The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has restated its commitment to supporting Nigerian seafarers, assuring that Nigerian seafarers and their international counterparts will continue to remain at the core of all its policy and decision-making in all matters of shipping.
The Director General, NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh stated this while speaking at the 2021 World Maritime Day, held in Lagos, stated that NIMASA will continue to pay priority attention to the capacity development and employment of seafarers.
According to him, the harmonious working relationship that exists between the agency and seafarers union has translated into a peaceful and crisis-free maritime industry.
He however stated that efforts of the agency in securing the nation’s maritime domain, especially with the Deep Blue Project and the SPOMO Act, are yielding results with the recently released IMB report for the 2nd Quarter of 2021 showing a drastic decline in incidences of attacks on Nigeria’s waters and in the Gulf of Guinea.
“Seafarers can do their jobs without fear of being attacked or kidnapped. Today, as we join the rest of the world to mark World Maritime Day we salute the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for keeping these brave men and women of the seas at the top of the global maritime agenda reminding all of us that we are nothing without them; we will ever be indebted to them for their sacrifices and contributions.”
He noted that NIMASA on its part has continued to march in lockstep with IMO on all matters concerning seafarers since the outbreak of COVID-19.
“We were the first in declaring Seafarers as essential workers; we were also the first in the continent to issue Marine Notice regarding Crew Change. We recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic had placed extraordinary demands on seafarers, with hundreds of thousands of men and women stranded on ships for months beyond their original contracts, unable to be repatriated due to national travel restrictions. A similar number of seafarers were unable to join ships and earn a living. This crew change crisis was becoming a humanitarian emergency that threatened the safety of shipping, so we as a Maritime Administration acted accordingly,” he boasted.
He added that the World Maritime theme also put the spotlight on other issues related to the human element of shipping, including the safety and security of life on board ships, seafarers’ well-being, and the importance of ensuring an appropriately trained and qualified workforce, ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of digitalisation and automation.
“On this special occasion, therefore, we have every reason to celebrate the seafarers for their contributions to Nigeria’s economy. We have every reason to celebrate the seafarers because they make life more meaningful to the individual citizens by playing a significant role in the delivery of essentials for our collective survival,” he said.
He pointed out that the recent official flag-off of the National wrecks removal exercise with the first phase along Badagry creeks from Tin-can Island to Navy town, is geared towards making its waterways safe and navigable for seafarers and vessels.
“Our role as a regulatory agency is to ensure that Nigerian Seafarers are treated fairly by the Ship-owners and employers through the implementation of approved conditions of service and agreed-on collective bargaining agreements,” he stressed.
He added that the agency has also initiated the Seafarers Identity Document (SID) registration portal, and other e-platforms for Dockworkers, and their employers to ease the verification and registration process in line with international best practices while stakeholders have already been sensitised for its smooth take off.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Transportation, Dr. Magdalene Ajani stated that the theme for this year’s World Maritime Day celebration “Seafarers: at the core of shipping future” seeks to increase the visibility of seafarers by drawing attention to the invaluable roles they play now and continue to play in the future.
She said it is worthy to note that shipping industry is the most efficient mode of transportation facilitated by the efforts of seafarers without which the world’s economy would not be able to function appropriately.
“This year’s paper presentations have been chosen to address opportunities, challenges, and quality of Seafarer’s career and its impact in the future of global trade. In order to make a highly qualitative and result oriented presentations, enormous care has been taken to select the various resource persons who are experts in their respective fields and It is our expectation that at the end of this event, we would have made valuable recommendations that will assist the Government and private sector in making the Nigerian Maritime industry the Hub of the African Maritime industry,” she said.
