ABSTRACT
This study was intended to evaluate the maritime security,
information and communication technology. The study employed the descriptive
and explanatory design; questionnaires in addition to library research were
applied in order to collect data. Primary and secondary data sources were used
and data was analyzed using the correlation statistical tool at 5% level of
significance which was presented in frequency tables and percentage. The
respondents under the study were 68 employees of the Rivers port.
The study findings revealed that maritime security,
information and communication technology can be assessed; based on the findings
from the study, efforts should be made by the Nigerian government and
stakeholders in further promoting maritime security in Nigeria, as this would
encourage more investors.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study
Worldwide Port and Maritime operations and their associated
facilities and infrastructure collectively represent one of the single greatest
unaddressed challenges to the security of nations and the global economy today.
The reason that ports and shipping activity are so difficult to secure lies
primarily in their technology. Ports are typically large, asymmetrical
activities dispersed over hundreds of acres of land and water so that they can
simultaneously accommodate ship, truck and rail traffic, petroleum
product/liquid offload, storage or piping, and container storage. The movement
of freight, cargo (solid or liquid), and transport through a port is generally
on a “queuing” system, meaning that any delay snarls all operations. Whether or
not delays are related to security, security generally falls by the wayside in
the interest of time management or convenience. Globally, there are very few
uniform standards for point-to-point control of security on containers,
cargoes, vessels or crews – a port’s security in one nation remains very much
at the mercy of a port’s security, or lack thereof, in another nation.
Organized crime is entrenched in many ports and a large majority of them still
do not require background checks on dock workers, crane operators or warehouse
employees. Most ports lease large portions of their facility to private
terminal operating companies, who are responsible for their own security. The
result of this is a “balkanized”, uneven system of port security and operations
management as a whole.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Maritime security is, indeed, a quandary (Uadiale and Yonmo,
2010a). The disintegration of central government authority, the lack of
maritime security has, therefore, become a grave problem. The Horn of Africa
and the Gulf of Guinea are thus symbols of “the few cases in Africa where
security onland have spilled over and affected maritime security severely”. The
lack of maritime security in the region and the fact that it was not possible
to enforce the law and maintain good order at sea, threatened maritime
communication, maritime sovereignty and stimulated piracy. While much of the
insecurity mid-wifed, piracy of the Somalia coast stems from the collapse of
governance, and law and order in Somalia, in the Gulf of Guinea, the situation
is somewhat different. Maritime piracy in the Gulf of Guinea is more directly
politically driven. In Nigeria, politics onland directly result in offshore
actions, causing the hub of insecurity onland in the Niger Delta region to
spill into the Gulf of Guinea to promote bad order at sea. According to the
maritime watchdog – the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), the waters of
Nigeria are now the second most dangerous in the world, next to Somalia.The
proliferation of piracy in the West African region has been of concern amongst
government and the oil industry since 1999. With militant groups turning
pirates in the Niger Delta, claiming that they are sabotaging the oil industry
for political purposes in protest of the mismanagement of Nigeria’s oil wealth.
However, these political grievances are increasingly taking on a criminal
nature (Uadiale and Yonmo, 2010a).
1.3 Significance of the study
Information Communication Technology (ICT) refers to several
forms of information exchange between two or more devices like computers,
mobile PDAs and hi-tech devices through which any of the several methods of
interconnection, principally through the Internet can be initiated to perform a
defined task. These technologies provide speedy, inexpensive, secure and
convenient means of communication.
Therefore, in developing countries Nigeria precisely, the
impact of ICT in the maritime sector for maritime operations and security
cannot be over emphasized.It is as a result of this that this research study is
determined to assess the impact of ICT on security of Maritime operations.
1.4 Objectives of the study
1. To asses maritime security, information
and communications technology.
1.5 Research questions
1. How can maritime security, information
and communications technology be assessed?
1.6 Research hypotheses
Ho: Maritime security, information and
communications technology cannot be assessed.
Hi: Maritime security, information and
communications technology can be assessed.
1.7 Limitations of the study
1. Financial constraint- Insufficient fund
tends to impede the efficiency of the researcher in sourcing for the relevant
materials, literature or information and in the process of data collection
(internet, questionnaire and interview).
2. Time constraint- The researcher will
simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work. This consequently
will cut down on the time devoted for the research work.
1.8 Scope of the study
The study focuses on assessing maritime security, information
and communications technology with rivers port as a case study.
1.9 Definition of terms
Maritime: This is connected with the
sea, especially in relation to seaborne trade or naval matters.
Security: This refers to protection of
a person, building, organization, or country against threats.
Information and Communications Technology: This
refers to an umbrella term that includes any communication device or
application, encompassing: radio, television, cellular phones, computer and
network hardware and software, satellite systems and so on, as well as the
various services and applications