NIMASA threatens sanctions over missing marine incident reports

By Godwin Oritse The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has threatened sanctions against Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs) who fail to properly report marine security incidents, warning that bypassing approved reporting channels constitutes a breach of international port security rules. The warning followed concerns that incident reports from port facilities were being sent to individual NIMASA officials instead of the agency’s designated International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Unit.

In a notice signed by Mudi Isa, Head, ISPS Code Unit, the agency directed all PFSOs to route incident reports through the approved ISPS Unit email address. The notice, titled “Non-Receipt of Incident Reports/Submission to Approved ISPS Unit,” said: “It has come to our attention that the Unit is currently not receiving your incident report emails, which poses a significant risk.” NIMASA warned that the failure to use the prescribed channel could have serious implications for maritime security.

“Failure to report security incidents to the correct channels constitutes a breach of ISPS compliance,” it stated. The agency specifically directed port facility security personnel to stop sending or copying reports to individual NIMASA staff emails unless expressly authorised. “Do not copy or send reports to individual staff emails unless explicitly authorised,” the notice stated.

NIMASA also directed PFSOs to confirm receipt of every incident report and contact the ISPS Unit immediately if no acknowledgement was received within 24 hours. “If you do not receive an acknowledgment from the ISPS Unit within 24hrs of submission, contact the Unit immediately via phone,” it said. The agency further advised operators who were unsure of the approved reporting directory to contact the ISPS Unit for verification before submitting their reports.

NIMASA said the directive was aimed at ensuring that security incidents and anomalies are captured promptly and handled through a coordinated response mechanism.