Geared Towards Keeping Them In Job – Jamoh
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has
extended the validity of Statutory and Trading certificates for all
Nigerian Registered vessels. These include Standards of Training,
Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) certificates for seafarers issued
by the Agency.
The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who made this known at
the Agency’s head office in Lagos, said NIMASA remained committed to
implementing its mandates during the COVID-19 crisis. Jamoh said it was
necessary to ensure uninterrupted shipping, despite the pandemic,
stressing that shipping is one of the major ways of moving medical aid
across the globe.
“Our determination to ensure that shipping continues during this trying
time remains unwavering and this is why we have continued to come up
with measures to keep the global shipping chain moving in line with the
recommendations of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO),” Jamoh
stated.
He said the Agency was aware of the difficulties seafarers would be
facing and the need to keep them in job even beyond the pandemic, saying
this has necessitated the Agency’s publication of a notice to extend
their certificates and other statutory certificates that would ensure
uninterrupted shipping.
According to Jamoh, “One of our major priorities is to keep our
seafarers in job while not jeopardising their safety in terms of
contracting the deadly virus. We have, therefore, come up with a notice
that would extend the validity of their certificates, for those of them
that might be expiring soon. We have also issued guidelines that would
regulate crew change during this pandemic.”
Expatiating on the notice issued by the Agency, Jamoh disclosed that
following IMO’s recent guidelines on the certification of seafarers and
fishing vessel personnel, the Agency had extended the validity of
relevant certificates, including STCW; Mandatory and Safety
certificates; and Certificates of medical fitness. Others are the
Statutory and Trading Certificates related to SOLAS ’74 as amended,
MARPOL 73/78 as amended, Certificates of Ship Registry, National
requirements for Power Driven Small Crafts (PDSC), and MLC, 2006, as
amended.
He said the extension will apply to all Nigerian flagged vessels and
seafarers sailing on-board Nigerian flagged vessels, as well as
seafarers with Nigerian Certificate of Competency who are sailing on
foreign flagships.
Jamoh said the extensions would enable Owners and Masters of Ships to
permit personnel to continue performing duties in the view of the
COVID-I9 pandemic and the nation-wide lockdown in Nigeria.
The NIMASA DG charged Owners and Masters to report any deficiency that
may affect the approved capacity and performance standards of all Fire
Fighting Appliances (FFA), Life Saving Appliances (LSA) on-board
vessels.
Since the outbreak of COVID-19, shipping has been the focus of attention
in major maritime nations and NIMASA has continuously issued guidelines
aimed at preventing adverse effects on the Nigerian shipping industry.