‘NIMASA committed to sustainable maritime leadership in Africa’
Lagos -- The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, says Nigeria’s Maritime Administration is committed to sustaining its leadership role in the maritime sector of Africa.
Speaking at the commissioning of NIMASA Enforcement Boats and the Search and Rescue Base Clinic in Lagos, Jamoh said the new assets would ensure Nigeria’s maritime administration sustained its leadership role in the maritime sector of Africa, ensuring that the impact of its maritime security architecture is felt in the Gulf of Guinea and the entire African maritime domain.
He noted that the investment in the communication gadgets alongside the enforcement boats will not only add more value to the nation’s maritime security but also enhance NIMASA’s primary role of Port and Flag State Administration, adding that the Search and Rescue Base Clinic, SARBC, was to meet basic requirements of the International Maritime Organization, IMO, since Nigeria is host to the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre for the West and Central Africa Region.
“Maritime cannot thrive without effective search and rescue because as much as we don’t want accidents, when they occur, we should be able to respond effectively.
“The Maritime Search and Rescue (SAR) Coordinating Centre for the West and Central Africa Region is domiciled here and we have the SARBC to complement its activities. What NIMASA has done is upgrade the SAR clinic to the standards that would ensure it meets up with rescue centres of global repute. The issue of health in the Transport sector must always be on the front burner.
“The NIMASA Search and Rescue Base Clinic is another stride for the maritime sector because it meets international standards and would serve more purposes of taking care of patients within and beyond the transport sector,” he stated.
Present at the event was the Minister of Transportation, Engineer Mu’azu Jaji Sambo, who commissioned the five enforcement boats and four ferries for the staff members of NIMASA.