PIRACY: Global West Vessel Specialist Acquires 3 Vessels

The Director General, NIMASA, Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi.

• NIMASA Set To Position SAR Marshals At Jetties

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) says Global West Vessels Specialist (GWVS) Limited has provided more platforms to protect the eastern parts of the maritime domain in a bid to provide security.

This was made known yesterday by the Executive Director, Maritime Safety and Shipping Development;  Captain Ezekiel Agaba at a stakeholders interactive forum put together by agency in Lagos.

Agaba stated that the three medium size deep-sea going vessels will be deployed to the Escravos, Port Harcourt and Forcadoes axis to protect and secure the coast from pirate and sea robbery attacks on vessels plying the routes.
"Three of the new vessels had arrived, they are somewhere around the Tin Can Island river , they are undergoing some fittings at the moment and they will soon be sent out to places like Port Harcourt, Escravos in other monitor and regulate activities at sea", he disclosed.

The executive director also reiterated that,  " we are aware that Global West Vessels Specialist was given the contract to provide  platform  for us to man and the running of  crew that will be done by the navy and other security forces because they are entitle to carry arms, we don't carry guns as NIMASA employees"

He further disclosed that three more new vessels are also on the way to complement the existing platforms to protect the nation's coast.

The NIMASA top man also told the gathering that less emphasis would soon be placed on issuance of memo as the agency is set to transit on electronic communication which he referred to as e- communication.

He also added that the agency is greatly concerned about the incessant boat mishaps on Nigerian waters, adding that the NIMASA has put in place measures to station Search And Rescue (SAR) marshals at every jetty to carry out checks on boat operators on safety measures.

Speaking further,  he said, “what we intend to do is that we are having incident of vessel capsized due to overloading therefore we need to put some of the marshals in some of the locations to monitor safety precautions by the operators just as we have the road marshal".

According to him, the marshals are on ground to monitor such activities but there is the need to intensify their operations in 2014.
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