Government Agencies Resolve To Embark On Joint Vessels Inspection

Government agencies saddled with the responsibilities of inspecting crew aboard ships have resolved to collaborate and embark on joint vessel inspection in less than 30 minutes.

 

 

This move was part of efforts to reduce the turnaround time of vessels calling at the nation’s seaports.

 

The exercise is spearheaded by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) .

 

 

Other government parastatals including Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Port Health, Department of State Security Service (DSS), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) have pledged their support for the initiative.

 

 

 

The Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr. Hassan Bello who presided over the meeting,held in Lagos on Thursday, called for the digitization of the Nigerian ports, which he explained would enhance transparency and cut down corruption.

 

 

 

The joint boarding team will allow all the port agencies collectively inspect vessels that call at the port instead of having the agencies one at a time.

 

 

He said, “This will help to improve port efficiency. This joint boarding should be done as fast as possible, it should not after immigration has gone there, Customs will then follow. It is time-bound.”

 

 

Stressing his vision for the ports, he said, “The most important thing is for us to digitalize the port in order to reduce corruption. I am happy with the cooperation we are getting from freight forwarders and shipping companies as well as the Customs. I see a bright future. The distortions caused by the gridlock will disappear.”

 

Bello lamented the spike in haulage which he labelled “ridiculous.” He expressed optimism that haulage cost will drop following the linkage of the rail to Apapa ports, as well as barge operations for shippers.

 

He said the launch of the electronic call-up on Saturday will bring sanity, orderliness and efficiency to the ports though he lamented the 22 days dwell time of cargo before it gets cleared.

 

He said, “We have 22 days dwell time of cargo, we cannot afford that.  If we get our acts together we can lower this wait time. We have to eliminate corruption by technology and I am happy we are having a lot of cooperation. Once we have our ports digitalised we will eradicate corruption.”

 

Bello assured that by the second quarter of the year, there will be no traffic in Apapa.

 

Under this arrangement, which is one of the results of the recently launched Nigerian Port Process Manual (NPPM), Implementation Committee, all agencies involved in inspecting ships will go onboard together to carry out their respective inspections as contained in their Establishing Acts.

 

Also speaking, the General Manager, Public Private Partnerships (PPP), Mrs. Eniola Williams who representated NPA Managing Director, said there will be sanctions for agencies which fail to comply with the new Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for inspecting vessels and the entire NPPM.

 

She said, “Each agency has its law with sanctions for offenders and the Minister of Transportation, Hon. Rotimi Amaechi at the launch of NPPM emphasized the need to invoke sanctions. This is what we are going to do because NPPM is empowered statutorily and with directives.”

 

Noting that NPA desires to have the leading ports in Africa, she posited that, “in attaining that, we need to ensure that our processes are timely, efficient and free from corruption. NPA is taking this very seriously and we are working with other agencies. On the issue of joint boarding, this refers to people who represent Nigeria on-board ships from other nations.”

 

“The people who come in via these ships are making first contact with Nigeria through that joint inspection and it’s good we display integrity and take it seriously.”

 

An Assistant Comptroller General of the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), Mrs Doris Braimah lauded the federal government for the innovation , saying it will further enhanced port operations.

 

Speaking on behalf of Customs, the Deputy Controller, Administration, Idiroko Border, DC Dera Nnadi stated that integrity has to be prioritized in the joint exercise, stressing that each agency should provide its mandate with respect to onboard ship inspection.

 

Nnadi suggested that the mandate of various government agencies on ship inspection should be availed the NPPM team and the SOPs should be measured with the reports from ship captains after inspections.

 

The Customs boss also harped on the need for the joint team to engage shipping lines to prioritize integrity, noting that some shipping companies have adopted integrity as their watchword and security agencies know some shipping lines that hardly engage in sharp practices.

 

Highpoint big the event also featured the inauguration of a Port Standing Task Team to enforce compliance with SOPs and NPPM, to make the maritime sector efficient and competitive.

 

NSC inaugurated the inter-agency team comprising of Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC), Directorate of State Security (DSS) and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

 

Officers nominated to represent NPA on the task team are; Mr. Emmanuel Nnorom Senior Manager, Traffic and Mrs. Victoria Tarfa, a Senior Manager, Corporate & Strategic Communications.

 

Representatives of NSC include the Team’s Coordinator, Mr. Moses Fadipe, Mr. Abdulfatai Adesokan and Miss Adaora Nwonu.

 

By Roland Ekama