The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency is working directly with the International Maritime Organisation to develop a National Maritime Security Strategy for Nigeria.
This was disclosed in a statement on Maritime Security Collaboration, which was released on Friday by the Nigerian Government and Industry Joint Working Group.
The statement also disclosed that Nigeria has formally endorsed industry’s Best Management Practices West Africa guidance.
It also revealed that following the entry into force of Nigeria’s Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act, 2019, prosecution of maritime-related offences are underway.
The Joint Working Group, comprising NIMASA, Ministry of Transport, Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Ports Authority, Marine Police Interpol, oil industry (represented by OCIMF) and shipping industry (represented by ICS, BIMCO, INTERCARGO, INTERTANKO and the Nigerian Shipowners’ Association), was established in May 2020 in order to facilitate coordination between government and industry and align efforts to deter and respond to incidents of piracy and armed robbery in Nigerian territorial waters and EEZ.
The NIMASA/Industry Working Group is the first coordinated effort between industry and the Nigerian Government (represented by NIMASA, Ministry of Transport, Nigerian Navy, Interpol, Marine Police, Customs and Nigerian Ports Authority) to address the issues of maritime security.
The statement explained that the objective of the working group is to accelerate efforts to tackle maritime security threats by facilitating interaction between the stakeholders and by pursuing projects through mutual collaboration.
The establishment of the working group is also aimed at enhancing transparency between government and industry in addressing the shared goal of achieving the permanent prevention of piracy and armed robbery in the region.
By ensuring the safety of seafarers and shipping operations in the region, the working group will enable Nigeria and other coastal states in the Eastern Gulf of Guinea to realise the full potential of their Blue Economies, the statement added.
The statement further disclosed that since the NIWG was established, considerable progress has been made to deepen collaboration between agencies and navies, build operational response capabilities, develop more robust reporting frameworks and share best practice between government and industry.
According to the statement, the NIWG industry partners have been working with NIMASA to finalise a new Nigerian National Maritime Reporting Framework which will support merchant vessels in distress.
Also, NIMASA’s Command, Control, Computer Communication and Information Centre has been identified as a national focal point for coordinating the multi-agency response.
The statement said: “These developments are a significant step forward in improving Nigeria’s response capabilities and potentially enhancing security for vessels operating in Nigerian Waters.
“The NIWG recognises the role of the Maritime Domain Awareness for Trade -GoG (MDAT-GOG) as the single point of communication for merchant ships and is pleased to inform that cooperation between the IMB, MDAT-GoG and NIMASA’s C4I Centre is progressing well.”
In the same vein, the statement noted that there has been a welcome escalation in the Nigerian Navy’s maritime security response activities.
It said: “Conduct of two military exercises (Operation Calm Water and Operation Sanga Sung) by NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy in recent months have been successful in testing and demonstrating response capabilities.
“Importantly, considerable progress has also been made to advance the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure project, otherwise known as the Deep Blue Project (DBP), which aims to comprehensively address insecurity and criminality in Nigeria’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.”
The statement noted that although COVID-19 disrupted the project, delayed training required to deploy DBP assets Q4 2020/Q1 2021 has recommenced.
However, despite the progress recorded by the NIWG, the statement noted that the risk of maritime security incidents in Nigerian waters remains high and is likely to increase in the coming months, especially now that the monsoon season has ended.
“The NIWG recognises that there is a considerable way to go, and therefore it is essential that momentum is maintained in implementing maritime security programmes and initiatives to effect real and lasting change and secure the waters blighted by maritime crime,” the statement observed.
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