The Abuja Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control for the West and Central African Region (Abuja MoU) has welcomed the Republic of Equatorial Guinea as its 20th full member state.
Republic of Equatorial Guinea deposited a Letter of Acceptance of the memorandum to Abuja MoU Secretariat on Thursday November 23, 2023.
The Abuja MoU on Port State Control for the West and Central African Region is one of the 9+1 MoUs established in October 1999 with a clear mandate and objective aimed at the elimination of substandard ships in the region.
The Secretary General of Abuja MoU, Captain Sunday Umoren, noted that Port State Control is the inspection carried out on foreign ships that call at respective ports, to verify their compliance with international instruments on safety, pollution prevention and seafarers living and working conditions and this will enable the Republic of Equatorial Guinea to ensure safety of its waters.
He said with the full membership, Equatorial Guinea will enjoy the protection of the maritime clusters and diverse economic sectors of the blue economy, protection of import and export with only seaworthy vessels visiting its maritime domain and expanded access to accessible training at national and regional levels.
He enjoined the country to ratify and domesticate all IMO and ILO conventions that have been approved by the Abuja MoU Port State Control Committee as relevant instruments; work with the secretariat on capacity building and capacity development of its port state control officers and other relevant personnel.