The United States Coast Guard has commended Nigerian for suppressing piracy and other maritime crimes in the Gulf of Guinea.
An official of the U.S. Department of State, Captain Brian Lisko, conveyed the commendation during a visit to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on Monday.
“We must commend the leading role which NIMASA has played in reducing piracy in the region through the deployment of its deep blue project as well as its partnership with other maritime nations. The international community has taken note of this and we wish to encourage you to keep it up. We propose that a US Coast Guard maritime adviser be deployed to Lagos with the consent of relevant authorities, with that person reporting back to the Coast Guard and advising on deployment of technical experts and tools to assist NIMASA’s efforts,” Lisko said.
“As we seek to commence this endeavour, we came to Nigeria to study the maritime stakeholders, among which NIMASA, through its reputation and scope of responsibilities, is foremost on our list”.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, noted that the USCG had visited the agency several times in the past as a partner in progress, while calling for greater involvement in areas of technical co-operation and joint exercises.
“I would like to re-iterate the agency’s appreciation for all the support from the United States over the years. I have to say that your current visit is quite timely as it comes at a time when the country is attempting to diversify towards the blue economy.
“I recall that in the past, the USCG had visited Nigeria to conduct assessment tours of the country’s numerous ports and jetties to ascertain the ISPS compliance levels. We welcome a resumption of these visits even as we believe that you will increase your support in terms of technical assistance,” Jamoh said.
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