By: Hafsatu Z Bangura
The Sierra Leone Maritime Administration has ended a two days Consultative meeting at the Sierra Leone Maritime Conference Hall with the International Marine Time Organization (IMO) following a request for technical assistance by the government of Sierra Leone through the SLMA. The consultative meeting aims to undertake a marine time legislation review assistance and draft recommendations for all marine time legislation and conventions.
Speaking at the event, the Executive Director of the Maritime Administration Mr. Paul Sobba Massaquoi said the purpose of the event is to showcase what the Ministry has done for the past five years and to present an STCW road map to see the relentless efforts they have put in as a Ministry and as a Country.
He continued that the journey started in October 2017, wherein an Agreement with the consultant was concluded and an agreement was signed. He went on that in November 2017 a National Stakeholders Meeting on Maritime Legislation took place in Freetown and the legal system of Sierra Leone was also presented with the necessary amendments.
Furthermore, he said, in April 2018, the consultant Mr Bubaeng visited the Sierra Leone Marine Time Administration in Cyprus to discuss the drafting of the Maritime legislation to review some of the procedures and documents to be incorporated in the current draft legislation. He also continued that in July 2019, the National Stakeholders Workshop on Marine Time legislation was held where stakeholders who attended amended the legal instruments and finally submitted the final documents in August 2019 and in August 2020 a discussion was held with Sierra Leone Marine Time Administration to follow up on all pending matters as concluded upon, a plan of action was agreed upon. A Gantt Chart was developed to assist both SLMA and SLMARAD.
Mr. Massaquoi went on that priority was given to STCW since it is a major convention relating to Seafers and the Human Element which was acceded by Sierra Leone in 1993, as no effect was given to the convention for the past years. According to Mr Massaquoi in July 2021 the STCW statutory instrument was taken to parliament and was submitted for consideration, in December 2021 the DTCW was domesticated and the legislation was passed.
Mr Paul affirmed that a team represented the SLMA in which he was allowed to present Sierra Leone’s case for the IMO’s intervention concerning the STWC 1978 convention will earn Sierra Leone a spot in the IMO League of States considered to be rated as a white-listed enabling the Sierra training institutions in and out of Sierra Leone which will be globally recognized consistent with the dictates of the convention.
Captain Dallas Leigh who works for the IMO as the IMO regional coordinator for West and Central Africa based in Ghana, said the purpose of the visit is for the IMO to determine the protection of the marine life, safety and security of shipping and Sierra Leone being a member state of the IMO qualified to request for technical assistance of which the IMO has brought the IMO technical corporation assistance which he said was established to develop their human capacity and security shipping, mainly for member states of the IMO.
He went on that the assessment of their work so far has been successful, to give full effect to the STCW permutation. He went on that Sierra Leone will be successful on an approved list of countries for foreign vessels to sail on globally as part of the main goal if Sierra Leone is approved. The goal is for certification of seafarers, he said.
In an exclusive interview, the Executive Director of SLMA said the SLMA has been blacklisted by the IMO for the past 23 years because the SLMA could not achieve the things set for a marine time to achieve and hoped that the assessment would take Sierra Leone of the world marine time blacklist for Sierra Leone to benefit and establish a marine time academy. As he said he hopes for the trade and investments the country would gain when lifted.
