As a measure of prevention, ship owners and their employees were advised to ensure that sanitisers were placed on board, while regular hand washing and maintenance of hygiene remained the best ways of preventing the disease for now.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), in collaboration with the Nigerian Air Force (NAF), will hold a two-day sensitisation conference on their partnership from Monday, August 18, 2014 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos.
Dignitaries at the conference will include the Honourable Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar, Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshall Adesola Amosu and Director General of NIMASA, Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi. They will brief participants on the modalities of the Memorandum of Understanding between NIMASA and NAF, which was signed last August.
The MoU is expected to help tackle notable challenges militating against safe and secure shipping in Nigeria, which include limited assets to monitor and enforce maritime laws, rising incidence of piracy and sea robbery, illegal ship to ship transfers, illegal fishing activities as well as limited data on both fixed and floating assets moored in Nigerian waters.
According to Mr Akpobolokemi, “the partnership encourages the Nigerian Air Force to provide tactical air support to sea based operations against illicit operations of ships. The recent successes of the anti-piracy operations involving the Agency, the Nigerian Navy and the Nigerian Air Force has given impetus to this agreement.”
The sensitisation conference will also feature an air show by the NAF to demonstrate its capacity and capability to assisting in the fight against illegal activities in Nigeria’s maritime domain.
Meanwhile, NIMASA has issued medical advice to stakeholders in the maritime industry on the prevention and management of the dreaded Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).
The Marine Notice, directed mainly to ship operators, Master of ships, boat operators and shipping agents, requested them to note and report cases of sick or deceased crew or passengers on board within the last 26 days to NIMASA or the Port Health Services in order for appropriate measures to be taken to check the spread of the virus.
Crew members were also advised to monitor their health status within the stated period of days, especially if their vessel had called a port in an area with a reported Ebola Virus outbreak and to also note the symptoms of the disease for immediate medical attention.
“Some of the symptoms of the EVD include fever, headache, joints and muscle pains, sore throat and weakness, followed by diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain, red eyes, internal and external bleeding by patients,” the Notice stated.
As a measure of prevention, ship owners and their employees were advised to ensure that sanitisers were placed on board, while regular hand washing and maintenance of hygiene remained the best ways of preventing the disease for now.
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