Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet) have initiated joint effort to close gaps identified by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) during its last mandatory audit of the country’s maritime industry.
This was disclosed in Lagos, when Director General of NiMet, Professor Mansur Bako Matazu, paid a courtesy call on Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, at the Agency’s headquarters.
Auditors from IMO had in 2016 conducted a mandatory audit of Nigeria’s maritime industry to, among other things, ascertain compliance level with IMO’s maritime security and efficiency protocols on the country’s waters.
During the NiMet Director General’s visit, both agencies of the Federal Government agreed to immediately set up a working committee to develop an action plan and implement a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the provision of the things recognised as missing from the maritime sector.
Dr. Jamoh stated, “Collaboration with NiMet is a necessity; it is not for convenience. IMO had during the audit of the Nigerian Maritime Administration some years ago identified some gaps, which we believe can be closed with effective collaboration among critical stakeholders.
In his own remarks, Matazu said, “We desire to provide services to aid the movement of vessels on Nigerian waters. With climate change and its increasing intensity, this is the time for collaboration. NiMet weather forecasts are over 95 per cent in accuracy.”
