Welcome to Abuja MoU website. The West and Central Africa Memorandum of Understanding on Port State Control (Abuja MoU) was signed by representatives of sixteen coastal States in the West and Central African Region including South Africa in Abuja, Nigeria, on 22nd October 1999, in response to the global initiative spearheaded by the International Maritime Organization for the eradication of substandard vessels, working conditions of seafarers and preservation of marine environment.

Eleven years on, the challenges facing the MoU at inception still exist. The successful implementation of the Abuja MoU requires adequate allocation of human and material resources. These resources can only and will only be available through political will and commitments of the various maritime Administrations to conduct regular port state inspections and submission of inspection reports to the Secretariat.

Our immediate priorities include encouraging countries of the Abuja MoU region who have not deposited instrument of acceptance, to formally accept the MoU, compilation of comprehensive data on port state control officers in the sub-region and port state control inspections, publishing reports of port state inspections and harmonizing our port state inspection procedures and practices. These will be pursued concurrently with the task of building the institution itself with a functional structure to facilitate attainment of these targets.

It is expected that as the Secretariat strives very hard to achieve these tasks, member Administrations will complement the effort of the Secretariat by performing their obligations under the Abuja MoU. Working together, we can make the Abuja MoU region an unattractive route for the operation of substandard ships.