The need to develop indigenous human resources to man the surveying equipment used for carrying out our constitutional role effectively led to the establishment of the NN Hydrographic School in 1981. The school located in Port Harcourt provides courses for ratings Survey Recorder (SR) Class II and III. It is anticipated that in the near future it will also provide both local and regional capacity in line with Federation Geometric Internationale (FIG)/IHO training standards. The manpower development of officers was hitherto primarily undertaken at the National Hydrographic School in India for both category A & B requirements. At present other friendly countries, such as the UK, USA and Italy, offer some NN officers training opportunities in these categories.

The recommended outcome of the West African Action Team (WAAT) visit to Nigeria in November 2002, and the follow-up visit in October 2005, precipitated some form of positive action. This has involved the formation of a Technical Working Group (TWG) consisting of hydrographic personnel from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the NN, to address implementation of the IHO Three-phase capacity-building strategy in the country. As a first step towards catering for Maritime Safety Information (MSI) under the national SOLAS obligation, a website portal available at www.nnho.org is in it’s final stages of delivery to both the local and international shipping community. The MSI portal will enable uploading of navigational safety-related reports to the MSI administrator and subsequent dissemination online as Notices to Mariners (NMs) after a meticulous audit trail Editor: audit trail or audit trial? KA procedure.

It is pertinent at this stage to mention our future aspirations. The department with its present calibre of staffing is planning to carry out bathymetric surveys of approaches to our major ports in Nigeria. Also, we hope to be able to provide hydrographic services to some of our neighbouring countries along the Gulf of Guinea. The envisaged regional hydrographic school in Port Harcourt would also provide regional human capacity for SOLAS, offshore exploration, Coastal Zone Management (CZM), fishery-habitat mapping requirements and other aspects enhancing nation building.

In conclusion, I would like to use this medium to express our sincere gratitude to organisations and sister IHO member states that have over the years contributed to the development of hydrography in Nigeria. These include the IHO, East Atlantic Hydrographic Commission (EAtHC), General Bathymetric Chart of the Ocean (GEBCO), National Hydrographic School India, United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (UKHO), National Office of Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and International Maritime Academy (IMA) Trieste. Drawing inspiration and wise counsel from our Navy’s motto, my message to the global hydrographic community is "Onward Together".