The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said it had surpassed the benchmark set by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code 2004.
This declaration was contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Lagos by the Head, Public Relations Unit of NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka .
According to the statement, the Acting Director-General of NIMASA, Mr Haruna Jauro, said this while receiving an IMO Needs Assessment Team, he described the maritime sector as a major economic driver.
Jauro assured the team that the agency would not rest on its oars in ensuring that the nation’s seaports are safe and secured for business activities to thrive.
On the ISPS Code, Jauro said: “From being less than 9 per cent compliant in 2013, I am happy to inform you that we have surpassed the 70 per cent benchmark in national compliance level of the ISPS Code implementation in Nigeria”. “The current management is leaving no stone unturned to ensure 100 per cent compliance level”.
The statement added that that the leader of the IMO team, Ms Gisela Vieira commended the management of NIMASA for the commitment and zeal shown toward ensuring the effective implementation of the ISPS code.
According to the statement, Viera said the audit was not mainly aimed at identifying the faults but specially meant to set an agenda on how to better the current implementation status.
Shipping Position Daily recalls that NIMASA was in May, 2013 officially named the Designated Authority (DA) for the implementation of the ISPS code after the dissolution of the Presidential Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PCOMSS).
But, the NIMASA statement added that, in order to ensure full compliance, it has “continually clamped down on some erring facilities who have remained non-compliant after several entreaties for the facility managers to remedy the identified breaches.”
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