Jamoh said, being an oil producing country, Nigeria was
prone to the effects of harmful aquatic organisms transported across regions by
tankers. He said NIMASA, the Lead Agency for the implementation of
international conventions, codes, and regulations of the International Maritime
Organisation (IMO), had in conjunction with other members of the NTF set up a
plan for full implementation of the BWM Convention in the country.
The Director General, who was represented by the Director,
Marine Accident Investigation Unit, Rita Egbuche, stated, “As an oil producing
country, we recognise the country’s susceptibility to the danger of ballast
water and we have put processes and actions in place to deal with the threat in
line with the resolutions of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO).
“We would continue to update and fine-tune our strategies as
new developments emerge.”
All ships, especially tankers, carry ballast water while on
voyage to maintain stability and operate effectively and safely. But ballast
water has also been identified as one of the major vectors for the introduction
of invasive alien species in the marine environment.
Activities on the roadmap for Nigeria’s full implementation
of the BWM convention include: development of ballast sediment reception
facilities; establishment of globally recognised and integrated BWM testing
laboratory; development of regulations and guidelines for ship-owners; and
authorisation of Classification Societies and formalisation of agreement with
NIMASA on safety and prevention of pollutions survey and certification.
Others are partnership with relevant research institutions
and universities on biological baseline studies of Nigerian ports and coastal
states, particularly the sensitive areas with prevalence of marine lives; and
training of Surveyors and Marine Inspectors for the enforcement of the BWM
Convention.
There are also plans to designate Ballast Water Management
Exchange Areas in Nigerian waters, and organise sensitisation programmes on BWM
for stakeholders on the provisions of the regulations, as well as enforcement
and compliance.
The NTF was constituted in 2010 following a workshop
organised by NIMASA, in collaboration with IMO, to develop strategies for full
implementation of the BWM convention. Nigeria was one of the first eight
countries to domesticate the convention on October 5, 2005. The country has
taken steps towards full compliance with the provisions of the convention,
including the development of the Merchant Shipping Regulations for BWM 2012 by
NIMASA.
Other steps include the Survey and Certification of
applicable ships prior to issuance of the International Ballast Water
Management Convention certificate; issuance of Ballast Water Exemption
Certificate to ships operating exclusively in Nigerian waters and ships with
sealed ballast tanks; feasibility study for the designation of BWM exchange
areas in Lagos, Warri and Port Harcourt; and preliminary marine biological baseline
survey (MBBS) of Lagos ports and environs.
The two-day meeting featured paper presentations on thematic
areas covering home-grown ballast water management strategies; experiences of
Classification Societies on compliance by Nigerian-flagged vessels; training on
BWM convention; feasibility studies on designation of ballast water exchange
areas; and baseline survey of Lagos territorial waters.