The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) Dr. Dakuku Peterside has stated that regional cooperation is key to the safety and security of inbound and outbound goods and services to Africa through the seas.
Peterside who said this while speaking at a technical workshop on Prospects, Challenges and Opportunities for Regional Collaboration at the sidelines of the just concluded Off shore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston Texas, in the United States of America, equally noted that the development of the maritime sector on the African continent is hinged on regional cooperation. He further assured the select international stakeholders of a renewed effort to enhance safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea based on sustainable regional cooperation.
The NIMASA DG who was represented by the Agency’s Executive Director Operations, Engineer Rotimi Fashakin said that efforts at regional collaboration have led to signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the Ghanaian Maritime Administration amongst others. He added that Africa particularly the Sub-Saharan region of the continent stands to benefit from regional cooperation as this will enhance participation in international shipping thus reversing the current trend of the region having only an insignificant part of international cargo freight.
He noted that the federal government supports regional integration as demonstrated with the approved Integrated National Security Strategy (INSS) for the Nigerian maritime sector which is designed to be implemented in collaboration with other countries in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG). “The oil & Gas industry needs the maritime sector, particularly shipping, which is international in nature for it to thrive. The fact that shipping is international in nature makes collaboration particularly at the regional level inevitable.
This will serve as a catalyst for growth in the industry and we at NIMASA have recognized this fact, thus our numerous collaborative efforts which have begun to yield fruits” He said.
