Renowned marina in Nigeria’s maritime sector, Capt Sunday Umoren, has called on port officers to strengthen their capacity to combat corruption in the sector.
Umoren, who doubles as Secretary General of the Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control for the West and Central African Region (Abuja MoU), noted that substandard ships pose threats to human life, the marine environment, and the livelihoods of people.
He made this call during a training on Ethics and Integrity Leadership for port state control officers from 22 countries in West and Central Africa in Lagos.
The training was organised by the Abuja MoU in collaboration with the Maritime Anti-Corruption Network (MACN)
According to him, addressing corruption starts with understanding the Abuja MoU’s key mandate to eliminate substandard ships.
Recognising the crucial role of PSCOs, the Abuja MoU collaborated with MACN for this training, marking the first such collaboration with a regional MoU or flag state.
Umoren noted that unethical and corrupt practices exacerbate risks to maritime facilities and cargo, undermining the International Maritime Organisation’s (IMO) initiative for “safer seas and cleaner oceans”.
He categorised corrupt practices into three, saying it include accepting bribes, offering bribes, and failing to report known corruption.
Umoren  highlighted IMO’s Code of Ethics, which sets the standards for ethical conduct among its staff.
The marina suggested that similar standards should be applied by Port State Control Officers (PSCOs).
“The phrase ‘no more favourable treatment’, which has been severally debated in some of the meetings of the IMO, may also hold good in the context of ethics and integrity.
“This is because gratuitous offers are usually aimed at favourable and skewed treatment”, he stated.
He noted the need for PSCOs to maintain an attitude of innocence and purity in line with the Code of Good Conduct for PSCOs
Also Speaking, Associate Director for Global Operations and Industry Engagement at MACN, Vivek Menon, underscored the importance of implementing training to improve transparency and efficiency in port operations.
He noted that corruption not only affects societies, but  impacts trade volumes entering West and Central Africa.
Earlier, the Chairman of Abuja MoU, Mr Ebrimo Sillah, called for collaboration and transparency to enhance the technical standards of shipping operations.

He emphasised the importance of understanding port operation mechanisms and maintaining maximum integrity.