Director-general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dakuku Peterside, has charged lawyers in the maritime sector on the need for regular updates on the knowledge of the sector, due to the dynamism of maritime law regulating the industry, which is key to its development.
Speaking at an event of the annual general meeting of Nigeria Maritime Law Association (NMLA) held at Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, at the weekend, Peterside described maritime, which is driven by international laws, as a pillar of the economy, meaning that issues regarding the sector must be taken seriously.
“Maritime is driven by international and municipal laws with an infusion of technology, which makes the sector always re-evolving. Maritime law is a specialised branch of law, so practitioners must update their knowledge to meet up with the pace of the change of the sector globally,” he said.
Stating the importance of the maritime law to NIMASA, Peterside said the agency was more concerned with commercial aspects of the shipping law as well as the navigation, which were core functions of the agency in line with its bid to ensure that Nigeria’s maritime domain remained safe and secure for maritime business to thrive.
“The responsibility of enforcing the ground norm of maritime; the Merchant Shipping Act is the sole responsibility of the Agency. NMLA is our major ally as we continue to strive to ensure the development of maritime for the economic benefit of Nigeria. I will like to commend this special Association for being our worthy partner and we will continue to show our support for NMLA,” he said.
Earlier in his presentation, Chidi Ilogu, president of NMLA, said NIMASA as a safety administrator had a great role to play in the development of the maritime sector, and commended the agency’s management team for ushering in a new direction for the industry through its repositioning drive.
The NMLA is a body of lawyers and related professionals in the maritime industry established in 1977. It is the Nigerian chapter of the Comite Maritime International (CMI), the first known international organisation concerned with maritime law and related commercial practices.
