NIMASA, NIS Deepen Collaboration On Maritime Security

·          As NIS Boss Commends Automation Of Dockworkers Registration

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deepen existing interagency collaboration on seafarers’ travel documents and other areas of interest.

They reached the agreement when the Comptroller-General of NIS, Isah Idris Jere led senior officials of the service on a visit to the management of NIMASA.
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, noted that the role of NIS in enhancing security in the maritime domain remained very crucial, adding that seamless issuance of travel documents to seafarers was a key component in the nation’s quest to grow the maritime industry.
“Security on land is key to achieving a safe and secure maritime domain. NIMASA appreciates the need to work closely with the Nigerian Immigration Service to improve the country’s maritime domain security.

As such, we need the service to play a major role in issues of crew nationality, seafarers’ travel documents and managing issues of stowaways, among others,” Jamoh stated, adding that both organisations agreed to develop a Memorandum of Understanding to provide a framework for their working relationship.
Jamoh also commended NIS’s contribution to the implementation of the Suppression of Piracy and other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act, stating: “The passing into law of the SPOMO Act and subsequent prosecutions recorded under that law has involved working closely with the NIS.

“With that being said, NIMASA will continue to support the Nigeria Immigration Service even as we anticipate further collaborations.”
On his part, the Comptroller-General of NIS, who identified the issuance of temporary work permits to international vessel crews and preventing stowaways, as areas of frequent collaboration between both organisations,  also commended NIMASA for the automation of dockworkers registration across the country.
He said: “Our visit to NIMASA is a sign that the NIS seeks continued collaboration and deepened synergy as we collectively work to address the issues facing us in the country’s coastal lines and in maintaining the integrity of Nigeria’s territorial waters.
“We welcome NIMASA’s automation of dockworkers registration and issuance of biometric identity cards as a great step in securing the nation’s ports.”