Ade Dosunmu, former director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA), has faulted the proposed merger of NIMASA, Customs, and FIRS as a revenue-generating agency.
Dosunmu said the proposal of the Presidential Policy Advisory group is a misconception that is dangerous for the future of the shipping and maritime industry in Nigeria.
He said NIMASA was created in 2007 following the merger of the National Maritime Authority (NMA) and Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council (JOMALIC), deriving its powers from the Merchant Shipping Act, 2007, NIMASA Act, 2007 and Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act, 2003.
According to him, NIMASA is responsible for regulating shipping activities in Nigeria with a view to achieving safer shipping and cleaner oceans as mandated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), an organ of the United Nations charged with the responsibility of regulating global shipping, through its various conventions and protocols.
“The enabling acts give NIMASA statutory powers as specified by international conventions and protocols for the enthronement of global best practices in ensuring the safety of navigation and prevention/control of marine pollution in the shipping industry as regulated by the IMO, which Nigeria is a contracting member state. The agency also has responsibility for the development of indigenous shipping capacity.
“NIMASA being the safety administration of Nigeria has counterparts in 167 maritime nations responsible for ensuring safer shipping and cleaner oceans through the instrumentality of the technical mandate it performs via Port States inspection, Flag States inspection, Search and Rescue, Maritime Capacity Building, Maritime Security by ensuring our waters are safe from Piracy and Sea robbers, Prevention/Control of Marine Pollution, Administers the Training and Certification of Seafarers(STCW ’95), shipping development, coastal and inland shipping (Cabotage) and maritime labour administration,” he said.
Dosunmu said that NIMASA is the focal agency for the implementation of the IMO conventions domesticated in Nigeria through the discharge of its technical mandate which cannot be performed by any other Agency in Nigeria
He said the functions of NIMASA require technical expertise and can only be performed by a Safety Administration as performed by the Maritime Safety Administration of the UK, MCA, US Coast Guard, Safety Administration of Greece, Finland, Cyprus, and all other member countries of IMO.
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“Emphasis of the government should be on how to strengthen NIMASA to deliver more on its technical mandates and not merge it with agencies that are not compatible with its philosophy and objectives. I am happy Hadiza Bala Usman; the former managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority has been appointed by President Tinubu as the Special Adviser for Policy Coordination. Hadiza is very abreast of the Nigerian Maritime sector and would be able to advise the President accordingly,” he added.
“All ships that call on Nigerian waters carry a minimum of five certificates which include a certificate on safety equipment, a certificate on radio equipment, and a certificate on crewing among others. These certificates are carried by all ships calling on ports globally. NIMASA Surveyors, under its port states responsibility, must board these ships to ensure compliance with global requirements.
“NIMASA also carries out flag state inspection on all ships before they are registered to determine their fitness for purpose. In this regard, the ships are subjected to preregistration surveys and condition surveys. All these are in line with the Safety of Life At Sea (SOLAS) Convention and the STCW ‘95 Convention.
“Again, the activities of over 40 Floating production storage offloading (FPSO) and Floating Storage Offloading (FSO) like, Agbami, Bonga, Egina, and Akpo engaging in crude oil exploration and production offshore Nigerian waters are potential polluters. It is the responsibility of NIMASA to monitor and ensure that there is no pollution of the marine environment to protect aquatic life and our ecosystem,” Dosunmu said.
He however said that NIMASA must invest heavily in the procurement of offshore reception facilities to collect and process the wastes from these platforms in line with MARPOL Convention.
He added that NIMASA generates revenue and uses part of it to prosecute its technical regulatory functions while the surplus is paid into the federation account in line with the target set by the Ministry of Finance.
He said the proposed merger will be counterproductive with huge negative implications for Nigeria in the global shipping community and can make Nigerian waters unsafe for international shipping, which can affect the volume of maritime trade and eventually lead to a drop in revenue.
