Service advises ship owners to be mindful of existing law

By Godfrey Bivbere & Eguono Odjegba

THE Lagos Seaports and Marine Command of Nigeria Immigration Service, in collaboration with the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has repatriated a stranded Indian seafarer, Mr. Chatanveer Singh, through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

This is even as the Comptroller of the Command, Olubusola A. Fashakin, advised shipowners and other employers of labour to be mindful of the provisions of Section 38(1) of the Immigration Act 2015 regarding the employment of immigrants.

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Singh, it was gathered, had been employed on board a Nigerian vessel, MT GRAND 1, by Africon Shipping Services Limited, a company that has gone moribund. As a result, the crew of the vessel were abandoned at the mercy of Pak Marine & Shipping Services Limited as managers without recourse to the Service’s extant rules on the employment of immigrants.

A statement by the Public Relations Officer of the Command, Augustus Maisor, said the repatriation took place last week.

The statement noted that the collaboration between both agencies brings to limelight the existing synergy between the two agencies in ensuring that the country’s maritime corridors are secured against illegal incursions.

Vanguard