Kayode Shopekan
THE Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has called on all security agencies to collaborate and put an end to the spate of crime and criminality bedeviling the maritime industry.
The Executive Secretary of the NSC, Hon. Emmanuel Jime, stated this when he led a delegation on a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) headquarters in Lagos.
Join our WhatsApp Channel“Nigeria cannot be caught unawares. We need to look at ways of developing our shipping sector, which, from studies, is capable of earning the country even more than oil annually. And maritime security is pivotal to achieving this goal,” he said.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, said the progress made by Nigeria at providing security for ships moving along the Gulf of Guinea had been acknowledged by the international shipping community.
Jamoh explained that a sustained reduction in cases of piracy and other maritime crimes reported on the Nigerian waters would end the regime of War Risk Insurance premium on Nigeria-bound cargoes.
The DG noted that the decrease in maritime incidents logged in International Maritime Bureaus (IMB) second quarter report was a valuable feedback on the agency’s campaign for Nigeria’s delisting from countries under the war risk insurance burden, and an indication that the shipping community looked forward to sustenance of the progress made.
Jamoh said, “Feedback on our campaign for Nigeria to be removed from countries paying war risk insurance premium on inbound cargoes has confirmed that the international shipping community is watching developments in Nigeria and the Gulf of Guinea with keen interest. Their desire is to see a sustainability of the positive developments in recent times leading to a drastic decline in piracy attacks in Nigerian waters and the Gulf of Guinea.
“Since the deployment of the Deep Blue Project assets in February, there has been a steady decline in piracy attacks in Nigerian waters on a monthly basis. With adequate sensitisation of the international shipping community, I am sure that our quest to be removed from nations considered to have dangerous waters will soon materialise for the benefit of Nigerian shippers.”
