EditorNIGERIAN Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has stated that the country is taking proactive Measures to address exposure of its maritime territory to the threat of ballast water because of the high tanker traffic in its waters.
Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, made this known during the 10th Meeting of National Taskforce (NTF) on Implementation of Ballast Water Management (BWM) Convention, 2004, held in Lagos.
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Jamoh said, being an oil producing country, Nigeria was prone to the effects of harmful aquatic organisms transported across regions by tankers.
He said NIMASA, being the Lead Agency for the implementation of international conventions, codes, and regulations of the International Maritime Organization (IMO), had in conjunction with other members of the NTF, set up a plan for full implementation of the BWM Convention in the country.
He said, “As an oil producing country, we recognize the country’s susceptibility to the danger of ballast water and we have put processes and actions in place to deal with the threat in line with the resolutions of the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
“We would continue to update and fine-tune our strategies as new developments emerge.”
Ballast water is the water carried in the ballast tanks of ships, especially tankers, while on voyage to maintain stability and operate safely. However, there are indications that ballast water also has negative implication on the marine environment as it has been found to be one of the means of introducing invasive alien species when ships carry water from one port and discharge at another port destination.
The Director General said that activities on the roadmap for Nigeria’s full implementation of the BWM convention include: development of ballast sediment reception facilities; establishment of globally recognized and integrated BWM testing laboratory; development of regulations and guidelines for ship-owners; and authorization of Classification Societies and formalization of agreement with NIMASA on safety and prevention of pollutions survey and certification.
Others are partnership with relevant research institutions and universities on biological baseline studies of Nigerian ports and coastal states, particularly the sensitive areas with prevalence of marine lives; and training of Surveyors and Marine Inspectors for the enforcement of the BWM Convention.
He also disclosed that there are plans to designate Ballast Water Management Exchange Areas in Nigerian waters, and organize sensitization programmes on BWM for stakeholders on the provisions of the regulations, as well as enforcement and compliance.
He stated that other steps include the Survey and Certification of applicable ships prior to issuance of the International Ballast Water Management Convention certificate; issuance of Ballast Water Exemption Certificate to ships operating exclusively in Nigerian waters and ships with sealed ballast tanks; feasibility study for the designation of BWM exchange areas in Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt; and preliminary marine biological baseline survey (MBBS) of Lagos ports and environs.
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