By David Agba
Abuja
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has shut three jetties and port facilities for non-compliance with the provisions of the International Ship and Port Facility Security, ISPS, code.
A statement by the Head, Corporate Communications of NIMASA, Lami Tumaka, in Lagos said the closure was pursuant to the agency’s mandate as the Designated Authority (DA) for the implementation of the ISPS Code.
The facilities are Heyden Petroleum Jetty Ijora Lagos; Waziri Jetty, Dockyard Road Apapa, Lagos; and Starz Marine Shipyard Ltd., Onne, in Rivers.
“These facilities have persistently failed to comply with the ISPS code, necessitating their closure in order to forestall a situation where security breaches in such facilities will negatively impact the compliant ones.
“These closures are in exercise of the agency’s powers in line with provisions of Part VIII of the ISPS Code Implementation Regulations 2014 under which the facilities were adjudged to be non-compliant despite repeated warnings to remedy the deficiencies,” the statement said.
It said that, “NIMASA has consistently stated its commitment to the enforcement of full compliance with the ISPS Code, especially in the face of growing terrorists’ activities globally.”
The statement pointed out said that all shut facilities were to remain closed until the managers of such facilities correct the identified deficiencies in line with the dictates of the Code, “as the Agency aims to achieve 100 per cent compliance with the cooperation of all stakeholders’’.
It described the exercise as a continuous one.
Wile hosting a Pre-assessment Team from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) recently, the Director-General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, expressed the determination of the agency to enforce the code.
According to Mr. Peterside, ultimately, all of us are working for a common purpose; a safer world through safety and security of the maritime sub sector.
“If we fix our different corners of the earth, the whole world will be safer for everybody. So, no effort should be spared in trying to guarantee safety and security,” NAN quotes the director-general as saying.
