Others on Regional Maritime Safety
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has said that plans are currently on for the maritime administrations in Togo, Republic of Benin and Nigeria to meetwith relevant stakeholders to deliberate on ways of enhancing maritime safety in the region.
Sub Regional Representative for African Anglophone countries at the IMO, Micheal Luguje disclosed this while commending the efforts of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) in reducing the level of criminal acts on the waters of the West and Central African Sub-Region.
Luguje commended NIMASA for effectively operating the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Center (RMRCC) located in Kirikiri and the agency’s
collaboration with the Nigerian Navy to facilitate safety and security on Nigerian waters.
“I think that NIMASA’s example of fruitful collaboration with the Nigerian Navy is a good example worthy of emulation by other neighbouring countries” he said.
The RMRCC located in the premises of the Nigerian Maritime Resource Development Center in Kirikiri covers the entire central and West African countries of Togo, Benin, Sao Tome and Principe, Equitorial Guinea, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo Brazaville, Democractic Republic of Congo and
Nigeria.
According to the deputy director, public relations of NIMASA, Lami Tumaka, the Regional Maritime Awareness Capability Center, RMAC is equipped with the Automatic Identification System (AIS), the Radar, and the Camera.
She said the AIS easily identifies all vessels with the AIS gadgets onboard; those without the AIS are tracked at the RMAC with the Radar while Video Cameras which provide live pictures of all vessels along the Nigerian coastal waters are also in the RMAC.
Another facility at the RMRCC in kirikiri is the Global Maritime Distress Safety System (GMDSS), which she said, is equipped with VHF Radio, Satelite Phones and the IMARSAT. All these communication equipment are deployed by NIMASA for on line real time communication and monitoring of the entire waters of the West and Central African Sub – Region.
She said NIMASA has also expanded its operations to include the provision of weather forecast services to all vessels on Nigerian waters through the Radio Room at the GMDSS.
Source: Daily Independent
