The
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on May 10
had a landmark inaugural installation ceremony of the Thorium-X
tablet, a fuel consumption data collection device, on board a
Nigerian-flagged fuel tanker vessel, MT KINGIS, commencing the
process targeted at ending green-house gas emissions on vessels.
The
pilot project, which came as fallout of the Maritime Technology
Cooperation Centre (MTCC) conference held in Kenya in March, aims at
reducing fuel consumption by vessels. The MTCC is targeted
towards developing countries, and Nigeria was made a priority and
nominated for the pilot project.
The
Director-General of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, speaking at the
installation ceremony, reiterated the Agency’s commitment to global
best practices in the execution of its mandate of regulating the
maritime industry.
Dakuku,
who was represented by the Head of the Marine Environment Management
(MEM) Unit at NIMASA, Dr (Mrs.) Felicia Mogo, stated, “NIMASA is
ensuring that we are keeping to global best practices with a
commendable track record in administration and regulation in the
maritime sector.
“NIMASA
was chosen to lead the project in Nigeria, being the chosen country
in the West and Central Africa region. This pilot project will
last a year. But the data will be reported to the Kenyan portal, then
it goes to the IMO global portal after every voyage. Reports
will be collated and sent after a three-month period. The findings
and analysis are then recorded and reported at the end of the year to
inform the country the amount of fuel being consumed annually on each
voyage and how much GHG is being emitted.”
The
launch of the fuel consumption data collection device is in line with
the decision of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to
reduce fuel consumption by vessels as well as Green House Gases (GHG)
and Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emission on voyages. NIMASA was
nominated to operate the project in Nigeria, which has become a focal
point and so nominated as a country of interest in Africa for the
pilot project.
Representing
Sea Transport Limited, owners of MT KINGIS, Musa Ado Ibn-Saidu
expressed delight in being a part of the landmark installation
initiative. Ibn-Saidu said the crew of the vessel were keen to
use the tablet. He thanked the NIMASA MEM team for the requisite
training provided the crew members on the operation and usage of the
installed Thorium-X tablet, stating that they are appreciative of the
efforts the Agency is making to reduce GHG emissions and save the
climate.
The
NIMASA-nominated vessel for the programme is indigenously owned by an
award winning company, Sea Transport Services Nigeria Limited.
Nigeria was chosen for the launch of the pilot scheme for the West
and Central Africa sub-regions.
The
tablet is equipped with inbuilt internet capability for ease of
communication of data, and also a dedicated software to calculate
Energy Efficiency Operation Index (EEOI) of voyaging vessels. The
information that results from the findings will facilitate decisions
in maritime policy formation as it relates to GHG emissions from
ships and its effect on climate and environment.
The
Marine Environment Management unit of NIMASA has been at the
forefront of efforts to ensure an environmentally safer and cleaner
maritime domain.
It
would be recalled that about a month ago, the Agency announced its
collaboration with the National Oil spill Detection and Response
Agency (NOSDRA) by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on
marine oil spill incident management, which is also in line with IMO
requirements. These initiatives collectively stand to give Nigeria
added global recognition on issues of marine environment management
and climate change.
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