Determined to sustain the fight against insecurity and other maritime crimes, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has commissioned 10 boats for patrolling the waterway, controlling pollution, and carrying out search and rescue operations.
The agency, which said that deploying boats will help in making the nation’s maritime ecosystem safe, commissioned five new patrol/security boats, and five refurbished Search and Rescue as well as pollution control boats.
It also commissioned another four ferry boats for the staff of the agency, a Search and Rescue Clinic, and a refurbished administrative building.
Speaking at the commissioning in Lagos on Sunday, Muazu Sambo, minister of Transportation, said the projects are part of the government’s commitment to good governance and policies for improved maritime safety and security enhancement on the nation’s waters.
He said the projects will enable the country to sustain safe, secure shipping, cleaner oceans, and enhanced maritime capacity.
He said the enforcement platforms would ensure strict compliance and adherence with the extant laws governing the nation’s maritime domain operations.
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Sambo said the platforms will also give NIMASA the much-needed tools required to function as a maritime administrator in line with the protocols and conventions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and International Labour Organisation (ILO) to which NIMASA represents Nigeria as its contracting government.
Earlier, Bashir Jamoh, the director-general of NIMASA, said the boats were bought with the intent to intensify the internal security of the waterways, taking into cognizance the recent proliferation of oil theft.
He said the provision of infrastructures through the Deep Blue Project investment in vessels, maritime domain awareness platforms, and land, air, and sea assets are responsible for the successful reduction of pirate attacks in the Gulf of Guinea.
Jamoh said NIMASA is committed to ensuring that the waterways are safe for local transportation and other leisure activities to drive revenue generation. He added that the pollution control boats will ensure that inland waterways are free from waste for them to be navigable.
Lynda Ikpeazu, chairman of the House Committee on Maritime Safety, Education & Administration, urged NIMASA to put a system in place to keep supporting the infrastructure being commissioned. She told the agency not to allow Nigeria’s lack of maintenance culture to negatively impact them.
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