The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) will soon begin online registration for ships in a bid to have a world class ship registry and boost the ease of doing business in the maritime sector.
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who disclosed this in Lagos on Tuesday, said the plan to begin the registry has been concluded.
According to him, “NIMASA has concluded plans to set up an automated ship registration process through online and electronic procedure,’’ the director-general said in a statement.
The D-G explained that the issue of ways to improve the quality of the registry was discussed with stakeholders, who promised to support the initiative by pledging to fund the ship registration automation process.
He noted that the agency had acquired software licence for the automation of the Nigerian Ship Registry, which was rated by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) as the second largest in Africa, by tonnage.
He said that they came after Liberia and 46th in the world, saying that automation was the only way to boost the worth of the registry and quicken business processes.
“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 ship owners with the aim of maintaining the influence of Nigeria in evolving international commercial and regulatory environment for shipping,” Peterside said.
He noted that some of the biggest ship registries in the world, such as the UK Ship Register, currently maintained a second or international register to attract tonnage, while using the closed register to develop indigenous capacity.
He pointed out that the agency was considering establishing a second register to help grow Nigerian fleet and enhance the country’s role in international commercial trade.
The Chairman of the Ship Registry Committee, Mr. Emmanuel Ilori, urged NIMASA to set clear timelines for the administrative process of ship registration and put in place precise change in flag instructions.
Ilori advised the agency to ensure that qualified tonnage measures were employed to serve the safety department.
