Abuja MoU records 21% rise in ship detention

THERE are indications that more of the vessels calling at ports across the African continent have fallen short of minimum standard of safety and seaworthiness as the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding, Abuja, MoU, recorded a total of 23 vessel detentions in 2023 as against 19 in 2022, indicating a 21.05 increase in infraction level.

The Abuja MoU is the legal document under which maritime authorities of countries in the West and Central African region agreed to develop and implement a common mechanism for the respective port state control activities.

The main objective of Abuja MoU is the harmonization of the port state control procedures and practices of all the countries in the region aimed at eliminating the operation of substandard shipping within the region thereby ensuring maritime safety, security, protection of our marine environment from pollution, improving the working and living conditions of ship crew, and to facilitate regional cooperation and exchange of information among member States.

In the 2024 report of Port State Control Inspection of the Abuja MoU, the region recorded a 28.75 percent increase in vessel inspections in 2023 as a total of 3,117 inspection exercise took place compared to 2,421 in 2022.

A breakdown of the report showed that while Nigeria recorded the highest number of 666 vessel inspections followed by Senegal with 486 and Republic of Congo recorded a total of 348 while The Gambia had the lowest number of 19 ship inspections in 2023.

Others are Cote d’Ivoire 347, Gabon 287, Togo 286, Ghana 168, South Africa 126, Cameroon 122, Guinea 112, while Benin Republic and Sierra Leone recorded 42 and 45 respectively.

The report also indicated that a total of nine countries did not submit vessel inspection report to the Abuja MoU Information System database for the year 2023 and these are Angola, Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania, Namibia and Sao Tome and Principe.