Months after President Goodluck Jonathan approved the scrapping of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS), two maritime sector agencies have began subtle fight for the assets, liability and responsibilities of the once dreaded maritime security agency.
Months after President Goodluck Jonathan approved the scrapping of the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS), two maritime sector agencies have began subtle fight for the assets, liability and responsibilities of the once dreaded maritime security agency.
While the military hardware of the defunct agency have reportedly been taken over by both the Nigeria Navy and Nigeria Air Force, the duo of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Ports Authourity (NPA) are currently locked in a battle for what is left of PICOMSS.
While it was in charge, PICOMSS was responsible for ensuring that maritime oil and gas facilities all over the country were ISPS compliant. For this, it issues certificate periodically to operators of these facilities.
It also maintains an array of sophisticated equipment and military hardware which it used to monitor activities across the nation’s coastal waters.
But shortly after President Jonathan wrote to the National Assembly to withdraw the controversial Maritime Security Agency (MASECA) Bill, which would have seen PICOMSS transmute to MASECA, moves began to balkanize the body.
The lobby yielded results when the President allegedly ordered that PICOMSS should wind down its activities.
But Shipping Position Daily confirmed from sources at the Presidency that apart from the military hardware that PICOMSS has, the agency is also indebted.
Although, no one wanted to be quoted, it was gathered that NPA may have been directed to pay PICOMSS debts.
However, there is cold war between NPA and NIMASA over the responsibility for ensuring safety at the various maritime as well as oil and gas facilities, especially in the Lagos and Port Harcourt maritime zones.
Our correspondent confirmed that, to stamp its authourity, NIMASA has already written to all such facilities to invalidate the compliance certificates that PICOMSS had issued and which are to expire in December.
Shipping Position Daily confirmed last week that NIMASA has already directed that the organisations should come for revalidation by July. The certificate is usually issued to facilities that meet the prescribed security compliance criteria in line with the ISPS Code.
Our correspondent learnt last week that most of the oil and gas and marine facilities including the logistics bases are currently worried about which agency to subscribe to, especially since government is allegedly yet to officially designate NIMASA.
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