International Port Community System Association (IPCS) has admitted Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) into top-class ports group over its Port Community System (PSC).
The Managing Director of the NPA, Dr. Abubakar Dantsoho, disclosed this in Lagos at a stakeholders forum, saying that the authority was admitted after fulfilling the necessary requirements.
He explained that in recognition of this, NPA had, enlisted the technical guidance of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) for the deployment of PCS, which is actually the precursor to the National Single Window (NSW).
Dantsoho noted: “Upon our fulfilment of the necessary requirements, Nigeria was admitted as a member of the International Port Community System Association to join top-class ports in the region, like Tangier Med Port of Morocco, Ghana, Togo, Ivory Coast and Benin Republic, amongst others.”
He stressed that the purpose of the PCS was primarily for Nigeria to comply with the dictates of the International Maritime Organisation, Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic.
He added that the main objectives of the convention were to prevent unnecessary delays in maritime traffic, aid cooperation between governments, and secure the highest practicable degree of uniformity in formalities and other procedures.
According to him, the FAL Convention in April 2019 made it mandatory for ships and ports to exchange declarations electronically, preparatory to the enforcement of the Single Window approach in 2024.