By Eugene Agha, 05.31.2006

Responding to questions from reporters at the on-going Seapower for Africa symposium at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Admiral Harry Ulrich, Commander of US Naval Forces, Europe, and Africa, dispelled insinuations making the rounds in Nigeria that the US warships presence in the region is for military purposes, especially to launch an attack on Nigeria or that an individual in the country is using them to actualise a course.

Ulrich said much as the Nigerian government is trying its best to secure the region, yet reports available to Washington indicate that the Gulf of Guinea is full of international criminals among which are terrorists, sea pirates and smugglers. Ulrich said considering the dependence of America on Nigeria's oil, they are bound to show concern.

According to him,"we hear series of stories for our presence in the Gulf of Guinea, but I want to say that we are concerned for Nigeria and we want to help her protect the region from the hands of maritime criminal.

ｰIn all parts of the world, the US and any good nation want a safe coastal and safe coast for countries who are supplying their energy, and that is why we are often there. So there is nothing to fear for Nigeria,・he assured.

In the meantime, South African Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Retiloe Mudimu, yesterday blamed the frequent disasters that have befell the maritime industry in the continent on the refusal of African states to implement the ratified conventions governing the industry.

He called for better ties among African countries on maritime disaster management.

Mudimu, while reacting to the high number of human and materials that were lost in the Tsunami disaster in Indonesia and the number of ship mishaps in Africa said even though the distance between African and Indonesia, the Tsunami disaster still had a devastating effect on Somalia, because there were no detection of the earthquake several hours after it occurred.

Captain Frank Charles Van Rooyen while presenting a paper titled "Disaster Management in Africa Appraisal of African Experience and Capability at the ongoing Seapower for Africa Symposium, going on at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja noted that despite all conventions which African States have ratified, they seem not to have enacted the ratified conventions in their respective countries.

Apart from not having the equipment in place to detect theses maritime disasters, he stated that often time low experience hand, were employed as crewmen on board vessels. Adding that at the time he was writing the paper, yet another disaster, another maritime disaster was unfolding, this time off the east coast of South Africa.
According to him, a Greek owned ship, Alexandros T Bulk carrier, sailing between Brazil and China with a load of steel, broke up and sank rapidly on the nigh of Wednesday, May 3, 2006, in sea conditions of gale force winds, high wave and relatively cold seawater.

Though, he acknowledged that about seven persons were rescued in the ship mishap, but that the remaining 26 crewmembers, including the captain, were reported missing, while some days later the search and rescue in the area had been called off.

He said that maritime disasters strike quickly and that they often change the lives of all those touched

Proffering some solutions to disaster management in Africa, he stated that Government of African States must be aware of the fact that mare appending their signatures on the ratified conventions do not necessarily mean that the problems of maritime disasters have been taking care off rather an implementation of the convention will bring about succour when disasters stick

Signatures do not necessarily lead to constant applications of the conventions.

It thus, be advanced that a great number of the disasters in Africa and Asia could and should have been prevented or there effect reduced through, the vigorous enactments of the ratified conventions he added