• Seek
review of maritime laws
The
inadequate presence of the Nigerian Navy at the sea has elicited concerns from
master mariners, who described this as inimical to seaborne trade and national
security.
The Nigerian
Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) at their quarterly presentation in Lagos,
also described the ships in the Nigerian Navy inventory as too old, and unable
to cope with the current day realities in maritime safety and security.
The Group
equally expressed displeasure over the conflict of interest and uncoordinated
regulations among government agencies, including Nigerian Ports Authority,
(NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian
Shippers Council (NSC), Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Police and a host of
others.
It therefore
requested for a review of the existing Acts that established the maritime
agencies and streamline their operations for clarity.A renowned master mariner,
Rear Admiral Godswill Ombo, said: “the Nigerian Navy should do more to contain
the numerous challenges evolving in Nigeria’s maritime environment, but she is
currently seriously hampered by inadequate presence at sea,”Ombo added that,
“The ships in the Nigerian Navy inventory are currently on the average 30 years
old, and have had no major refit or upgrade to prolong their service life.
However, the reality of the current situation is that without an effective
mid-life refit and upgrade that should have been undertaken in the mid-90s, the
ships are too far gone for meaningful local refits. These ships should be
auctioned and new ones bought.”
He also
criticised the situation whereby oil multinationals are getting private
vessels, and with the Nigerian Navy manning it for area patrol to protect their
oil platforms.
“In addition
with the current paucity of funds to meet the logistics equation to maintain
naval presence at sea, the Navy is hardly at sea, and some oil majors and
individuals have resorted to providing vessels and requesting the Navy to man
their vessels for area patrol of their localities.
“This, in my
opinion is an ill-conceived solution that is completely unethical and
unacceptable in the developed countries where the oil majors emanated. “This
practice is inimical to government’s efforts to have a credible Navy and robs
naval personnel of the benefits of their specialist knowledge and professional
calling, and therefore must be stopped immediately by ensuring that the Navy
and other maritime security agencies of government have what they need to
perform their statutory role and responsibilities,” he said.
TheActing
President, NAMM, Joseph Awodeha, who stressed the need for a review of the
Acts, said: “The responsibilities and boundaries are not well defined in the
Acts, and we are suggesting to the government to revisit all the different Acts
of these agencies, to clearly state their responsibilities so that there is no
confusion in implementation.”
On training,
he stressed the need to allow the trainees to get practical experience after
their academic qualification by creating avenues for them to be on board
vessels and perform their duties as marine officers.
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