The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Starz Marine Shipyard Limited, Onne, Rivers State, Mr. Greg Ogbeifun has said that the company has fully complied with the provisions of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code in Nigeria.
The port facility operated by Starz Marine Shipyard Limited, Onne, Rivers State was among two other facilities that were shut down Wednesday by Nigeria’s apex regulatory authority, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
The other two port facilities affected by the shut order are Heyden Petroleum Jetty Ijora,Lagos and Waziri Jetty, Dockyard Road, Apapa Lagos
The agency which is now the designated authority (DA) in the implementation of the ISPS Code in the country said it took the decision pursuant to its mandate as enshrined in the NIMASA Act 2007.
In a statement in Lagos, NIMASA said: “These facilities have persistently failed to comply with the ISPS Code necessitating their closure in order to forestall a situation where security breaches in such facilities will negatively impact the compliant ones. These closures are in exercise of the agency’s powers in line with provisions of Part VIII of the ISPS Code Implementation Regulations 2014 under which the facilities were adjudged to be non-compliant despite repeated warnings to remedy the deficiencies.”
Continuing, NIMASA which has Dr. Dakuku Peterside as its Director General said it had “consistently stated its commitment to the enforcement of full compliance with the ISPS Code especially in the face of growing terrorists’ activities globally”.
According to it, all shut facilities are to remain closed until the managers of such facilities correct the identified deficiencies in line with the dictates of the code as the agency aims to achieve 100 per cent compliance with the cooperation of all stakeholders. This exercise is a continuous one. In a swift reaction, however, Ogbeifun, a marine engineer and President, Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) maintained that his port facility has fully complied with the provisions of the code.
Ogbeifun told THISDAY in an exclusive chat at the weekend that as a professional who knows his onions, he has nothing to hide in the operations of the jetty.
According to a Statement of Compliance with reference number PHC/003 issued by NIMASA, a copy of which was sighted by THISDAY, the agency said the compliance is valid until December 31, 2016.
The Statement of Compliance which was dated January 1, 2016 has provisions for three categories of verifications, namely first, second and third.
“This is to certify that the compliance of this port facility with the provisions of chapter x1-2 and part A of the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code has been verified and that this port facility operates in accordance with the approved port security plan. This plan has been approved for the uses indicated below”, it stated.
The uses include passenger ship, passenger high speed craft, cargo high speed craft and bulk carrier.
Others are oil tanker, chemical tanker, gas carrier, mobile offshore drilling units as well as cargo ship other those earlier indicated in the Statement of Compliance.
