WORLD MARITIME DAY: Seafarers Are The fulcrum of Shipping-Bello-Koko, Seafarers Are The True Champions of Humanity-Jamoh

The Acting Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority, Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko has extolled the contribution of the seafarers towards the success of International trade and global economy. Mr. koko said this today in his goodwill message at this year World Maritime Day celebration which was held at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos.

The 2021 World Maritime Day celebration has Seafarers: At the Core of Shipping’s Future as the theme.

Koko said the theme of this year “Seafarers: At the Core of Shipping’s Future” aptly captures the high-impact of day to day contributions that seafarers make to international trade and the global economy. This role often comes at great personal cost which the COVID-19 pandemic as heightened – seeing seafarers stranded at sea for months on end.

Mr. Koko further said “over 90 percent of global trade going by sea accounts for half of the world’s economic output constituting an important economic driver that helps to spur development and reduce poverty, every member of the maritime and indeed the global community is directly or indirectly a beneficiary of the service of seafarers. So it makes sense to specially celebrate and show appreciation to seafarers not only on this World Maritime Day but every day.”

“Seafarers are the fulcrum of shipping, in that a ship is being operated and run by them at sea an in-port and hence it’s important we attend adequately to their welfare as encapsulated in the Maritime Labour Convention 2006 which
Distinguished ladies and gentlemen, I have said all of these to establish the irrefutable fact that our seafarers are our highly treasured assets in whom we are well pleased and very proud.
Koko gives assurance of “unwavering commitment of the Nigerian Ports Authority” under the leadership and guidance of the Federal Ministry of Transportation Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi to continuously improve welfare of our seafarers.

Seafarers Are The True Champions of Humanity-Dr. Bashir Jamoh, DG NIMASA

On his part, the Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration And Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Yusuf Jamoh says the Seafarers are the true champions of humanity. He made this known in his goodwill massage at the World Maritime Celeberation.
Jamoh, said “during the last year’s Day of the Seafarer, I used the expression, The Invisible Heroes. For when the Pandemic shutdown and locked down the whole world, only the seafarers remained in service delivering critical life essentials from foods to drugs to vital equipment and replenishing our supplies. Little wonder the International Maritime Organization has remained consistent in focusing all the themes of the organization’s major events around these superstars. What would the world be without seafarers? They have always been the heart of shipping. And in my view seafarers will no doubt continue to remain at the Core of Shipping from past to present to future in line with this year’s theme of World Maritime Day.”
“Today, as we join the rest of the world to mark World Maritime Day we salute the International Maritime Organization for keeping these brave men and women of the seas at the top of the global maritime agenda reminding all of us that we are nothing without them; we will ever be indebted to them for their sacrifices and contributions.”

According Jamoh, “NIMASA will continued to march in lockstep with the IMO on all matters concerning seafarers since the outbreak of COVID-19. We were the first in declaring Seafarers as Essential Workers; we were also the first in the Continent to issue Marine Notice regarding Crew Change. We recognized that the COVID-19 pandemic had placed extraordinary demands on seafarers, with hundreds of thousands of men and women stranded on ships for months beyond their original contracts, unable to be repatriated due to national travel restrictions. A similar number of seafarers were unable to join ships and earn a living. This crew change crisis was becoming a humanitarian emergency that threatened the safety of shipping, so we as a Maritime Administration acted accordingly.”

“The World Maritime Theme also put the spotlight on other issues related to the human element of shipping, including the safety and security of life on board ships, seafarers’ well-being, and the importance of ensuring an appropriately trained and qualified workforce, ready to meet the challenges and opportunities of digitalization and automation” Said Jamoh.
Jamoh went further by saying “On this special occasion, therefore, we have every reason to celebrate the seafarers for their contributions to Nigeria’s economy. We have every reason to celebrate the seafarers because they make life more meaningful to the individual citizens by playing a significant role in the delivery of essentials for our collective survival. Time will not permit me to mention the numerous contributions made by Seafarers to advance the course of nation-building and humanity, as we cannot thank them enough.”