NIMASA Acquires Software For Online Registration Of Ships

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has concluded plans to automate ship registration process through an online procedure.

 The Director-General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside said this during an interactive session with ship-owners in Lagos stating that the move was line with its objective to have a world-class Ship Registry and enhance the Ease of Doing Business in the maritime sector.

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To enhance the country’s trade, NIMASA said it acquired a software licence for the automation of the Nigerian Ship Registry, which is rated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as the second-largest in Africa, by tonnage, after Liberia, and 46th in the world.

“Our principal aim is to achieve online electronic registration, accept electronic copies of documents and issue electronic certificates. Our goal as a Maritime Safety Administration is to create a world-class Ship Registry, which will be attractive to shipowners with the aim of maintaining the influence of Nigeria in evolving international commercial and regulatory environment for shipping.”

The Agency further said efforts have been made to secure an internationally competitive ship registry for the country, which included auditing the register of Nigerian vessels, redesigning and producing new ship registry certificates, and automation of the ship registry.

Others are the upgrade of the ship registry filing facility, review of ship registration guidelines, and ISO 9001: 2015 Certification. 

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Stressing that more was needed, NIMASA said in 2018 and 2019, the Nigerian registry attracted two high index capacity vessels – Egina FPSO and MT Ultimate.

“We hope to rely on your guidance, experience, industry know-how and cooperation to endow the desperately needed credence and international respect for the Nigerian Flag,” he stated.

On his own part,  a governing council member of the Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Mina Oforiokuma noted that technically, Nigeria’s registry was the largest in Africa. 

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