Nigerian vessels outdated, fit for museums ― NIWA

THE National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has decried the outdated state of vessels plying the nation’s waters, saying that some of them should be in the museum and not the waterways.

The Managing Director, NIWA, Senator Adeleke Mamora, who said this on Monday during a courtesy visit of the Association of Marine Engineers and Surveyors (AMES) to the agency in Lagos, also disclosed that NIWA needs a partnership in terms of ensuring that the right vessels ply the waterways.

He reiterated that the ones that didn’t meet the standard should be taken-off the waters.

Dr Mamora, however, maintained that there is also a need to ensure the competency of waterways operators.”Some of these vessels are outdated, in fact, they should have relevance in the museum, they ought not to be on the waterways.

“But you know we need that partnership in terms of ensuring that the right vessels ply our waterways and that the ones that should not be there are taken off the waterways,” he told his guests.

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Explaining further, he said that there is a need for vessels plying the nation’s waterways to meet at least the minimum standards.

He, however, decried the high level of insufficient number of marine surveyors in the industry, even as he added that what is available is not being maximized.

“You have also itemised some of the things, starting from what you described as an insufficient number of competent marine surveyors and engineers in the maritime industry,” he noted.

He reassured the association of the agency’s commitment in ensuring the marine surveyors are engaged in the agency in other to enjoy the full benefit of their expertise.

“It is bad enough that insufficiency or deficiency of the number is worst now that even what is available is not being maximized, it is even double jeopardy. You don’t have enough and even the few that are there are not being maximized to get the full value of what they can add to the system.

“I can assure that at least, as far as NIWA is concerned, we have made presentations to the powers that be in terms of recruitment of staff, particularly in the marine engineering and survey,” he disclosed.

Mamora said that as soon as the agency gets the dispensation in terms of cost, more staff will be engaged.

He lauded the members of the association for the visit, even stressing that the agency will not achieve much without collaboration with critical stakeholders like AMES.

In his speech the President of AMES, Engineer Adeyinka Okunade, who congratulated Dr Mamora on his appointment as the MD of NIWA, also attributed lack of professional input in the implantation and executive of maritime policies and initiatives as a major contributor to the decline of the industry.

He expressed optimism in the expertise of the NIWA boss to address some of these challenges.