The secretary general of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Arsenio Dominguez, has expressed readiness to collaborate with the newly appointed director general of the Nigerian Marítime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Dayo Mobereola, to tackle marítime challenges in the country.
Dominguez disclosed this in a conveyance letter personally signed by him and sent to NIMASA over the appointment of Dr Mobereola by President Bola Tinubu.
The IMO scribe who disclosed that he hope to welcome Dr Mobereola to IMO in person applauded the significant effort, initiatives, and investment that Nigeria has made in strengthening its maritime institutions.
“The focus on strengthening maritime law enforcement and security architecture has been welcomed by seafarers and flag States. The Deep Blue project and the C4i Centre as well as maritime piracy laws under the SPOMO Act are just some of the many investments that have set a new gold standard in the region in maritime security capacity building”.
“IMO has long supported the regional role of the Yaoundé Code of Conduct and its Member States in strengthening maritime security and law enforcement. In this respect, we have been greatly encouraged with the continuation of this regional ownership with the formation and work of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum and Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (GoG-MCF/SHADE) in 2021”.
He commended the Agency’s partnership with the various regional bodies, and expressed readiness of the IMO to work with Nigeria and other member states on many maritime issues with the aim of jointly tackling these issues
In a conveyance letter personally signed by him, the IMO Secretary General recognized the strides of the Agency in building a robust maritime sector in Nigeria, addin
“NIMASA’s partnership with the Interregional Coordination Centre (ICC) and the collaboration with the shipping industry, navies and the Yaoundé architecture has been instrumental in suppressing the threat of piracy to merchant vessels and seafarers in line with UN Security Council resolution 2634 (2022) on piracy and armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea and IMO Assembly resolution A.1159 (32)”.
I look forward to working with you and your colleagues on many of the maritime issues that we are jointly tackling and hope to welcome you in person at the IMO, he said.