Anna Okon
The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside, has said the agency is pushing for a single-data window system for all activities in the Nigerian maritime sector in such a way that data required will be available on a single platform.
A maritime data bank, he said, would engender rapid national economic growth.
Peterside, who stated this in Lagos at an interactive session with journalists, also noted that the Nigerian maritime sector currently provide over 100,000 direct jobs with multiplier effects of over two million jobs.
He said the sector deserved adequate mention in the statistics released monthly by the National Bureau of Statistics.
“We are pushing for a single-data window system in the maritime sector, whereby NIMASA, the Nigerian Ports Authority, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, the Nigeria Customs Service and other relevant government agencies in the sector will share a common platform for data on all vessels calling at our ports and the activities.
“This will make it easy for the NBS to capture the contributions of the maritime sector and the Gross Domestic Product of the country to enable those who make use of the figures to grow the economy to achieve better results,” he said.
Speaking on the survey and inspection of vessels calling at Nigerian ports, he said that the fast intervention vessels the agency leased last year led to an increase in port, flag and coastal state control inspections.
This, he said, had increased by over 10.3, 33.3 and 27 per cent, respectively in 2018 than the same period in the previous year.
The NIMASA DG also said the agency had taken drastic action to ensure that substandard vessels would not operate in the country.
“Nigeria is no longer conducive for substandard vessels, because they know that we are more vigilant and by this, we are ensuring the protection of our environment. We are strict on enforcement of standards and the international fleet feels more comfortable with our maritime terrain,” he said.
Copyright PUNCH.
All rights reserved. This material, and other digital content on this website, may not be reproduced, published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or in part without prior express written permission from PUNCH.
Contact: [email protected]
