Mobereola continued, saying he was reviewing and updating the documentation.

The DG said as much in a statement released by Osagie Edward, Head of Public Relations at NIMASA, after meeting with Arsenio Dominguez, the IMO Secretary General, in London.

He stated that the goal of the discussion with the technical personnel of the IMO was to make sure that NIMASA and the IMO were in alignment prior to the subsequent audit cycle.

Today, I learnt that certain important details about our technical team and administration at the IMO are out of date. We are currently updating these details right away.

“We view the IMO audit as a guidance to help Nigeria realise its potential, not as an assessment. That’s why I decided to become personally involved.

We must correct the fundamentals,” he said.

In his declaration, Mobereola said his administration would focus on finding out how Nigeria might establish itself as a significant player in international maritime diplomacy.

The DG went on to say that Nigeria is dedicated to maintaining the momentum created by recent advancements in maritime safety and security.

He pledged that NIMASA will maintain the momentum in safety and security within the Nigerian maritime domain by utilising current partnerships both domestically and globally.

Our objective is to guarantee that Nigeria takes the lead actively in the maritime industry worldwide, not just in the IMO or the surrounding area,” he said.

Additionally, he declared that a committee headed by Adegboyega Oyetola CON, the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, had been established to resolve every issue brought up in the 2016 IMO audit report.

According to Mobereola, “this entails evaluating NIMASA’s enabling laws and successfully putting a corrective action plan into action.”

Prior to this, Nigeria was congratulated by IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez for taking the initiative to uphold the security and safety of commercial shipping in the Gulf of Guinea, especially in light of the increased marine traffic in the area as a result of the Red Sea situation.

He also praised NIMASA for involving the IMO technical team in discussions on Nigeria’s capacity to close all deficiencies found in the organization’s 2016 audit.

“I would want to thank Nigeria for their efforts in making the security improvements that have been made in the Gulf of Guinea region thus far. We are happy that the situation has not changed, despite worries raised by the Red Sea issue and the pressure that followed surrounding the Gulf of Guinea, the speaker remarked.

Dominguez emphasises the importance of the ongoing collaboration between the IMO and Nigeria, citing the latter’s involvement through NIMAS.

Additionally, I’m glad that you and the IMO technical personnel are meeting to discuss how to resolve all holes found in time for the upcoming audit cycle. We are prepared to provide whatever technological assistance, and this is a positive move,” he said.

In order to give member states better services, the IMO scribe also declared that the agency was trying to improve the Global Integrated Shipping Information System.