Against the background of recent fatal boat mishaps on the country’s
\ninland waterways, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime
\nAdministration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has said
\nthe Agency would get tough with untrained and uncertified boat skippers,
\nwho often ignore safety procedures and endanger the lives of passengers.
\nJamoh stated this in Lagos during a courtesy visit to the Agency by
\nGeneral Manager of the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA), Mr.
\nOluwadamilola Emmanuel.<\/p>\n
The Director-General also suggested the development of cohesive safety
\nenforcement guidelines and regulations for implementation across the
\nlittoral states. He said the harmonisation of standards and procedures
\nfor safety in the territorial waters would go a long way in minimising
\nunsafe practices by operators of non-conventional vessels, which are not
\nsubject to international standards but rely mainly on national
\nregulations.<\/p>\n
He stated, “We have a number of boat skippers that are not trained, and
\nnot knowledgeable enough, and they do not have certification. They only
\nknow how to maneuver the boat and risk people’s lives.<\/p>\n
“We will now start to check that. The issue is important, that is why I
\nwould start to take it more seriously because charity begins at home. If
\nwe have enforcement officers and they are laid back, they will continue
\nto watch what is happening without doing anything.”<\/p>\n
He added, “I am glad to see the synergy and collaboration that is
\ndeveloping with the Lagos State Waterways Authority because we all have
\nas our common mandate the job of ensuring safety in our waters.”<\/p>\n
Jamoh said the Federal Ministry of Transportation was also in the
\nprocess of building unified enforcement guidelines for safety in the
\ncountry’s waters, stressing that the synergy between NIMASA and the
\nLagos State Government would help to fast track the process.<\/p>\n
He urged greater supervision of officers engaged in the enforcement of
\nsafety standards.<\/p>\n
“Our responsibility is to ensure that we monitor and supervise the staff
\nthat is given the responsibility of enforcing the issue of safety at
\nsea,” he stated, adding that safety procedures, such as availability of
\nadequate lifejackets, good condition of the boat, and time of use, must
\nbe verified by enforcement officers before a boat sets sail.<\/p>\n
In his own remarks, the LASWA General Manager promised to intensify
\ninformation sharing between his agency and NIMASA as part of efforts to
\nimprove collaboration for maritime safety.<\/p>\n
“We have the database of small craft, which I believe that we would be
\nready to share with NIMASA,” Emmanuel said.<\/p>\n
He also elaborated on the importance of uniform enforcement procedure,
\nsaying, “I am really excited that this is happening because overtime
\nwhat we generally tend to see on the waterways is an overlap of so many
\nfunctions. I am sure it is not news to anyone here the issues we have
\nhad over the years between LASWA and NIWA (National Inland Waterways
\nAuthority) and how that has affected the things that have happened on
\nthe waterways.”<\/p>\n
Against the background of recent fatal boat mishaps on the country’s inland waterways, Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has said the Agency…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":74925,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-74924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n