Shipping: As Nigeria Leads W’Central Africa in Port State Control
By Francis Ugwoke
One major task of maritime administrations all over the world is ensuring safety at sea. Safety indeed is everything without which shipping trade cannot thrive. It was in realization of this that the apex maritime regulatory agency, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) introduced security and safety measures that must be observed by vessels using international waters. The enforcement of regulation is then left for member states under what is known as Port State Control (PSC). With this, every vessel is thoroughly examined to ensure that safety measures have been observed by the crew on board. The examination is carried out as the ship arrives her destination to deliver cargo. Any vessel that fails safety measures is usually put under arrest until the owners meet up with the requirements of the maritime administration officials.
PSC in W’Central Africa
For West and Central African states, port state control appears a collective effort particularly in the Gulf of Guinea waters. The countries, including Nigeria, are in synergy to enforce the IMO safety and security measures in their individual waters. The countries under Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as members of IMO are 17. They include Nigeria, Benin, Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone and The Gambia. Others are Cote d’Ivoire, Angola, Sao Tome & Principe, South Africa, Guinea Bissau, Cape Verde and Liberia Countries like Mali and Burkina Faso are under observer status. These countries are all involved in various activities to ensure that vessels which call at their ports comply with safety and security regulations. Port state control requires a huge financial outlay to execute with the engagement of experts and equipment on the field.
Nigeria leads others
Nigeria has been doing well in PSC statutory responsibility beating other countries in West, Central Africa by the rating of the Abuja MOU. This national assignment is carried out NIMASA as the country’s safety maritime agency. Secretary-General of Abuja MoU, Mrs Mfom Usoro disclosed few months ago that Nigeria’s PSC rating went up by 81.7percent for inspecting 638 vessels last year when compared to 350 in the previous year of 2017. In enforcing PSC, countries look out for compliance in sea worthiness of the vessels calling at each ports, among other requirements which include manning of the vessel by competent hands in accordance with international regulations. On the trail of Nigeria in PSC rating according to Usoro is South Africa which carried out 327 inspections and Senegal coming third with 270 inspections. During the period under review, Nigeria detained 13 vessels for failing to comply with stipulated requirements. A total of 727 were reported to be deficient last year in the continent as against 587 the previous year.
Usoro who spoke on the performance of the Continent for eight years, between 2010 to 2018 said there has been a lot of improvement of member states on the port state control efforts. She said this shows how member countries are determined to address issues of pollution, substandard vessels as well as improve on the welfare of personnel on board vessels.
Usoro had said in the MoU report, “The introduction of participatory governance through the establishment of Abuja MoU Technical Working Groups, TWGs, comprised member States with specific terms of reference has proved an effective tool in facilitating the development and adoption of instruments for harmonization and coordination of port State control procedures in the region.
“The period prior to 2010 was characterized by irregular reporting of port State inspections carried out by just five Administrations. Today, port State inspection is conducted by an average of not less than 14 Administrations and with the consistent annual report of PSI data to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and published in our Annual Reports from 2010 till date.
“Statistics indicate an increase in a number of inspections from 1,966 in 2010 to 2,409 in 2018 while the number of reporting member States grew from five countries to 14 countries in 2018.
“The MoU evolved from the total absence of an information technology system to a web-based automated database as the nucleus for migration to a fully computerized central database – Abuja MoU Information System (AMIS) in 2012.”
NIMASA’s efforts
Industry stakeholders believe that the Abuja MoU rating on PSC is no doubt attributed to the efforts of the leadership of NIMASA since Dr. Dakuku Peterside assumed office in 2016. Dakuku according to observers had hit the ground running after receiving series of criticisms against the agency particularly on the area of poor cabotage implementation. Dakuku had in response introduced reform strategy to transform the agency in the areas of survey, inspection, certification, environment, security, search and rescue programmes. The agency has also made efforts in the areas of human capital development, promotional initiatives, digital transformation strategy, structural and cultural reforms, which entail changes to work ethic and attitude of staff. This is in addition to fulfilling obligations under the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW). Perhaps more outstanding is the move to ensure that only vessels that have complied with standard regulations use the nation’s ports. What this implies is that vessels that have not met required standards will avoid Nigerian waters. These measures no doubt reassure the international community particularly the IMO investors of safety in Nigerian waters which will be for the benefit of the national economy.
Fight against piracy, other crimes
In a move to ensure that ship owners do not encounter security issues while bringing in goods into the country, NIMASA has also been involved in major security arrangement to protect the territorial waters from pirates. The arrangement covers the notorious Gulf of Guinea area which has often become worse than Somalia as the den of sea robbers.
In June this year, the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Bill, 2019, was assented by President Muhammadu Buhari as part of the moves by NIMASA to ensure security on the nation’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone. With the new law, NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy are in collaboration to secure shipping on Nigerian waters, and prosecute infractions. Equally with the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences Act, Nigeria is now the first country in the West and Central African Sub-Region to promulgate a separate law against piracy as required by IMO for secure global shipping.
Dakuku had described the move as a step in the right direction, saying, “It marks the dawn of a great moment for world maritime.”
“This is not just a victory for NIMASA, but also for all the stakeholders in the Nigerian maritime community. We are determined to continue to deliver on our promise to investors and the international community to ensure an increasingly safer and more secure environment for profitable maritime business.
“And the new law at this very critical stage of our Blue Economy drive is certainly an elixir that will boost our capacity to harness the rich potential of our seas and oceans.”, he said.
He was full of commendation to the President for showing his commitment and passion for measures that will guarantee safety and security on Nigerian waters.
The law provides for all that is needed for punishment of those convicted of maritime crimes, restitution to owners of violated maritime assets or forfeiture of proceeds of maritime crime to the government. The new law also provides for establishment of a Piracy and Maritime Offences Fund with prescribed sources of funding that will be utilised in the implementation of the Act. Similarly, the law vests exclusive jurisdiction to determine matters under the Act in the Federal High Court and allows seizure of vessels or aircraft used for maritime crimes anywhere in Nigeria, international waters or any other country under jurisdiction where the vessel.
With the new law, the NIMASA DG assured of Nigeria’s readiness to tackle the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) crisis which has for years remained a big challenge for African countries. Dakuku who said Nigeria is taking the lead in the fight added that the problem has affected the economies of the region severely. By October this year, Nigeria will host the rest of the world in a global maritime security conference as a platform to develop actionable strategies to put an end to piracy and other security threats in the African geological and maritime region. As the Chairman of the Chairman of the Association of African Maritime Administrations (AAMA), Dakuku said Nigeria is playing a strategic role in the fight against maritime crimes in the GoG region as having the highest military contingent and might within the region. He also added that with a huge deposit of oil and gas, Nigeria is a place of interest in international energy dynamics.
He explained that being the biggest economy and most populous country within the region, accounting for over 65 per cent of cargo generated in the area, Nigeria was in a vantage position to lead efforts to solve the maritime security challenges in the region. As part of the efforts to ensure safe trading environment in the Gulf of GoG. Nigeria has intervened in the establishment of the ECOWAS Integrated Maritime Security Strategy (EIMS), Inter-Regional Coordination Centre (ICC) in Yaoundé with a leading role in the establishment of the African Integrated Maritime Security (AIMS). With such efforts, Dakuku believes that pirates and other robbers operating in Nigerian waters and of course in the GoG environment have their days numbered. Noting that there are challenges, he however said Nigeria was leaving no stone unturned in the attempt to overcome the challenges. According to him, there is the determination to approach the menace through a total spectrum maritime strategy involving law enforcement, regional cooperation, response capability building and enhanced maritime domain awareness for all organs of maritime security.
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