THURSDAY, 21st October, 2021: The Federal Government had on Wednesday charged Port State Control Officers to display high level of professionalism in carrying out their duties of inspecting foreign ships at the nation's ports.
This charge was given by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi at the 11th Port State Control Officers Committee meeting on the Memorandum of Understanding on the PSC for West and Central Africa Region.
The Minister explained that the essence of the PSC was to ensure the inspection of ships, verify their condition, equipment and whether the vessels were manned and operated in compliance with the requirements of international conventions and regulations.
He stated that this would ensure maritime safety and security, as well as prevent pollution.
Amaechi who was quoted in a statement issued in Abuja by his ministry, said "Bearing in mind that Port State Control Officers are ambassadors of the MoU, it is therefore important that they constantly undergo continuous training.
“This would impact on their knowledge and skills, as well as on their overall standard of inspections at the ports. However, this cannot be achieved without the commitment, finances and otherwise of every member state.”
The minister added, “We must all join forces and strive to ensure that we constantly uphold the ideals and objectives upon which the MoU was established.
“For this reason, I urge all member states to play their part in contributing towards the growth of the Abuja MoU so that we can constantly meet with expectations and safeguard our marine domains.”
Amaechi commended member states for ensuring that the Abuja MoU performed well in the face of COVID-19, adding that the swift responses in declaring seafarers as key workers paid off.
He noted that while the resulting effect of the pandemic slowed down inspection of vessels, the 2020 report of the committee showed that the Abuja MoU performed relatively well in the inspection of vessels that called at the ports.