Michael James
24 December 2018, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The United States Coast Guard has called for greater vigilance at Nigerian ports.
The call was made by a visiting US Coast Guard team led by Lt. Commander Janna Ott. The delegation was in Nigeria to inspect facilities and ports.
Ott, who commended the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, for its efforts at improving security and operational efficiency within Nigeria’s maritime domain, said NIMASA had taken laudable steps to improve Nigeria’s compliance with the International Ship and Port Security, ISPS, code.
“It’s very important that you know in your port facilities who is gaining access and they are authorised to be there before they go through those gates of the ISPS zone,” Ott, a representative of the US Coast Guard in International Port Security Programme, said.
“You also need to be consistent with the proficiencies of all the security personnel in holding people accountable that are coming through those port facilities. We already had a very good discussion with NIMASA,” she added.
