Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) have given itself pass marks in the implementation of the International Ship and Port facility Security (ISPS) Code in the country.
The ISPS Code is a safety instrument of the global maritime watchdog, International Maritime Organisation (IMO) which has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom.
The code stipulates safety and security requirements of seaports in the countries that have ratified the relevant conventions of the organization. The agency, which is the eye of IMO in Nigeria, said it scored over 38 per cent since it was given the DA status over a year ago.
Director General of NIMASA, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi who stated this in Lagos said that over 38 per cent (about 45 out of the 129 ports) of Nigerian ports and jetties are now ISPS Code compliant, up from nine when it took over as the DA for the code in 2013.
However, this claim is coming against comments by some Nigerian shippers, who are saying that the rate of compliance with the provisions of the code remains low.
Nigeria has 129 ports and jetties indicating that only 45 out that number may have complied with the code. The agency claimed that when it took over the implementation in 2013, there were only nine port facilities that were compliant with the code.
NIMASA was made the DA for the enforcement of the tenets of the code in 2013. Since then, the agency has been working with the United States Coast Guard, a similar agency of the United States of America (USA) in the implementation of the safety codes in Nigerian port.
