COVID-19: Nigerian agency issues advisory on vessels from high risk countries

The Management of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has notified stakeholders about 13 vessels from five countries heavily affected by the coronavirus, COVID-19, pandemic.

Eight of the vessels are expected to berth in Nigerian ports in Apapa, Lagos; four in Bonny, Rivers State; and one in Port Harcourt in Rivers State.

A statement by the agency on Saturday in Lagos said that information about the vessels, expected to arrive the three Nigerian ports between June 23 and July 17, was received through the Command, Control, Communication, Computer, and Intelligence System (C4i) Centre under the NIMASA Deep Blue Project, also called the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure.

The statement added that the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, said that the need to ensure stakeholders adhered strictly to the guidelines put in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria informed the decision to red-flag the vessels.

“We are counting on the continued cooperation of frontline government agencies and private sector operators in this regard as we jointly wage the war against the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Jamoh said.

He said the advisory was to further alert all agencies of government and private sector operators at the ports of expected arrival of the vessels and to demand the highest level of professionalism from all concerned officers in keeping with the Agency’s earlier advice on the handling of such vessels.

The Director General added that operators at the ports should ensure all safety measures and precautions in the best interest of the maritime community and the country were fully applied.

NIMASA had earlier given an advisory through a marine notice on the operational procedures for the ingress and egress of vessels arriving from such countries.

The officers of agencies concerned were requested to immediately report any situation or circumstance that might compromise best practices in handling the arrival and discharge of these vessels and others that might be advised in the future.

Below is the list of vessels and the details of their expected voyage to Nigerian ports.

List of Vessels arriving Nigeria from high risk COVID-19 pandemic countries

GIK/APA