West African Ports Commended for ISPS-compliance
Stories by Bukola Akande
The managements of ports in West and Central African states have been commended for taking the issue of International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code compliance in the sub-region seriously.
Chairman of the sub-regional coordinating Committee on the implementation of ISPS Code, and Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Chief Adebayo Sarumi, disclosed during the meeting of chief executives of ports and maritime authorities in the sub-region that the ports have complied with the mandatory requirements.
In his report presented at the meeting, Sarumi said, "it is noteworthy that member states embraced the challenge of compliance bearing in mind that the risk of non-compliance may give rise to blacklisting and possible loss of business".
He added, "Member states have shown great concern on behalf of each other to ensure compliance. This is because non-compliance in one country would have affected a compliant neighbour negatively.
He commended member states for the brotherly support given to each order in order to comply with the ISPS code.
"The spirit of brotherliness has been highly demonstrated in the sub-region as well; a case in point was technical assistance offered to Guinea Bissau by Cape Verde and assistance offered to Liberia to confirm its position regarding ratification of SUA Convention by Togo", Sarumi said.
Noting that the compliance date has come and gone, Sarumi however noted that it was for the world to judge, since according to him, the status of implementation of each country could be found on the website.
Commending members further for the understanding shown so far, the NPA boss said that it was the same co-operation that brought members to the country, adding that efforts should be made for continued co-operation.
At the meeting, Nigeria's Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS), in a presentation disclosed that its next phase will be to improve and maintain Nigeria's compliance profile by sustaining the work done in various areas.
PICOMSS said that its immediate future plans include the commencement of equipment procurement, installation and commissioning to reinforce the integrity of the security plans.
Other highlights include:
high level training in London to cater for industry demands;
continued in-country training of PFSO's CSO/SSO's;
stakeholders awareness for Delta MSZ, and other locations including Bonny, Brass and Eket;
Awareness training for security agencies and other regulatory bodies to enhance performance capacity;
development of an IT based communication and information dissemination protocol for interacting with the port/maritime industry.
The Committee noted that among the reason for the success of PICOMSS was the comprehensive composition of membership which cuts across all relevant stakeholder groups in and out of government.
According to the Committee, the ISPS Code has taken the global maritime community and the world at large to a new threshold in international co-operation, one that promises greater security for the world's most vital means of communication.
The realization of that promise, the Committee added, will depend largely on the exchange of security information by contracting government and closer interaction provided by forums such as the meeting of the sub-regional states.
"This kind of co-operation is the underlying intent and anticipation of the ISPS Code as well as its core objective. And as with most human endeavours with multiple stake-holding, only teamwork can make the promise of a more secured global maritime domain a reality", the Committee stated.
The President of PMAWCA, Mr. Jerome, in a presentation at the meeting said that the committee has been carrying out several activities for its members on the need for awareness on the ISPS code.
Jerome said PMAWCA in conjunction with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has organised two seminars devoted to security matters and to search for possible approaches in order to close ranks and wage a coordinated fight against the risks of terrorist attacks.
He stated that during the second seminar held in Calabar by the IMO and PMAWCA a resolution was adopted which underscored the extreme need to design and adopt a new sub-regional strategy based on a plan of action with a specified phase by phase through the mobilization of all the countries of the sub-region will be prepared for the ISPS code.
He noted that despite the Calabar Resolution, the statistics available at the IMO record was not encouraging as at 21st June 2004 adding that only 33% of the world have obtained their security plan and possess the International Safety Certificate, while 25% of the world ports have complied with the provision of chapter XI-2 of the SOLAS Convention and ISPS code and are in possession of the Compliance Certificate.
He urged all member countries to keep in mind the nefarious consequences of non implementation of measure envisaged in the code, the decertification of the ports, marginalization of the international maritime industry.
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