The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh has extended the validity of Statutory and Trading certificates for all Nigerian Registered vessels.
These include Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping STCW certificates for seafarers issued by the agency. This is part of efforts to enable them to retain their jobs, especially as the world fights to curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, which is currently ravaging many countries.
Jamoh said it was necessary to ensure uninterrupted shipping activities despite the pandemic, stressing that shipping is one of the major ways of moving medical aid across the globe.
“Our determination to ensure that shipping continues during this trying time remains unwavering and this is why we have continued to come up with measures to keep the global shipping chain moving in line with the recommendations of the International Maritime Organisation IMO,” Jamoh stated.
The DG further said the agency was aware of the difficulties seafarers are facing and the need to keep them on their jobs even beyond the pandemic, saying this has necessitated the agency’s publication of a notice to extend their certificates and other statutory certificates that would ensure uninterrupted shipping.
“One of our major priorities is to keep our seafarers in job while not jeopardising their safety in terms of contracting the deadly virus. We have, therefore, come up with a notice that would extend the validity of their certificates, for those of them that might be expiring soon. We have also issued guidelines that would regulate crew change during this pandemic.” said Jamoh.
It was gathered that following IMO’s recent guidelines on the certification of seafarers and fishing vessel personnel, the agency had extended the validity of relevant certificates, including STCW; Mandatory and Safety certificates; and Certificates of medical fitness. Others are the Statutory and Trading Certificates related to SOLAS ’74 as amended, MARPOL 73/78 as amended, Certificates of Ship Registry, National requirements for Power Driven Small Crafts (PDSC), and MLC, 2006, as amended.
