The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, has urged players in the maritime sector, especially enforcement officers, to comply with safety rules that would eliminate marine and other related accidents that may arise from operational mishandling.
Peterside gave the charge at the opening of the Annual Maritime Administration and Safety Enforcement (MASE) HSE Workshop with the theme, Maritime Enforcement Safety: Current Global Benchmarks, organised by the Agency in conjunction with Heritage Bank, which held in Lagos.
He said: “I am happy that we are focusing on Health Safety and Environment; and most importantly the safety of those who enforce rules and regulations. As a safety administrator, we are not going to be held by local standards because operational safety especially when it comes to the maritime sector has to conform to global standards, and this is what we are preaching in NIMASA.”
He added that as part of the Agency’s mandate to ensure safety and security of vessels visiting and leaving the nation’s territorial waters, it is also its responsibility to ensure the safety of those who work on board vessels, and offshore platforms as well as those who create support services at the shore for maritime activities to thrive.
“Our goal is to see a maritime sector devoid of avoidable accidents due to lack of professional enforcement. This is why we have reviewed our enforcement drive to give proper attention to Health Safety and Environmental guidelines for the benefit of everyone participating in the sector,” he said.
Peterside charged enforcement officers to be safety conscious whenever they were carrying out routine inspections, adding that they must ensure that inspection and enforcement are done in such a manner that no life is put at risk.
He further said the training will provide hands-on safety procedures, to aid the maritime enforcement team carry out their responsibilities under the NIMASA Act 2007, and related instruments in compliance with HSE regulations, solely for identification, assessment, and control of hazards to enforcement operations in onshore and offshore facilities.
The Head, Health Safety and Environment Unit, NIMASA, Fred Ugo, said the Agency, through the HSE Unit, has set out basic guidelines for officers responsible for ensuring health and safety in maritime, in line with environmental standards, which are achievable during enforcement operations.
The Maritime Administration and Safety Enforcement HSE Workshop, is an annual event, which brings maritime enforcement officers up to speed with the latest details in risk assessment. It is also designed to boost hazard awareness in maritime enforcement towards a coherent application of safe practices.
