Abuja MoU records 965 deficiencies in foreign vessels

Preservation of maritime assets key to marine tourism, says Jamoh

The Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control (PSC) for the West and Central African Region said 965 deficiencies were recorded in the 1,622 foreign vessels inspected in the region by its 14 member-states.

Secretary General, Abuja MoU, Sunday Umoren, who disclosed this while giving a review of the ship inspection regime for the year 2022, said 17 vessels were detained for failing to meet international regulations on safety, security and environmental standards as well as poor living and working conditions for crew members.

He said member states ensured that every foreign vessel coming into the region is inspected and that no sub-standard foreign vessel comes to trade in the region. Umoren said this is to avoid cargoes being carried by substandard vessels as well as exposure of the crew members to the dangers of accidents at sea.

“We have a general inspection regime in which we target 15 per cent of foreign ships coming into the region being inspected. We had a total of 1622 vessels that were inspected by 14 member states. The region is made up of 22 countries, of which 18 are full members. The crew onboard the vessel must not be unduly exposed, to the environment and other ships as well. In the aspect of detention, the vessel is not allowed to leave the port if it has failed to comply with set standards, because if the vessel steps out, it could sink and block the channel or there could be an explosion or other disasters. Such a vessel is detained and must make right the items,” he explained.

He also noted that not having the right and adequate equipment onboard the ship for the safety of crewmembers leads to the detention of the ship.

“Remember that at every point in time, if there’s an emergency on board a vessel, the crew should be able to disembark from the vessel and how they disembark could be through a life raft or a lifeboat. The vessel’s lifeboat should be of sufficient capacity; these are backed up by international conventions, that at any point in time, the number of life-saving apparatus on the vessel should be sufficient to carry all the crew on board. If this is not available, then we won’t allow that vessel to sail,” he said.