By Godfrey Bivbere

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has recorded a 49.1 per cent drop in the sample size of a survey it carried out on ships last year as part of its flag state inspection function.

NIMASA

According to its statistics on industry forecast for 2019 and 2020, the survey was carried out on a total of 332 ships in 2018 as against 495 ships in 2017.

The statistics also showed that the size of the survey had peaked in 2014 at 529 but dropped to 423 in 2015. It witnessed a  huge drop in 2016 when it was 285 before rising massively to 495 in 2017.

The agency also issued a total of 1,342 Cash To Master, CTM in the last seven years, with the highest number of 288 issued in 2014 as stated by the NIMASA statistics.

During the past seven years, NIMASA also issued 984 Condition Survey Report Certificates, CSRC, as well as 329 Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Certificates, CSSEC.

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Similarly, the NIMASA statistics also revealed that the agency issued 329 Cargo Ship Safety Radio Certificates, CSSRC  and 308 Plan Approval Certificates, PAC, during the same period under review.

For its Port States Inspection, PSI, function, NIMASA carried out 3,400 inspections on vessels from 2010 to 2018 while a total of 396 vessels were found to be deficient during the same period.

While 59 ships were found to be deficient in 2017, there was a 156.5 per cent drop in the number of vessels with deficiencies in 2018 with 23 ships recorded. In 2010, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16, 317, 223, 119, 456, 647, 316 and 341 vessels inspected during the same period.

Similarly, six, 11, nine, 53, 94, 60 and 81 vessels were found to be deficient after an inspection in 2010; 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 respectively according to the statistics.

It also showed that NIMASA detained a total of 59 vessels during the same period under review with the highest number of detention (19) last year as against five the year before.

VANGUARD