ADDRESS OF THE CHIEF OF THE NAVAL STAFF VICE ADMIRAL AZ GAMBO GSS AM psc ensp (RSA) MTM MNIM MUSNI FCIS FIIPS FCAI TO THE NIGERIA’S HYDROGRAPHIC COMMUNITY DURING THE 2021 WORLD HYDROGRAPHY DAY CELEBRATED VIRTUALLY IN NIGERIA ON 21 JUNE 2021
PROTOCOL
1. It is with great pleasure that I felicitate with you all, on this special occasion of the 2021 World Hydrography Day celebration. I am particularly excited that despite the limitations imposed by Covid-19 pandemic, professionals and stakeholders alike are still able to interact to discuss pertinent issues like Hydrography. It is no longer news that hydrographic applications have increasingly shifted from safety of navigation for marine transport to other activities that facilitate sustainable use of the ocean for economic growth. These include offshore wind farming, coastal zone management, blue economy, as well as offshore exploration and exploitation of mineral resources among others. These activities require a great deal of both national and international collaborations at various stages for maximum benefits to be derived therefrom. That is why I consider this year’s World Hydrography Day, which marked the 100 years of international cooperation in Hydrography, as apt for Nigeria.
2. This is particularly so, when the dwindling economic fortunes of the world elucidates a rethink towards economic diversification in Nigeria, using hydrography as a critical enabler. Through hydrography, Nigeria’s inland waters, which connect the Atlantic Ocean via over 25 River entrances can be opened for transportation of goods and services from the hinterland to the sea for export towards enhancing Nigeria’s economy. Additionally, effective hydrographic practice will ensure adequate chart coverage of about 84,000 square nautical miles of Nigeria’s territorial waters, and ultimately provide up-to-date nautical products to drive Nigeria’s Blue Economy Project including support for safe conduct of mariner’s activities. This calls for more purposeful international and national cooperation among all stakeholders in the field of hydrography.
3. It is worthy to note that through international cooperation in Hydrography with the United Kingdom, which dates back to the 18th Century, Nigeria has been able to keep its sea lanes of communication open for all forms of maritime activities that support over 96 per cent of Nigeria’s seaborne trade. Further international cooperation with India in 1975 and the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) in 1976, helped Nigeria, particularly its Navy to build human capacity in Hydrography and develop standards for hydrographic survey and charting. Through these international cooperations and the Nigerian Navy’s engagements at various times, with other hydrographic industry’s players in Nigeria, like the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and most of you participants, Nigeria was able to the produce it’s indigenous navigational charts and nautical publications in 2019. This feat placed Nigeria on the international map of chart producing nations.
4. As you are aware, there are 2 paper charts and 3 cells of Electronic Navigational Charts (ENCs) indigenously produced by the Nigerian Navy, which are currently supporting safety of Navigation in Nigerian waters. With the recent addition of the state of the art 60-metre Hydrographic Survey Vessel NNS LANA to the Nigerian Navy’s inventory, the stage is set for more international and national collaborations towards improving hydrographic service delivery to mariners within Nigerian waters. Already, discussions are ongoing with the Nippon Foundation/GEBCO for Nigeria’s participation in the Seabed 2030 Project, which is aimed at facilitating Nigeria’s fulfilment of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 14, which deals with sustainable use of the oceans, sea and marine resources. On the national scene, a more improved cooperation, in form of data sharing and joint surveys, is envisaged between the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR) among others. As you are aware, the partnership between the Nigerian Navy and Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM) for the opening up of the Nation’s inland waters for improved maritime business, through hydrographic survey and charting, is at the execution phase. This underscores the indispensability of cooperation in hydrographic industry for better and up-to-date hydrographic service delivery to mariners, towards safety of navigation and economic prosperity.
5. As you celebrate the 2021 World Hydrographic Day, ladies and gentlemen, I expect that you establish more networks for increased cooperation among yourselves and with the Nigerian Navy for faster survey and chart coverage of Nigeria’s waters towards facilitating a more robust maritime activity for security and economic growth of the Nation.
6. On this note, I wish you all a happy 2021 World Hydrographic Day celebration in Nigeria; and, as it is said in the Nigerian Navy; ‘Onward Together’.