NLNG, NPA partner to deploy vessel tracking service

The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have agreed on a partnership that would facilitate the deployment of a Vessel Tracking Service (VTS).

The agreement was reached when the Managing Director of the NLNG, Dr. Phillip Mshelbila paid a partnership renewal visit to the NPA Headquarters in Lagos.

The VTS, which is to be deployed through the NLNG Ship Management Limited (NSML) a subsidiary of the NLNG, will enhance the capacity of the NPA in the area of domain awareness and management.

Speaking on the development, the Managing Director of the NPA, Mohammed Bello said “we are greatly delighted by this development especially as it is coming at a time when we are ramping up efforts under the technical guidance of the IMO to deploy the Port Community System (PCS) since the effective safety communication with vessel-to-shore and vessel-to-vessel that a VTS enables actually supports the successful deployment of PCS”.

Vessel Traffic Service is a control measure for vessels required to assure the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS); an International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Convention which provides safety assurance for the ship, crew, cargo, the environment and ports host community.

This synergy between NPA as a port regulator and trade facilitation platform and the NLNG, a major player in the global Liquefied Natural Gas business signposts a lot of positives for the renewed export orientation of the Federal Government of Nigeria with the NPA at its vanguard.

Guardian/Hauwa Abu