Maritime Trade: NIMASA, Port of Antwerp Set to Partner
*As Dakuku Says Maritime Tourism Can Grow Nigeria’s Economy
As part of efforts to boost trade and encourage foreign direct investment opportunities in the Nigerian maritime sector, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is set to partner with the Port of Antwerp in Belgium. This position was made known by the Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, when he played host to a team from the Port of Antwerp in Belgium led by the Director, Africa Port of Antwerp International, Mr. Nico Vertongen, in Lagos.
Speaking at the meeting, the NIMASA DG stated that the Port of Antwerp had had a long standing relationship with the ports community in Lagos, noting that from 2017 till date, 302 vessels have called between the Port of Antwerp and the ports community in Lagos. He said within the period, 33 vessels conveyed export goods from the port of Lagos terminating at the Port of Antwerp, with 22 Belgium-flagged vessels calling at Nigerian ports and several other volumes of transaction.
Dakuku said the Agency was willing to consolidate on the gains of the Nigeria-Belgian relationship.
“We have always had a business relationship with the port of Antwerp either as destination ports or ports of origin. We are glad to know that you are in Nigeria and planning to lead a business mission sometime in November to the Lagos Port Community. Our position is straight forward and clear; we welcome the business mission with our doors open and believe there is a lot we can do together,” the DG said.
Dakuku also stated that the November meeting will be the beginning of a mutually beneficial relationship in diverse ways that will also give opportunities for exchange of ideas. “It will also open opportunities for training for our people and it will give you a better understanding of how the ports in Lagos, Nigeria, in Africa work, leading to the volume of trade between ports and other operations,” he added.
The DG who expressed concerns about the isolated negative representation of the Nigerian maritime sector in the media, said efforts were being made to stem it. He told the delegation that the Agency, which has the responsibility to ensure maritime security in the ports and waterways, had put in place a number of strategies, including a legal framework on piracy and maritime crime and acquisition of assets to build up response capability, to stop the pirates and criminals from operating within the coastal waters. The Agency is also building up alliance with Nigeria’s immediate neighbours, Dakuku stated.
“Therefore, in November, we will have the opportunity of setting up business to business meetings; we have a number of Nigeria businesses that are interested in doing business with operators in Belgium, precisely in the ports of Antwerp. And as you have notified us today, we will begin to prepare ship owners in Nigeria; those who have set up ship repair yards, ship building yards, operators and all of those for business to business meeting in November and it is believed that it will be rewarding”, Dr. Dakuku said.
Earlier in his address, the Director, Africa of the Port of Antwerp International, Mr. Nico Vertongen, who spoke on behalf of the delegation noted that the Port of Antwerp intended to come to Nigeria in November on a business mission with the intention of boosting the already existing relationship between the ports community in Lagos and the Antwerp port.
He also expressed their readiness to partner the Agency on port security, safety and also possible areas of training, adding that the meeting will further be an opportunity for the duo to be official partners.
NIMASA has continued to embrace collaboration and partnership, thereby allowing it to fully actualise its dream of creating a robust maritime sector in line with best global practices.
Meanwhile, the Director-General of the NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has called for concerted effort by stakeholders towards the development of coastal and maritime tourism in Nigeria, saying when fully harnessed, the sector can contribute greatly to the economy. Dakuku said this while receiving an award at the Second Edition of the National Tourism and Transport Summit held at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, with the theme, “Tourism and Transportation Inter-dependencies for Inclusive Growth and Sustainable Development.”
Dakuku charged stakeholders and investors to tap into the huge opportunities in maritime tourism, which is a crucial part of the Blue Economy. He assured potential investors that NIMASA would help to create an enabling environment for their businesses to thrive.
The Director-General urged coastal states to follow the example of Lagos in making conscious efforts to harness their maritime potential.
Dakuku, who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, explained that with Nigeria’s maritime endowments, maritime tourism could be a major revenue earner and huge contributor to the government’s economic diversification agenda.
“While the tourism potential in other aspects of the economy are being maximised to a reasonable extent, the potential of coastal and maritime tourism in Nigeria remains grossly under-tapped,” Dakuku stated.
He challenged coastal states in the country to emulate Lagos, saying it “is the only state that has shown substantial commitment towards developing maritime tourism as a critical pillar of its economic development.”
According to him, with a coastline of about 852 kilometres and an inland waterways of over 8, 000 kilometres, Nigeria has the natural habitat to grow its maritime tourism industry to be one of the biggest in the sub-region.
The Institute of Tourism Professionals (ITP), organisers of the National Tourism and Transport Summit, said they presented the award of Outstanding Maritime Operations Regulator of the Year (Sea and Offshore) to NIMASA in recognistion of the Agency’s commitment and strategic initiatives towards the development of the sector.
Participants at the two-day event deliberated on ways of harnessing the interdependence of tourism and transport for the sustainable growth and development of the tourism industry, in particular, and the Nigerian economy, as a whole.
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