For non-compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), which regulates shipping, maritime and coastal waters activities…..
Hajia Lami Tumaka
For non-compliance with the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), which regulates shipping, maritime and coastal waters activities, has shut three jetties and port facilities for non-compliance with the provisions of the code. The ISPS Code is an amendment to the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) Convention (1974/1988) on minimum security arrangements for ships, ports and government agencies.
The facilities shut included Heyden Petroleum Jetty Ijora, Lagos; Waziri Jetty, Dockyard Road, Apapa, Lagos; and Starz Marine Shipyard Limited, Onne in Rivers State.
Defending the closure of the facilities, spokesperson for NIMASA, Hajia Lami Tumaka, said the affected operators have persistently failed to comply with the ISPS code thus necessitating their closure to forestall a situation where security breaches in such facilities will negatively impact the compliant ones.
These closures are in exercise of the Agency’s powers in line with provisions of Part VIII of the ISPS Code Implementation Regulations 2014, under which the facilities were adjudged to be non-compliant despite repeated warnings to remedy the deficiencies.
NIMASA has consistently stated its commitment to the enforcement of full compliance with the ISPS Code especially in the face of growing terrorists’ activities globally.
While hosting a pre-assessment team from the United States Coast Guard (USCG) recently, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, expressed the determination of the Agency to enforce the code saying that “ultimately all of us are working for a common purpose, a safer world through safety and security of the maritime sub sector. If we fix our different corners of the earth, the whole world will be safer for everybody. And so no effort should be spared in trying to guarantee safety and security.”
While the exercise is a continuous one, all the facilities shut down will remain so until their managers corrected the identified deficiencies in line with the provisions of the Code, as the Agency aims to achieve 100 per cent compliance with the cooperation of all stakeholders.
