Nigeria ‘should implement IMO’s ballast convention’

 
Nigeria should implement IMO’s Ballast Water Management Convention (BWMC), the head of the country’s maritime regulator has said. Nigeria was among the first states to ratify the BWMC.
Dakuku Peterside, director general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), told members of the National Task Force for the Implementation of the Ballast Water Management Convention that they must develop a policy and workplan to implement their ballast water management roadmap, which he said would ultimately protect the environment from alien invasive species.
A brief summary of his remarks was released yesterday (11 August) via NIMASA’s website, but it did not say when the meeting took place, saying only that it was recent. BWTT is seeking clarification on that detail and has also asked NIMASA to outline the action that Dr Peterside expects the task force to take, since the BWMC is not yet in force.
In particular, BWTT has asked whether he hopes that vessels arriving in Nigeria will have treated their ballast water and, if so, what action will be taken against ships that do not comply. Dr Peterside’s reported remarks are not clear on those points.
He had reminded the taskforce: “ballast water and the sediments therein have become a platform for conveyance of invasive aquatic species into our environment. NIMASA is therefore committed to ensuring that the Ballast Water Management Convention 2004 is implemented in Nigeria.”