Maritime Safety: NIMASA Set to Acquire More Fast Intervention Vessels

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has said it would acquire strategic maritime safety and security assets, following the recent approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC),

A statement, yesterday by the agency said the planned purchase was in line with the total spectrum of maritime security strategy. 

According to the statement, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside made this known in Lagos recently, and that he also announced the establishment of a command and control center as part of the strategic initiative.

“The four components of the initiative are situational awareness, response capability, law enforcement and local partnerships, and regional cooperation which are the fulcrum upon which tackling maritime crime will be built on,” he said. 

Dakuku noted that the implementation of NIMASA’s total spectrum maritime strategy in collaboration with the Agency’s partners was a panacea to piracy and maritime crime within Nigerian territorial waters.

He also assured that NIMASA would continue to collaborate with the military especially the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force, among other partners, to make Nigerian waterways safe and secure. “We are not unmindful of the peculiar environment of Niger Delta which poses its own challenge in tackling maritime crime, especially kidnapping of crew and illegal bunkering that leads to pollution; we will continue to work with the Nigerian Navy and regional organizations to strengthen our regional approach to tackling maritime crime,” he said.

While giving the assurance that NIMASA will not relax in its quest to see the early passage of the anti-piracy bill, the draft of which the Federal Executive Council recently approved for legislative action, Dr. Peterside added that eradicating maritime crime and piracy will be a priority for the Agency and her partners in 2018.

He also used the opportunity to guarantee Nigerians that NIMASA is focused on working with all relevant Stakeholders, using its laid out strategy to make maritime crime history in our domain.

“It will be recalled that the NIMASA DG has collaborated with Stakeholders, both locally and internationally, which has seen to the feat the Agency has achieved in the year 2017,” the statement said.

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