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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 |
IMO, shipping industry, seafarers unite in seeking UN response to piracy and release of hostages held in Somalia. Support from the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon to secure the release of hostages - seafarers, in the main - currently being held by pirates in Somalia has been sought, via a letter jointly signed by IMO Secretary-General Mr. Efthimios E. Mitropoulos and heads of international shipping and seafarer organizations. more.....>>> |
An international tribunal set up by the Security Council under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter authorizing the use of force is among several options to prosecute pirates operating off the Somali coast laid out by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in a new report made public today. more.....>>> |
The Angolan Government plans to refound and re-launch Secil Maritima, as a company of national flag in order to mitigate the cost of shipping goods into the country, considered high when compared with regional partners - Namibia, South Africa and Mozambique. more.....>>> |
| All the seaports in Nigeria could function optimally if the federal government restructures the ports along specialised imports, Manager, Calabar Free Port, Ahmed Dandare, has advised. If government adopts this arrangement, where specific ports would handle specific types of cargoes, business activities in other ports outside Lagos, like Calabar and Warri would receive a boost. more.....>>> |
IMO’s “Year of the Seafarer” has reached its halfway mark, with the recent Manila Conference (convened to adopt amendments to the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers, 1978 (the STCW Convention) and its associated Code) being the most significant of the various activities included in the action plan drawn up to promote this year’s World Maritime Day theme. more.....>>> |
At the invitation of IMO Secretary-General Efthimios Mitropoulos, Mr. Siim Kallas, Vice-President of the European Commission and Commissioner for Transport, visited the Organization's Headquarters on Thursday, 8 July, to discuss issues of mutual concern. Similar invitations were sent to all Commissioners whose portfolios include matters of interest to IMO, following their appointment in February 2010. Commissioners M. Damanaki (Maritime Affairs and Fisheries) and C. Hedegaard (Climate Action) have already visited IMO (see IMO Briefings 18/2010 and 22/2010). Environment Commissioner, Mr. J. Poto?nik, is due to come to London shortly. more.....>>> |
THE Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Joint Venture has awarded key marine services contracts to two Nigerian companies, as it continues with efforts to encourage the participation of indigenous firms in the oil and gas industry. more.....>>> |
Maritime Safety Committee (MSC), 87th session: 12 - 21 May 2010. IMO safety committee adopts historic ship construction regulations. IMO's Maritime Safety Committee (MSC) has instigated an historic change in the way international standards for ship construction are to be determined and implemented in the future. more.....>>> |
IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos has told the United Nations General Assembly that multilateral co operation arrangements, between and among States, regions and institutions can provide the means to reduce the risk of unprovoked piracy attacks on innocent ships, citing coordinated patrols in high-risk areas, information sharing, intelligence exchange and hot pursuit following attacks as among the tools by which this can be achieved. more.....>>> |
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