About Us | The Abuja MoU was signed on the 22nd October 1999 at the Ministerial Conference of  Ministers of Transport of the West and Central Africa sub-region held in Abuja, Nigeria.  It is responsible for Port State Control Activities within the sub-region. The MoU is one of nine regional MoUs on Port State Control promoted by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) pursuant to Resolution A. 682(17), concerning Regional Cooperation in the Control of Ships and their Discharges.  It has nineteen member states viz :-  Angola, Benin, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Mauritania, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, The Gambia, and Togo

Delegations from Mali, Burkina Faso, MOWCA, IMO and ILO also attended the meeting as observers. Prior to the formalization, two preparatory meetings were held,one in Accra-Ghana in 1998 and another in Conakry-Guinea in 1999.

Objectives of the Memorandum
·  To eradicate the operation of sub-standard ships visiting national seaports.
·  To improve the safety of life and property at sea.
·  To safeguard the marine environment from pollution and other abuses
·  To improve the living and working conditions of persons on board ships.
·  Avoidance of unhealthy competition amongst ports.
·  Harmonize the system of Port State Control.
·  Strengthen regional co-operation and exchange of information amongst Member States.


Official Languages
The Official Languages of the Memorandum are English and French.


Formal Acceptance Of The Memorandum
Out of the 19 Member Countries, 16 have duly signed the MoU and only the Maritime Authorities of Senegal, Congo, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Ghana and Nigeria have announced their country’s formal acceptance in writing, a mandatory requirement from Member States.

Formal acceptance of the Memorandum confers on the country the right to inspect ships visiting her ports to ensure that they meet all relevant international conventions on safety of life at sea, protection of the marine environment, improved living and working conditions on board ships. However it is compulsory that such country has all the relevant conventions ratified and domesticated in her municipal laws.

By announcing formal acceptance, Abuja MoU will enter into force for the Maritime Authority of that country 90 days from the date of the acceptance or accession, provided that all the qualitative criteria as contained in Annex 9 of the Memorandum have been met.


Activities
Since the establishment of the Secretariat in the year 2000, it has organized and convened five Committee Meeting as listed below:

• 1st Committee Meeting  -  Abuja, Nigeria, June 2001.
• 2nd Committee Meeting – Dakar, Senegal, February 2002
• 3rd Committee Meeting – Brazzaville, Congo, October 2003.
• 4th Committee Meeting – Accra, Ghana , September 2005
• 5th Committee Meeting – Johannesburg, South Africa, November, 2006

The Secretariat has also been implementing Committee’s decisions by providing the necessary assistance for actualizing the provisions of Abuja MoU in Member States.