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The Association of Marine Engineers and Surveyors (AMES) in Nigeria has pledged that it would ensure that only certified sea-worthy ships are acquired into Nigeria.
The President of the association, Engr. Charles Uwadia, stated this in an interview in Lagos with newsmen. He said the initiative would be among key issues for discussion at the association’s upcoming Maritime Technical Summit with the theme ‘Challenges of Maritime Transport Industry in Nigeria’.
Uwadia revealed that the conference will be held on April 11 at the Lagos Sheraton Hotel, Ikeja. He noted that policy makers would be exposed to the demands and requirements needed, which must be complied within ship acquisition as obtainable world-wide.
He lamented the large number of ships abandoned at the bar due to failure to meet up with prescribed standards for operational purposes, while highlighting the importance of compliance and verification in sustainable maritime practice.
“We want to use this summit to advise stakeholders, the government on how to maintain their vessels to eliminate sub-standard vessels on our waters. Right at the outside bar, you will be surprised at the number of vessels that cannot move or those that are sub-standard because they cannot meet the minimum standard required for a vessel to be operational” he said.
Uwadia also called on regulatory authorities concerned to be alive to their responsibilities to ensure minimum standards are met and to avoid down time in the course of operations at sea.
Uwadia stressed that it was important that Nigeria upheld the professional practice of engaging competent marine engineers and ship surveyors for survey reports before any ship would be allowed into the country.
According to him, Ghana has recorded excellence by ensuring a mandatory report by a professional marine engineer or surveyor from the country’s marine engineers’ body.
“In any civilized country, the first thing should be to get a competent marine engineer or a good ship surveyor to go and inspect the vessel and give a honest report before it is purchased. It should not be the case of getting the seller to give you a surveyor for the job, who will give a report to ensure that the owner sells his ware, as it has always been.
“Such practices, when not checked, make people buy vessels that cannot even leave the port because they are scraps,” he said.
Meanwhile, Engr. Olu Akinsoji, said the summit would address issues of human capacity development for the sub-sector as the present crop of marine engineers are aging and would require competent replacement.
He explained that the summit would also consider the need to have professionals drive the policies for the sub-sector for technical input to make it useful to its purpose.
“We hardly have input into policy formulation. All the professionals, our colleagues who were in the ministry have all left; even the inland waterways have left the ministry. The ministry only has administrative officers. So, when they are formulating policies, it comes out in form of laws before we even know something is going on” he said.
By Kenneth Jukpor
