Nigeria reiterates commitment to lead war against maritime crime in Africa
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has declared the country’s unwavering commitment to its leadership role in the war on piracy and maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea region – an area widely considered the global challenging maritime crime base in Africa.
The Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, made the declaration at a symposium on Security in the Gulf of Guinea at the headquarters of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in London.
The meeting was jointly organized by IMO, Baltic and International Maritime Council (BIMCO), International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF), and the International Chamber of Shipping. It had in attendance MDs and CEO’s of top multinational shipping, oil and gas, and logistics firms.
Dakuku noted that the GoG countries were facing serious security challenges that had affected their economies severely. Therefore, they need global support and cooperation to tackle the problem.
However, he said the location of the Gulf of Guinea held enormous advantages. This is because it holds a significant percentage of the world’s total oil and gas reserves. Also, it has rich deposits of solid minerals, such as diamond, bitumen, copper, uranium, granite, quartz, lead, fluorite, and marble.
Already, Nigeria has committed to the hosting of a Global Maritime Security Conference, which comes up in the country’s capital, Abuja, from October 7 to 9.
Dakuku stated that the conference will afford the international community a platform to develop actionable strategies to put an end to piracy and other security threats in the African geological and maritime region.
He disclosed that the region’s waterways were a key navigational route for international commerce, connecting the Far East to countries in the North and South of the Atlantic. “It is the hub of extensive Trans-Atlantic trade linking Africa with Europe and the Americas.
