The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has said all is set for the flag-off of an intensive wreck removal exercise in Nigerian waters.

The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this during a ministerial retreat organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation in Lagos.

A statement by the agency said arrangements had been concluded for the recycling of wreckage recovered from the waters, in partnership with Bayelsa State Government and the Nigerian Railway Corporation, which already has a foundry in Lagos with the ultimate aim of creating wealth from waste and providing jobs for Nigerians.

Speaking at the retreat, the Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Amaechi, said, “We are here to assess the progress made so far in the maritime sector in order to enhance efficiency in our operations.

“This administration has achieved a lot in areas, such as rail transportation, port operations, maritime safety, and security, among others, and our goal is to do more to enhance productivity.”

The NIMASA DG appreciated the minister for approving the creation of the Maritime Intelligence Unit and the NIMASA Maritime Stakeholders Experience Contact Centre.

He said the automation drive in the agency had led to the integrated use of technology in the Certificate of Competency verification process, which he said had seen a fall in manual verification practice.

“In 2020, the number of manual verification of CoCs dropped from 4,112 in 2019 to 2,750, representing a 33 per cent drop in manual certificate verification. There was a total online verification of 9,723 in 2020,” Jamoh said.

On the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, he said, “The CVFF is in the Treasury Single Account and there are guidelines for the disbursement, one of which is the use of primary lending institutions.

“We have advertised for expression of interest from interested PLIs and we are following due process to ensure disbursement according to the guidelines. Eleven banks have been shortlisted and forwarded to our supervising ministry for further actions.

“The ministry has identified some grey areas, which are being addressed to ensure prompt disbursement of the CVFF.”

According to Jamoh, 446 beneficiaries of the programme are currently undergoing sea-time training, while 351 have been assigned to maritime training institutes and are in the process of boarding for sea-time.

He added that 93 beneficiaries of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme were undergoing CoC, 360 had completed sea-time training and were awaiting CoC issuance, while 368 beneficiaries of the NSDP project were already fully employed.

On vessel monitoring and response, Jamoh said the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System equipment at Tarkwa Bay and Kirikiri, both in Lagos, were fully installed with the capacity to cover nine countries in the West and Central African Region.