A maritime environmental
pollution expert, Mr Kingsley Ajah, has commended the efforts of the African Circle Pollution Management (ACPM) in handling ocean-going vessels wastes.
Ajah made the commendation in an interview with our correspondent  in Lagos.
He said that a review of sources of marine pollution showed that ACPM reception facility had worked very well to prevent environmental pollution at the ports.
“The ACPM has expressed professionalism in evacuating wastes generated by ships since its engagement in 2003; it has been working within stipulated environmental protection Convention MARPOL 72/78.
“Compared to what it used to be, a lot of improvement has been achieved concerning management of marine pollution.
“However, there is room for improvement which makes it better for all the stakeholders including the general public because whatever goes wrong in the marine life affects communities of people,” he said.
Ajah said that by managing the reception facility, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the ACPM upheld the trusts of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) of safety, maritime security, environmental protection and human factors in shipping.
According to him, people had become sensitive to the need to manage the marine environment to avert the negative impacts of the challenges of climate change.
“Managing pollution in the marine environment has been taken more seriously because it will always react to foreign bodies in form of pollutants.
“We have been saved a lot of trouble since the ships have a facility to take care of the waste that they generate. These wastes would have gone into the waters but for the reception facility at the ports.”
The Tide recalls that the NPA had in 2013 engaged the ACPM in a private-public-partnership initiative to manage a port reception facility for proper management of ship wastes in international and coastal waters.
NPA General Manager, Public Affairs, Mr Iheanacho Ebubeogu, had in November 2013, said the reception facility was important to control pollution from the source.
He said that waste control from the source was necessary because nature did not mark out management limits for waste from different organisations.
“When the tide flows it can carry any pollution from one point to another. This can cause encroachment, but there should be control from the source or origin of the waste,” he said.
Ebubeogu said that with NPA’s pollution control and management status, it was required to have all facilities to contain pollution from the origin.
He said that the previous pollution control status demanded the NPA to ensure that marine platforms within the environment had the facility to contain pollution within.