The Association of Marine Engineers and Surveyors (AMES) in Nigeria said it had postponed the forthcoming Maritime Technical Summit to enable the Secretariat readjust the logistics for members coming from outside Lagos State.
The AMES President, Engr. Charles Uwadia stated this while speaking with newsmen in Lagos on Friday.
He said that the event earlier scheduled for April 11 would hold on April 21.
According to him, the key issue to top the agenda of the Maritime Technical Summit is “Challenges of Maritime Transport Industry in Nigeria”.
“We want to use this summit to advise stakeholders and government on how to maintain their vessels, and how to eliminate sub-standard vessels in our waters.
“Right at the outside bar, you will be surprised at the number of vessels that cannot move or those that are sub-standard because they cannot meet the minimum standard required for a vessel to be operational,” he said.
The marine engineer said that the resolution of the meeting would ensure that only certified seaworthy ships are imported into Nigeria.
Uwadia said policy makers would be told the requirements that should be met in ship acquisition in any country as obtainable worldwide.
He decried the large number of ships abandoned at the bar due to failure to meet prescribed standards for operational purposes and highlighted the importance of compliance and verification in sustainable maritime practice.
Uwadia urged regulatory authorities concerned to be alive to their responsibilities in ensuring that minimum standards were met in the course of operations at sea.
He said that it was important that Nigeria should engage competent marine engineers and ship surveyors for survey reports before any ship would be allowed into the country.
Uwadia said that Ghana had recorded excellence by ensuring a mandatory report by a professional marine engineer or surveyor.
“In any civilised country, the first thing should be to get a competent marine engineer or a good ship surveyor to go and inspect the vessel and give a detailed report before it is purchased.
“It should not be the case of getting the seller to give you a surveyor for the job, who will give a report to ensure that the owner sells, as it has always been.
“Such practices, when not checked, make people buy vessels that cannot even leave the port because they are scraps,” he said.
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