proposed new facility complex, which would include a swimming pool and other modern recreational facilities, which the MD noted were fine.