NIMASA Clarifies Vessel Detention, Says Three Vessels Fully Compliant With Cabotage Act

NIMASA Clarifies Vessel Detention, Says Three Vessels Fully Compliant With Cabotage Act

By Prince Benson Davies

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has clarified that only MT Holmes and MT Sabeak were detained during its targeted enforcement operation codenamed Operation Sea Guardian to enforce compliance with maritime regulations in Nigerian waters.

The Agency stated that contrary to its earlier statement, MT FUJAIRAH ENERGY, JS GRATITUDE and MT BORA were not detained as they were found to be in full compliance with the Cabotage Act and other extant regulations. However, MT Holmes and MT Sabeak were detained for non-compliance.

NIMASA said this clarification has become necessary for transparency purposes, while regretting the inconvenience caused to the affected vessels and their owners by the mix-up in the earlier report.

According to the Agency, Operation Sea Guardian was conducted as a follow-up enforcement initiative aimed at strengthening regulatory compliance, verifying cabotage obligations, assessing surcharge and levy compliance, and ensuring adherence to applicable maritime regulations.

The operation deployed Deep Blue assets to track, board, inspect and verify the operational status of vessels identified through intelligence reports and compliance indicators, through effective inter-agency cooperation among NIMASA enforcement personnel, the Nigerian Navy, the Maritime Guard Command and C4i intelligence personnel.