NIMASA has warned that it will impose sanctions on Port Facility Security Officers (PFSOs) who do not report marine security incidents through the correct channels, following a series of reports that were sent to individual agency officials instead of the designated International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Unit.
The warning comes after the agency discovered that incident reports from port facilities were being directed to personal e‑mail addresses of NIMASA staff, rather than to the ISPS Unit’s official email. This practice, the agency said, poses a significant risk to port security.
In a notice signed by Mudi Isa, Head of the ISPS Code Unit, NIMASA instructed all PFSOs to route incident reports exclusively through the approved ISPS Unit email address. The notice, titled “Non‑Receipt of Incident Reports/Submission to Approved ISPS Unit,” emphasised the need for proper reporting procedures.
“It has come to our attention that the Unit is currently not receiving your incident report emails, which poses a significant risk. Failure to report security incidents to the correct channels constitutes a breach of ISPS compliance. Do not copy or send reports to individual staff emails unless explicitly authorised. If you do not receive an acknowledgement from the ISPS Unit within 24hrs of submission, contact the Unit immediately via phone,” the notice read.
Operators who are unsure of the approved reporting directory are advised to contact the ISPS Unit for verification before submitting their reports. NIMASA said the directive is intended to ensure that security incidents and anomalies are captured promptly and handled through a coordinated response mechanism.
“To safeguard port integrity and vessel safety, all maritime operators, terminal users and personnel must utilise authorised reporting protocols immediately upon detecting any security incident or anomaly,” the agency added.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
