The Nigerian Institute of Marine Engineers and Naval Architects (NIMENA) has expressed serious concerns about the state of Nigeria’s maritime sector, decrying the lack of professionalism and standardization that has eroded its global standing.

At the 2024 Energy and Maritime Reporters’ Seminar and Awards in Port Harcourt, held on Wednesday, October 30, 2024, the National Chairman of NIMENA, Daniel Tamunodukobipi highlighted how substandard certifications, and unqualified personnel in regulatory agencies have contributed to increased accidents and damaged Nigeria’s credibility abroad.

Addressing the theme, “Understanding the Maritime Subsector and Issues in the Coastal Areas,” Tamunodukobipi emphasized that many maritime positions are filled by individuals without the requisite expertise, hampering effective policy and safety measures.

He specifically pointed to the new Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy and NIMASA, where a lack of professional marine engineers has hindered optimal performance.
“People are employed in ministries and agencies where they have no competencies. For instance, the newly created Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has no maritime experts, they have no marine engineers; their website is empty because the people there are square pegs in round holes.

“In NIMASA, the people there are not marine engineers but maritime lawyers; that is why that agency is not functioning optimally as it should.

“Core professionals should employ every agency bothering on maritime. NIMASA and NIWA certify vessels that cannot meet international best standards, because the people in these regulatory agencies are not professionals.

“Certifications from Nigeria are ridiculed abroad. During my PhD in South Korea, the Koreans kept wondering why marine engineers in Nigeria were unprofessional and inept. Unfortunately, the people they were referring to were not marine engineers but people who found themselves into the sector through cronyism. For instance, NPA put people with just WASSCE certificate on board, people who have no training on marine engineering.

“If the government and regulators partner with the academia to develop local technologies, Nigeria will be better off.”

NIMENA also decried pollution and marine debris on waterways, saying “Security agencies contribute grately pollution of the maritime environment. Instead of arresting suspected oil thieves, they will rather airstrike the site and these fires will burn for days polluting the land, air, water and the entire ecosystem. It is unheard of that people pour petrol and bomb a rat, as it is been done in part of the world.”

Earlier, the Chairman of Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Stanley Job Stanley, challenged maritime reporters to draw government attention to the seaport in Rivers State to ensure their maximum utilization like Lagos ports.

“Journalism, just like medicine and law, has many fields and maritime is just one of them.
We are not utilizing our maritime potential in Rivers State. Our maritime sector is underreported in the Niger Delta, I don’t know how functional Port Harcourt and Onne ports are right now, because it is the duty of maritime reporters to report it

“We have seen reports that Lagos ports are over congested and it takes months to clear goods at Lagos ports. The question is, why are importers not using Rivers Port that are not congested? Why is the seaports here not functioning like Lagos ports? And if they are working, why is it not reported?”

NIMENA’s call for reforms includes the involvement of qualified professionals and partnerships with academia to develop localized technologies that can elevate the sector’s standards. Tamunodukobipi urged the government to address these shortcomings, especially with certifications from Nigerian agencies often being viewed with skepticism internationally.

The Chairman of the Energy and Maritime Reporters (EMR) Martins Giadom echoed the need for stakeholder collaboration to drive growth in the maritime industry across Nigeria’s South-South zone.

“We now wish to intensify these efforts and call on the BRACE States to identify with the EMR to help grow the mainstream sub sectors in the Niger Delta. We need the active collaboration of critical stakeholders such as NIMENA, MACBAN, CFRRRN, MWON, etc. We want organisations such as the Customs, Indorama Petrochemicals, Eastern Ports, to emulate the likes of Elshcon Nigeria to support the battle to prop up Port Harcourt zone of the Maritime subsector”.

The seminar spotlighted issues of environmental pollution in waterways, with NIMENA urging security agencies to avoid environmentally harmful tactics like airstrikes on oil theft sites.

The event also celebrated Elshcon Nigeria’s Executive Chairman, Emi Membere-Otaji, for his contributions to the maritime sector and marked a milestone in EMR’s commitment to elevating the industry.