Eromosele Abiodun
The Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala-Usman, has stated that the federal government will adhere to the strict timelines for full compliance with and enforcement of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Sulphur Regulation on Nigerian Waterways.
Bala-Usman, who stated this while speaking at a recent forum in Abuja, said by ensuring that all vessels sailing on its area of purview satisfy the requirements of the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) Conventions, which already include compliance with chemical and gas carrier codes, it has set the groundwork for safe deployment of OSVs to facilitate movement of gas especially in bulk as the NLNG does.
The new regulations, known as IMO Sulphur Regulations 2020, mandates a maximum Sulphur content of 0.5 per cent in marine fuels globally.
The driver of this change, she added, was the need to reduce the air pollution created in the shipping industry by reducing the Sulphur content of the fuels that ships use.
She explained: “To demonstrate our seriousness, we have taken concrete steps towards the procurement of necessary tools to enhance our capacity for Sulphur analysis as well as put in place a sanction regime for vessels that contravene the Sulphur regulations.
“This is in addition to granting approval for continuous capacity building training for MARPOL compliance inspectors in all our port locations. We have also charged our port environment officers to sensitise and cascade knowledge gained from the trainings to relevant stakeholders.”
She said the NPA had been deliberate about the improvement of equipment and building the capacity of personnel relating NPA’s core navigational and towage responsibilities.
“The last few months has shown the capacity of our ports to berth the largest possible vessels anywhere. The need to articulate and aggregate all energy-transition and environmental-related port initiatives under one umbrella, to facilitate global maritime policymaking is also germane, and the NPA is keeping tabs in this regard.
“As vice-chair of the FAL committee of IMO, we would ensure tracking of global policy shift and provide the enabling atmosphere for domestication, “she said.
She added: “Our commitment to building a sustainable shipping future cannot be devoid of the huge opportunities to reduce airborne pollution, carbon emissions that renewal energy technologies such as shipyards and energy parks offers. We are therefore, at the forefront of studies to unlock these possibilities.”
Also, she said current trends across the world; eloquently speak to the pressing need to convert Nigeria’s rich natural gas endowments from potentials to actual dividends.
According to her, “Internationally and domestically, the recognition and demand for gas as the safest, most effective and environmentally friendly source of energy has continued to increase and as an organisation that believes in the catalytic role that natural gas can play in the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations, in particular
