The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Dr Dakuku Peterside has said the Agency will revisit the procedure of wreck removal from Nigerian waterways.
According to a statement signed on Tuesday by the agency’s Spokesman, Isichei Osamgbi, the DG made this declaration while speaking at a forum of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
In the words of the DG, “NIMASA is working under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Transportation to review wreck removal process in order to make Nigerian navigable waters safer for navigation by all. Once we get the consent of the Federal Ministry of
Transportation, we will put out Marine Notice to that effect.
“The review of the wreck removal process has become inevitable, in order to enhance the efficiency of the process.”
Dr Dakuku noted that the Nairobi convention provides for the process via which a ship can be declared a wreck adding that the agency had been following the law diligently.
While acknowledging that the challenge of wreck on Nigerian waterways is a challenge inherited by the current administration at NIMASA, the NIMASA DG assured Nigerians that the implementation of the reviewed process will serve as a catalyst to boost wreck removal from Nigerian waterways.