Captain Sunday Umoren has been appointed as the Acting Secretary General of the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Port State Control.
Umoren, who is the first Master Mariner to head the Abuja MoU, took over the position on January 4, 2021 from Mrs Mfon Usoro whose tenure ended recently. His appointment was approved by Nigeria’s Minister of Transportation and Vice Chairman of the Port State Control for West and Central Africa, Rotimi Amaechi.
Until his recent appointment, Captain Umoren was the Director, Maritime Safety and Seafarers Standards and Certification Department of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
Umoren is a highly accomplished professional with deep knowledge and experience in various aspects of shipping including shipboard experience, marine operations and regulation.
His career spans across many cultures and international exposures, from Asia where he worked and took command of foreign-going ships in Singapore, to Europe where he worked as Fleet Superintendent for the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) in London.
The Abuja MoU on Port State Control was signed at a Ministerial Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria by 16 West and Central African States on 22nd of October 1999. The meeting was organised by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and hosted by Nigeria.
The Abuja MoU is the legal document under which countries of the region agreed to develop and implement a common mechanism for their respective port state control activities.
The main work of the MoU is the harmonization of the port state control procedure and practices of all the countries in the region aimed at eliminating the operation of substandard shipping within the region thereby ensuring maritime safety, security, protection of our marine environment from pollution and improving the working and living conditions of ship crew, and to facilitate regional cooperation and exchange of information among member States.
Countries whose port state control functions fall within the Abuja MoU include Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Cote d’ Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea and Equatorial Guinea.
Others are Liberia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sao Tome and Principe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea Bissau, The Gambia, and Togo.
