World Maritime Day: Customs boss Salutes World Maritime Family

By Innocent Orok

The Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) has commended the efforts of Seafarers and the world’s maritime family especially in the last three years of the pandemic. The Customs CG commendation was contained in a goodwill message delivered at this year’s World Maritime day celebrations held in Lagos on Thursday.

Col. Ali was represented at the event by Deputy Comptroller Dera NNADI.
This year’s theme of the global maritime celebrations was “Seafarers: at the core of shipping’s future”.

The Customs boss said the last three years has been a challenging one in which maritime workers especially seafarers has faced a number of safety issues occasioned by water channel insecurities worsened by the Covid 19 pandemic and other environmental issues.

According to him “the Management of Nigeria Customs Service felicitate with the World maritime family under the umbrella of International Maritime Organization IMO on the occasion of the World Maritime Day 2021.

“The Service also congratulate the Honourable Minister of Transport and the entire Maritime workers for which NCS is one on this day.

“Today is very significant to the Service as we recognise that trade is synonymous with Customs and trade can not take place without the maritime industry and indeed the maritme workers the core of which are the seafarers.

” Without the international shipping of products that is expedited by the seafarers those others within the maritime industry, the world’s economy would not be able to function.

” To Nigeria maritime workers NCS use this day to appreciate your immense contributions to her success recorded over the years and especially in the last three years.

“The last three years has been a challenging one in which maritime workers especially seafarers has faced a number of safety issues occasioned by water channel insecurities worsened by the Covid 19 pandemic and other environmental issues.

” Despite these challenges Nigeria maritime workers with the support of government especially the Ministry of Transport braced the times and kept our trade supply chain on track.

” Internationally, the shipping sector has continued to transport more than 80 percent of world trade, including vital medical supplies, food and other basic goods needed to handle the global humanitarian crisis caused by covid 19 pandemic and insecurity across the globe. Through the effort of all of us here, Nigeria had her own share of this progress.

” Finally before I end this goodwill message, let me remind us to double our effort to reduce the vessel turn around time for Nigeria and to further reduce the waiting time for goods to reach the traders warehouses from all our frontiers. On our part as NCS we pledge our unalloyed support to all maritime stakeholders to achieve these and our other desired individual and collective objectives”.