Officials of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) have arrived Nigeria to train a select team of officials of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) as well as other maritime administrators in Africa, on the implementation and enforcement of the International Safety Management Code. The five-day workshop will attract participants from many countries in the region.
Director-General (D-G) of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, while speaking at the opening session in Lagos, said the purpose of the training is to provide an international standard for the safe management and operations of ships and pollution prevention.
Represented by the Executive Director, Operations, Mr. Rotimi Fashakin, the DG said the IMO is organizing the training as part of efforts to ensure that all maritime administrators are take the necessary preventive measures to safeguard the shipmasters in the discharge of their core responsibilities with regard to maritime safety and the protection of the maritime environment.
The training, Peterside further said, will enable officials of NIMASA and others to respond to the needs of those on board ships, to achieve and maintain high standards of safety and environmental protection.
He noted that no two shipping companies and ship owners are the same, adding that ships operate under a wide range of different conditions, such that the training is based on the general principles and objectives of ISM Code.
Ships, whether shore-based or at sea, he said, will require varying levels of knowledge and awareness, which the workshop is intended to impart.
The objective of the Code, the D-G said, is to ensure safety at sea, prevention of human injury or loss of life and avoidance of damage to the environment in particular, to the marine environment, and to property.
The Code, according to him, requires that all shipping companies provide for safe practices in ship operation and a safe working environment; establish safeguards against all identified risks, and continuously improve safety management skills of personnel ashore and aboard ships, including preparing for emergencies related both to safety and environmental protection.