Sierra Leone Maritime Administration Delegation headed by Mr. Rex Bhonapha, Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation, on the 20th March, 2023 held fruitful discussions with the Egyptian Maritime Authority. The delegation was received by Rear Admiral Hussein Moustafa el Geziry, Chairman, Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety in Alexandria together with Rear Admiral Mohamed Farouk El Samahi, Vice Chairman EAMS, Captain Ehab Ebada , Head of Central Department, Consultant Ahmed Fatoh, General Manager of General Department of Legal Affairs and other senior members of the institution at the head office in Alexandria on Monday, 20th March 2023 to strengthen bilateral cooperation on Maritime safety and regulation. The visit comes as part of efforts to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to improve the capability and transform Sierra Leone Administration Authority into a Blue Economy.
Welcoming the delegation, the chairman, Rear Admiral Hussein Moustafa el Geziry gave an overview and the success of the Egyptian Authority for Maritime Safety (EAMS) and declared that they were fully prepared to move the partnership proposal from Sierra Leone Maritime Administration (SLMA) to the point of signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and forming technical committees. He opened the floor for Sierra Leone to state clearly the pathway the partnership can go. His statement was backed with a comprehensive video presentation on the successes, challenges, future targets, collaborations, and areas of cooperation open to Alexandria Ports. For his part, the Deputy Minister of Transport and Aviation, Rex Bhonapha, expressed thanks and appreciation to the Government of Egypt through the Authority for the vision and expressed
optimism for a successful take home. He presented the technical lead of the delegation to speak to the relevant need of the delegation.
In his presentation, the Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration, Paul Sobba Massaquoi gave a comprehensive narrative of SLMA and justified why the delegation was in Alexandria, Egypt which is directly linked to an invitation from the Egyptian Maritime Authority to SLMA through Sierra Leone Embassy in Cairo, Egypt. He declared that, the purpose of the visit to Alexandria was to undertake a 5-day working visit to Egypt; the key amongst the places to visit was the Egyptian Maritime Authority. The aim of the visit is to establish an administrative and technical collaboration between the two Maritime Institutions in order to improve Sierra Leone’s Blue Economy.
The Executive Director remarked in his preamble that the Maritime Administration of Sierra Leone was established by an act of parliament as an autonomous body in 2000. and the institution is a partner to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Regional Maritime University (RMU) and are fully prepared to establish bilateral and technical cooperation with strong Maritime Agencies beginning with the Egyptian Maritime in order to improve the technical competence of its staff.
He added that the motive of choosing Egypt is to strengthen the long-standing relationship between the two countries that will lead to some sort of agreements in the field of maritime that will clear the path for key solutions and help in lifting restrictions on international maritime transport, that will promote quality shipping values prevalent globally. He said such moves will help to enhance collaboration between the two maritime agencies for the mutual benefit and strengthen the technical capacity of staff of both Institutions through exchange of programs and trainings, improve the technical capacity of staff by enrolment in maritime courses in Egyptian Maritime Institutions and finally, getting Sierra Leonean seafarers to be accepted on board Egypt flagged vessels conversely. Mr. Massaquoi assured that Sierra Leone is on the varge of becoming an IMO Standard of Training Certificate and Watchkeeping (STCW) White Listed Flag.
He highlighted special areas of cooperation needed between the two sides. vis-a-vis Technical Capacity Building for the Shipping and Marine Environment Protection. He stated that, the Department of Shipping and Marine Environment Protection is responsible amongst others for undertaking inspections on vessels operating. To frequently update and test the National Oil Spill Contingency Plan and the National Oil Spill Emergency Plan. To liaise with the Safety Department for the issuance of registration certificates and licenses to vessels operating within Sierra Leone’s coastal and inland waterways. To monitor and assess cargo being discharged and loaded in ports in Sierra Leone. He suggested amongst others courses like Marine Pollution Inspections and Surveys Training, Oil Spill Surveillance and Tracking Training, Practical Training on Oil Spill Preparedness and Response, Cargo Tracking and Surveillance Training, Verified Gross Mass of Cargo Training, Cargo Survey Training and STCW Mandatory Courses.
Mr. Massaquoi reiterated the Government of Sierra Leone’s reliability on the local content policy for the benefit of Sierra Leoneans. He was frank to mention that over 480 ships are currently flying the Sierra Leonean flag with no Sierra Leonean Seafarers onboard those vessels.
In conclusion Sierra Leone’s High Commissioner to Cairo, the Arab Republic of Egypt, H. E. Sadiq Silla thanked the two sides for the sincere efforts they are putting into the discussions and promised to facilitate the process to its logical conclusion.
The Minister was accompanied by other senior members SLMA and Senior members of the Sierra Leone Embassy in Cairo.
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