Nigeria now EATHL headquarters, sets up maritime administration in The Gambia
By David Ogah
FEW weeks to the election into the council of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), a Nigerian maritime professional has been drafted by the organisation to assist in the establishment of a maritime administration in The Gambia.
The Nigerian picked from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is Captain Olugbemiga Olopoenian who until his new disposition was the director of Maritime Safety at NIMASA.
Olopoenian's new posting came on the heels of the appointment of Nigeria as the headquarters of the East Atlantic Hydregraphic Commission (EATHC) for the next two years.
The decision to transfer the Commission's headquarters to Nigeria was taken at the last conference in Togo. By virtue of such transfer, Commander A.G. Iwusa, the nation's chief Hyoregrapher, would now chair the commission. Portugal hosted the secretariat of the Commission, before now.
The elated Director General of NIMASA, Barrister Temisan Omatseye confirmed Nigeria as the new commission headquarters saying the country would now be in a position to properly chart her waterways.
Olopaenian left Nigeria two weeks ago in pursuant of his new international assignment, while Captain Gbenga Olugbade has taken his place at NIMASA as acting director of Maritime Safety.
Nigeria, come November, would be contesting an election into Category C of the council of the International Maritime Organisation. Besides Nigeria, Liberia is expected to take part in the same election although in Category A. If she succeeds, it would be the first and only African country to graduate from Category C to Category A membership of the council.
It was not immediately clear at press time if the secondment of the Nigerian master mariner to The Gambia for the purpose of setting up a maritime administration for the African country was a direct endorsement of Nigeria for the election.
The Director General of NIMASA, Omatseye, who spoke with The Guardian in New York few days ago at the celebration of the year world Maritime Day parallel event, said the most important thing about Olopoenian's appointment was the recognition of the strength of NIMASA.
"It shows the in-house-credibility which we have and which can be expanded in the future."
According to the director general, Nigeria had always been active member of the IMO and that the country had participated in all activities of the organisation.
The East Atlantic Hydregraphic Commission which headquarters would soon be shifted to Nigeria is a component of the International Hydregraphic Organisation.
The International Hydregraphic Organisation (IHO) is an Intergovernmental Consultative and Technical Organisation that was established in 1921. Then it was known as International Hydrographic Bureau (IHB). The present name (IHO) was adopted in 1970 as a result of an International Agreement among member nations.
However, the former name IHB was retained for the IHO's administrative body of three directors and a small staff at the organisation's headquarters in Manaco.
The organisation was established specifically to co-ordinate the activities of the national hydrographic officers, ensure uniformity in nautical charts and documents, adopt reliable and efficient methods of carrying out and exploiting hydrographic surveys and to develop the sciences in the field of hydrography and the techniques employed in descriptive oceanography.
The organisation is made up of 81 member countries, seven of which, including Nigeria, are from Africa.
The organisation is made up of 14 regional Hydrographic Commission and the Hydrographic Commission of Antarctica which are important in the continuous reviewed, co-ordination and delivery of official hydrographic and nautical charting services across the globe.
They are East Altantic Hydrographic Commission (EATHC) which Nigeria belongs, Nordic Hydrographic Commission (NHC), North Sea Hydrographic Commission (NSHC), East Asia Hydrographic Commission (EAHC), U.S./Canada Hydrographic Commission (USCHC), Mediterranean and Black Seas Hydrographic Commission (MBSHC), Baltic Sea Hydrographic Commission (BSHC), South East Pacific Hydrographic Commission (SEPHC), South -West Pacific Hydrographic Commission, American - Caribbean Sea Hydregraphic Commission, Southern African and Islands Hydrographic Commission, Hydregraphic Commission on Antarctica, Rope Sea Area Hydrographic Commission and the South West Atlantic Hydrographic Commission.
