Luanda – The chairwoman of the National Maritime Agency, Anisabel Costa, on Tuesday in Luanda Province called on professionals in the maritime and port sector to show greater commitment to their work, with a view to achieving positive targets in the audit to be carried out by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) in March 2025.
According to a note ANGOP has had access to, the manager warned as well the harbourmaster to reinforce the inspection and compliance with the laws, rules, regulations and directives applicable to this sub-sector of the Ministry of Transport.
The document states that Anisabel Costa was speaking during the swearing-in ceremony of the new harbour masters of Luanda, Lobito and Namibe.
At the time, she emphasised the importance of ensuring the safety, efficiency and preservation of the marine environment, as well as the people involved in the sector.
The harbourmasters are maritime authority bodies responsible for overseeing specific harbours and their adjacent maritime areas.
Their responsibilities include complying with maritime-port laws and regulations, issuing notices to skippers, maintaining and operating aids to navigation, coordinating search and rescue operations in emergencies, inspecting vessels and in some cases, supervising the pilotage service in the harbour.
According to the law in force, the port captaincies are part of the local services of the National Maritime Agency and subject to specific regulations approved by the Ministry of Transport.
Angola has been an effective member of the IMO since 1977 and was subject to a voluntary audit in 2014, in which 37 non-conformities were recorded.
QCB/VC/MRA/jmc
