From left: Minister of State for Transport, Senator Gbemisola Saraki; Permanent Secretary of the ministry, Dr. Magdalene Ajani; Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Shippers Council, Emmanuel Jime; Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh; and acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Mohammed Bello Koko at the second retreat organised by the ministry in Lagos at the weekend.

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, has said that plans are underway to flag-off an intensive wreck removal exercise on the nation’s waterways with a view to ensuring navigational safety.

The agency also hinted that it was working with the Federal Ministry of Transport to resolve all grey areas to ensure seamless disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund CVFF.

Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this during a retreat organised by the ministry in Lagos at the weekend.

Dr. Jamoh also said arrangements had been concluded for the recycling of wrecks and derelicts recovered from the waters in partnership with the Bayelsa State Government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation NRC, which already has a foundry in Lagos for wrecks recycling, with the ultimate aim of creating wealth from waste while providing jobs for Nigerians.

Speaking at the opening of the retreat, Minister of Transport, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, said the two-day event was organised to assess the performance of the agencies under the ministry in order to enhance efficiency in service delivery to the public.

“We are here to assess the progress made so far in the maritime sector in order to enhance efficiency in our operations.

“This administration has achieved a lot in areas such as rail transport, port operations, maritime safety and security, among others, and our goal is to do more to enhance productivity”, the minister stated.

The DG appreciated the minister for approving the creation of the Maritime Intelligence Unit and the NIMASA Maritime Stakeholders’ Experience Contact Centre MSECC, which are both initiatives to improve intelligence gathering and enhance stakeholders’ communication to ensure sustainable growth of the country’s maritime industry.

He also disclosed that the automation drive in the agency had led to the integrated use of technology in the process of verifying Certificate of Competency CoC, which has seen a fall in manual verification practice.

Jamoh said: “In 2020, the number of manual verification of CoCs dropped from 4,112 in 2019 to 2,750, representing 33 per cent drop in manual certificate verification. There was a total online verification of 9,723 in 2020.”

On the CVFF, the DG disclosed that the fund is in the Treasury Single Account TSA and that there are guidelines for the disbursement, one of which is the use of Primary Lending Institutions PLIs.

Jamonh said: “We have advertised for Expression of Interest from interested PLIs and we are following due process to ensure disbursement according to the guidelines. A total of 11banks have been shortlisted and forwarded to our supervising ministry for further actions. The ministry has also identified some grey areas, which are being addressed to ensure prompt disbursement of the fund.”

While reviewing the activities of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme NSDP, the DG disclosed that 446 beneficiaries of the programme are currently undergoing sea-time training, while 351 have been assigned to maritime training institutes and are in the process of boarding for sea-time.

It was further gathered that 93 beneficiaries of the NSDP were currently undergoing CoC, 360 had completed sea-time training and were awaiting CoC issuance, while 368 beneficiaries of the NSDP project were already fully employed.

On the issue of Vessel Monitoring and response to distress calls in the sub-region, Jamoh stated that the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System GMDSS equipment at Tarkwa Bay and Kirikiri, both in Lagos, were fully installed with the capacity to cover nine countries in the West and Central African Region. 

The retreat, which was the second this year was attended by the Minister of State for Transport, Senator Gbemisola Saraki; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani; acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, Mohammed Bello Koko. Others include the Executive Secretary/CEO, Nigerian Shippers Council, Emmanuel Jime and directors from the ministry and the three agencies under it.