The Centre for Marine Surveyors Nigeria has identified the regulatory agencies involved in regulating Marine Surveyors as key to the development of the Marine Surveying industry in Nigeria.
The President and Chairman Board of Trustees of the Centre, Prince Engr. Adebambo Ademiluyi who made this observation at the first Annual Public Lecture and General Meeting of the Centre however said that the agencies should ensure that only properly trained and certified marine surveyors were licensed to operate within the industry.
According to him,” Our experience today is that a lot of companies and individuals escape scrutiny and are registered to practice because the process for licensing is not strict enough. We would seek the cooperation of such agencies to partner with us to identify those that are qualified to be licensed. Self regulation which allows for peer comparison is the best way to get the best professional for licensing”.
Ademiluyi however, thanked the Federal Government of Nigeria for the Nigerian Content Development Management Board Act which he said stipulated that all classes of marine surveying activities should be 100% carried out by Nigerians adding that the Act was supposed to be a catalyst for the explosion in the growth of the indigenous marine surveying practices.
“However, this is not so as the regulatory agencies and operating companies especially the exploration and production companies are still not complying enough. There is need for regulatory agencies to look deeply at the vendors being used by companies and ensure that Nigerians get the benefit of the provisions of this Act. I dare say, cargo measurement for instance, is not a rocket science and we do not need expatriates to carry out these surveys, especially of our crude production and sales”, he said.
The Centre for Marine Surveyors Nigeria boss further called on the banks and financial institutions to engage the services of certified and licensed surveyors for pre-purchase surveys of vessels, so as not to stuck with non-functional or malfunctioning vessels when procured saying “this is the reason why there are so many bad loans due to poor performance of these vessels after purchase”.
On the reason for the AGM/ Annual Public lecture, he said,” The journey of the Centre started about five years ago and I would not dwell on why we set out on the journey because the full story, the vision, mission and objectives have all been published in a brochure which I am sure you all have.
The Centre has a sizeable number of corporate, full, and associate members. That is why we have decided to have a public lecture to popularize the profession of Marine Surveying, which is so wide and can provide opportunities for professionalism for fresh graduates of our Universities and Technical Colleges and also trainees who are undergoing professional training as mariners on various types of vessels.
Delivering the lecture, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), International Institute of Marine Surveying, United Kingdom, Mr. Mike Schwarz disclosed that the International Institute of Marine Surveying (IIMS) could boast of 1, 000 members in over 90 countries with various membership grades.
Schwartz observed that new members were vetted to assess their suitability by the Professional Assessment Committee adding that in the year 2016, IIMS would be 25 years old which would mark its Silver Jubilee which would commence in January, 2016 with celebration in different parts of the world and would culminate in the grand finale to be held in September, 2016 with award presentation to deserving individuals and countries.
He listed the principles of Marine Surveyors to include but not limited to observation, reporting objectively in writing to clients, helping preserve lives and to ensure vessels and their cargoes are safe and seaworthy.
He further recounted the onus placed on a Surveyor to include that he needs to be knowledgeable in surveying, educated in surveying technique, have extensive practical experience amongst others.
Earlier in his opening speech, the Chairman of the occasion, Admiral Anthony Okanlawon Oni (Mni) expressed his happiness to be in the meeting adding that even though he had retired from Service after 35 years of meritorious service, he was always very interested especially in anything marine so as to contribute to what those who were still current in the industry were doing.
He said,” I am really very impressed by the literature, what I have read about the Centre and all I am going to do now is wait and listen to Mr. Schwartz so that we can get his own experience and then we rob minds to see how we can move forward because you find out that in Nigeria, things like this, people like to cut corners and once they have friends in high places, they really don’t bother about the correctness of anything”.
Send your news, press releases/articles to info@primetimereporters.com. Also, follow us on Twitter @reportersinfo and on Facebook at facebook.com/primetimereporters or call the editor on 07030661526. 
