The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, and the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NiMet, have joined forces to close gaps identified by the International Maritime Organization.
This was made known in Lagos, when the Director General of NiMet, Professor Mansur Matazu, paid a courtesy call on the 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 ascertain compliance level with IMO’s maritime security and efficiency protocols on the country’s waterways.
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 recognized as missing from the maritime sector.
Dr. Jamoh said the collaboration with NiMet was a necessity.
“Cooperation between NIMASA and NiMet is vital for the documentation and filling of the gaps. We have established a platform for action and devised various strategies for the achievement of our set goals.” Dr. Jamoh stated.
In a remarks, Prof 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.”
The IMO Member State Audit Scheme (IMSAS) commenced as a voluntary Scheme in 2006 and became a treaty obligation in January 2016.
It aims to promote the consistent and effective implementation of applicable IMO instruments and to assist Member States to improve their capabilities, while contributing to the enhancement of global and individual Member State’s overall performance in compliance with necessary requirements.
Reporting by Omolara Omosanya, edited Adeniyi Bakare