The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has launched a total digital manifest management regime for all vessels calling at all Nigerian ports.
Physical transactions regarding navigation certificates and handling cargo manifests are completely phased out, as stakeholders are encouraged to fully embrace the Agency’s initiative by visiting the NIMASA portal.
The agency’s chief executive, Dr Bashir Jamoh, said the automation aims to further reduce human interactions, improve efficiency and stop revenue leakage.
According to him, “in accordance with the Federal Government’s Ease of Doing Business Decree, we are committed to improving vessel turnaround time, reducing human interface in the majority of our transactions with our stakeholders and so on. is in our desire to ensure transparency. and the professionalism the sector needs to develop.
“We have improved our operational relationships with our sister agencies, as we speak we have made tremendous progress in our determination to electronically transmit navigation clearances for vessels to the NPA. We also receive and process manifests electronically. This has improved efficiency leading to an improvement in the turnaround time of ships calling at ports across the country.
“At present, we have ensured that the manifest submission and handling process is reduced from 72 hours to five hours for VLCCs (Very Large Crude Carriers) and large container ships, when it would only take only two hours or less for small vessels. You will agree with me that these are marked improvements and that the work is still in progress, ”said Jamoh.
The CEO of NIMASA noted that the benefits that would flow from the full digitization of all Agency processes expected to be completed by 2022 would be enormous not only for stakeholders, but for the country as a whole, especially in helping to improve the trade balance, and commercial shipping activities in Nigeria.
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