NPA Bars Vessels Without ISPS Code From Seaports
Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) says it will no longer allow vessels, which have no International Ships and Port Facility Security (ISPS) requirement to berth at the nation’s seaports.
This is contained in a statement by the Managing Director of the authority, Malam Habib Abdullahi, on Friday in Lagos.
The statement said that the directive took effect from June 12.
According to the statement, vessels are required to meet requirements of ship security plan equivalent to Level 2, as defined in the ISPS Code.
It said that the directive was part of security measures to ensure that all ships entering the seaports or port terminals complied strictly with the ISPS Code.
The statement further said NPA had concluded the process of acquiring additional security equipment to ensure safety and security at the nation’s seaports.
“All the newly acquired security equipment are expected to be in place before the end of September,’’ the statement said.
It said that X-ray and Scanning security equipment would soon be deployed to selected port locations in the Western and Eastern Ports.
The statement said that other equipment to be deployed included Waterfront Patrol boats and computerised access control gate with CCTV System.
It said that the equipment would be in Apapa, Tin Can Island, Rivers, Onne, Calabar and Delta ports.
The statement further said that the aim was to guarantee the safety of all visiting ships, as required by the ISPS Code provisions.
The statement said that NPA acknowledged the efforts made by some terminal operators in complying with the provisions of the ISPS Code within their domains. (NAN)
