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MARITIME ORGANISATION OF WEST AND CENTRAL AFRICA (MOWCA) Sub-Regional Sectoral Integration - for cost effective maritime/transit transport services, high on safety, security, low on pollution |
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| Welcome from the Secretary General |
Today no country or region can achieve trade efficiency without ensuring the efficiency of the chief servant of international trade: Maritime Transport. To achieve maritime transport efficiency is costly and involves the implementation of mandatory international and regional conventions, codes and regulations. There is no alternative to regional cooperation, such as offered by MOWCA, in the provision of cost-efficient maritime transport services. On behalf of the Chairman and the twenty-five Member States of MOWCA, I wish to thank you for your interest in the organization. |
| MOWCA UPDATES |
The Secretary General’s activity report provides information on the state of implementation of the Organisation’s work program approved by the General Assembly of Ministers. This report covers the period July, 2008 to December 2009. more.....>>> |
The Secretary General presented to the 13th General Assembly of Ministers, held in Dakar, Senegal, 30-31 July, 2008, a progress report and a draft MOU on the implementation of the IMO/MOWCA Sub-regional Coast Guard Network for West and Central Africa. more.....>>> |
The Federal Republic of Nigeria is getting Abuja ready to host the MOWCA Regional Maritime Development. This follows the unanimous decision of the MOWCA General Assembly of Ministers to site the Headquarters of the Bank in Abuja, the capital of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. more.....>>> |
More than 450 participants comprising Hon Ministers, experts from the member States of MOWCA, international experts, professionals and academia, packed the National Conference Centre in Cotonou, Benin for the 5-day highly successful International Symposium on Maritime Policy in West and Central Africa. more.....>>> |
The 2nd Session of the Africa Union Conference of Ministers responsible for Maritime Transport was successfully held in Durban, South Africa, from 12th to 16th October 2009. more.....>>> |
The proposed MOWCA Association of Maritime Administrations/Merchant Marines is expected to bring together all Maritime Administrations/Merchant Marines in the sub-region to cooperate more closely in developing the national/sub-regional capacity for dealing with issues of maritime safety, security and environmental protection. more.....>>> |
The adoption of a common sub-regional Merchant Marine Code by MOWCA will assist in harmonising sub-regional merchant marine policy relating to the various IMO /ILO conventions on maritime safety, security and environmental protection. more.....>>> |
This web site gives an insight into MOWCA, Africa’s only sub-regional sectoral body dedicated to providing a platform for handling all maritime/transit transport matters common to its twenty-five Member States.| Topical Issues |
Four banks have been listed to participate in the disbursement of the 40-million dollars Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). The Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Bio, promised to be transparent in the disbursement of the 40-million dollars Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). He did not give the names of the banks. more.....>>> |
| A key hydrographic survey within the Traffic Separation Scheme (TSS) of the Straits of Malacca and Singapore is now underway, as part of the Marine Electronic Highway (MEH) Demonstration Project, a regional project that IMO is executing for the Global Environment Facility (GEF)/World Bank. The purpose is to produce an updated electronic navigation chart of the area. more.....>>> |
Danish special forces serving as part of Nato's counter-piracy operation have freed the crew of a cargo ship boarded by pirates off Somalia. They moved in after being assured by the captain that the crew had locked themselves in a safe room, a Nato spokeswoman told the BBC. more.....>>> |
Ministers in charge of transport in the region have reiterated the need for rehabilitating and upgrading the railways infrastructure, noting that this will significantly reduce East Africa's high costs of transport. more.....>>> |
Tanzania and Kenya are in the process of reviewing laws related to piracy so that pirates can be prosecuted whenever they are caught in the East African territory. more.....>>> |
Draft amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (the STCW Convention), and its associated Code, have been approved by the Sub-Committee on Standards of Training and Watchkeeping (STW) and are ready for submission to a Diplomatic Conference that will meet in Manila, Philippines, from 21 to 25 June 2010, for adoption. more.....>>> |
The establishment of Inland Container Depots or Dry Ports will not only ease the difficulties that shippers encounter but they will decongest the nation's sea ports, Mr R.K Sanusi, the Director of Inland Transport Services Department of Nigerian Shippers'Council (NSC) said yesterday. more.....>>> |
Federal Government has called on the rest of Africa to improve maritime activities which require more effort at strengthening regional commitment to eradicate the operation of sub-standard shipping and the protection of the marine environment. more.....>>> |
In order to promote the electronic administration and to strengthen the competitiveness of Tunisian products, the Rades Port authority started on January 15, the use of a system of intelligent transportation using modern technology. more.....>>> |
Pirate attacks globally rose to an all-time high last year, with suspected Somali pirates accounting for more than half of the 406 reported incidents. A new report by the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting centre revealed that the pirates, mostly operating from the Gulf of Aden, attacked a total of 217 vessels, hijacking 47 of them and taking 867-crew members hostage. more.....>>> |
The International Maritime Organization has decided to dedicate next year to you by choosing, as the theme for World Maritime Day, "2010: Year of the Seafarer". Our intention is to pay tribute to you, the world's 1.5 million seafarers - men and women from all over the globe - for the unique, and all too often over-looked, contribution you make to the wellbeing of all of us. more.....>>> |
Minister of Transport, Alhaji Ibrahim Isa Bio has said that the establishment of Regional Coast Guard Network would drastically reduce the incidence of armed robbery, piracy and drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea. He said that a Retired Rear Admiral has been appointed as the Zonal Coordinator for the Coast Guard which will soon take off before the end of this month with people seconded from Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for the Regional Coast Guard. NIMASA will also provide office space. more.....>>> |
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