The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh has announced an increase of 43.6% in the condition survey for Flag Registration by the agency in 2021 as against the performance in 2020.
NIMASA also recorded an improved Port State Control (PSC) implementation in year 2021 with 24.2% higher than the PSC inspections of year 2020.
Dr. Jamoh who disclosed this during a media interactive session in Lagos, noted that despite the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the agency ensured improved Port and Flag State Administration in accordance with the safety requirements of the Merchant Shipping Act 2007.
A breakdown of the figures shows that in 2020, the Agency carried out a condition survey of vessels under Flag Registration for 276 vessels, while in 2021, the figure increased to 489, representing a 43.6% improvement. Port State Control implementation by NIMASA in the year 2021 was assessed onboard 673 vessels which was a marked improvement on the 510 Vessels Boarded for Port State inspection in 2020 representing a 24.2% increment.
Jamoh also disclosed that the NIMASA reactivated the online portal for stakeholders to verify Nigerian Certificate(s) of Competency CoC from any part of the world.
He said “The online certificate verification platform was reactivated last year to reduce falsification of Nigerian Seafarers Certificates and enhance the employment of Nigerian Seafarers. “We experienced rejection of Nigerian Seafarers both locally and internationally and the Agency decided to introduce the online certificate verification platform which allows shipowners to easily authenticate CoC’s from the comfort of their electronic devices.”
While raising concern over the percentage of failures recorded for Nigerian seafarers who sat for the Certificate of Competency examination last year, Dr Jamoh announced that the agency has commenced investigation into the immediate and remote causes of the trend with a view to addressing it holistically.
Jamoh said further: “Our laboratory is already completed and we hope to enter a public private partnership arrangement this year to manage the laboratory for optimal utilization.
