• U.S. Coast Guards visit next month
• NPA vows to enforce conditions of entry on vessels
Vessels sailing from Nigeria’s 127 ports and terminals are still being barred in the United States because they are suspected to be conduits for global terrorists, such as Al Qaeda, and the Nigerian variant called Boko Haram.
NIMASA MD, Patrick Akpobolokemi
The imposition of conditions of entry (CoE) by the U.S. Coast Guards last year now puts the Nigeria Maritime Safety Administration (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) under fire.
Also affected by the ban are vessels from 15 other countries.
Officials of U.S. Coast Guards are due in Nigeria in August to assess compliance by the ports and terminals blacklisted for failure to comply with the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) code.
Other countries blacklisted include Cambodia, Cameroon, Comoros, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Liberia, Madagascar, Sao Tome and Principe, Syria, Timor-Leste and Venezuela.
The hammer implies that they are not maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures at their ports.
The punitive measure began over a year ago and the NPA has since concluded the process of acquiring additional security equipment to enhance safety and security at the seaports.
A statement issued by NPA Assistant General Manager (Public Affairs), Musa Iliya, said the equipment is expected to be fully in place before the end of September this year.
The equipment will be deployed in the ports in Apapa, Tin Can Island, Onne, Calabar, Rivers and Delta.
Iliya quoted NPA Managing Director, Habib Abdullahi, as saying that the new security equipment would enhance the safety of operations and port users.
The NPA will also enforce the COE for vessels visiting port terminals that have not fully complied with the ISPS code.
NIMASA Deputy Director (Public Relations), Isichei Osamgbi, turned abusive when TheNiche called him on the telephone to explain measures being taken to rectify the inadequacies identified by U.S. Coast Guards.
Osamgbi lashed out: “I know yours is a one-off newspaper and one off reporter on the beat. Why didn’t you get our last press release on this issue?
“If you were a journalist on the beat, Dan would have sent you the press release. Get lost with your newspaper.”
However, a source at Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN), who pleaded anonymity, disclosed that efforts are being made to get the ports and jetties fully complaint before the arrival of the U.S. Coast Guards.
A Diplomatic Note issued on behalf of the Department of Homeland Security by U.S. Coast Guard Deputy Commandant (Operations), Vice Admiral Peter Neffenger, had raised concerns over security loopholes in Nigeria’s 127 ports and jetties.
The note said Nigeria and the 15 other countries “have been found not to be maintaining effective anti-terrorism measures and are therefore subjected to conditions of entry.”
It recalled that “On March 26, 2013, Nigeria was notified of this determination and given recommendations for improving anti-terrorism measures and 90 days to respond.
“To date, we cannot confirm that Nigeria has corrected the identified deficiencies. Accordingly, beginning from June 26, 2014, the Conditions of Entry will apply to a vessel that visited a non-excepted Nigerian port in its last five port calls.”
However, President Goodluck Jonathan’s Maritime Affairs Assistant, Leke Olugbenga, blamed the erstwhile Designated Authority (DA), Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Security (PICOMS) for the shoddy handling of maritime security.
Olugbenga recounted that “we started from ground zero when we took over because PICOMS did virtually nothing to enhance security at the nation’s ports.
“We are still not doing enough because the result is what the U.S. Coast Guards released in that Diplomatic Note.”
“It is not something that can be rectified overnight. The way we have been carrying the concessionaires along in our plan; the way we have allowed them little time to get money to address security lapses in their facilities; I think this is the best way we can make Nigeria fully ISPS complaint in all borders.
“If the government should say it wants a jetty or terminal operator to complete and upgrade all security facilities in one day, the resources they have around them may not be enough to do it.
“And we don’t expect these operators to develop their security facilities from their private pockets. Although we have to compel them to do it, we also have to be considerate given the business conditions these concessionaires operate in.
“We will not invite investors into the maritime sector just to run them down. We are working steadily, carefully and constantly with these operators; making sure they do what they ought to do at the right time.
“But beyond all this, the government is coming up with a good strategy to ensure perfect monitoring of security events at the ports. It is a stage-by-stage thing until we fully comply.
“People should remember we started from negative. So, whatever we have achieved today is a plus to the Jonathan administration.
“Before this year runs out, we will be happy to let Nigerians know the extent of what we have put in place in terms of securing our ports.”
