NIMASA DG Harps on Efforts to Address Maritime Security , Reassures on Disbursement of CVFF Soon
*Says agency now has 200 vessels captured in Cabotage register
By Francis Ugwoke
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Friday said it has consistently taken every effort to address the issues of piracy and other maritime security concerns in Nigeria and Gulf of Guinea.
The agency also said it has introduced a number of measures to boost indigenous shipping, adding that it will soon begin to disburse the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
This was as the agency disclosed that Nigeria now has about 200 cabotage vessels operating in her territorial waters as against 94 registered in 2017.
Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside at a press conference in Apapa, said the agency is not leaving any stone unturned on the area of maritime safety and security, adding that this was one of its core mandates and crucial to the survival of the maritime sector.
Dakuku said that based on its efforts, Nigeria was adjudged as most outstanding in Port and Flag State Control in the West and Central Africa Sub-Region by the Abuja Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), with the highest port state inspection in Abuja MOU.
In terms of maritime security, he said it must be pointed out that several reports emanating from the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) as piracy could be hardly differentiated from sea robbery.
Noting that piracy refers to attacks in international waters, while sea robbery happens in territorial waters and, thus, under the littoral state’s jurisdiction, the DG said NIMASA in order to stem this tide has been collaborating with the Ministries of Transportation, Defence, the Nigerian Navy and other relevant security agencies in addressing the problem through a multidimensional solution.
He added, “Concerned about this menace, African leaders have met at various times to brainstorm and find a lasting solution to the security challenges in the GoG, with Nigeria taking the lead, to ensure a robust African maritime sector that will attract more participation from the international community.
“Part of the strategies includes, the 2050 African Integrated Maritime Strategy (AIMS) and its Plan of Action, including a roadmap for the incremental implementation of the strategy in line with international maritime law, were adopted. This is in addition to the Yaoundé Code of Conduct, the Djibouti Code of Conduct, and the Lome Charter, among other strategies. The strategies are geared towards actualising a safe and secure maritime domain by tackling all forms of maritime crimes in the West and Central Africa Sub-region, including the Gulf of Guinea.
“The strategies include a framework for action on, among others, fisheries and aquaculture; environmental and biodiversity monitoring; marine tourism; Disaster Risk Management (DRM); handling and shipment of hazardous materials and dangerous goods; maritime governance; flag state and port state control; and illegal activities, including money laundering, piracy, maritime terrorism and human trafficking and smuggling by sea.
“These attempts to address the maritime security issues and deliver a secure marine environment fits perfectly into the Blue Economy concept across the globe. The concept focuses on creating the opportunities for a more sustainable ocean economy where there is better alignment between economic growth and the health of the ocean with the involvement of the government.
“Determined to stamp out piracy and all forms of illegalities in the nation’s territorial waterways the Federal Government conceived the Deep Blue Project involving a Total Spectrum Maritime Security, which includes Law Enforcement, Regional Cooperation, Response Capabilities Building, and Enhanced Maritime Domain Awareness for all organs of government responsible for maritime security.
“To execute the Deep Blue Project, the services of the Homeland Security International (HLSI) from Israel was engaged to help Nigeria in the training of personnel and procurement of hardware for the safety and security of the country’s waterways and the Gulf of Guinea”.
Describing insecurity in the GoG as a regional in character, he pointed out there have been Nigeria’s regional interventions, but added that the Gulf of Guinea states are addressing the issue at the national levels.
He noted that the federal government recently established an Integrated National Maritime Surveillance and Security Infrastructure (The Deep Blue Project) that was conceived to meet a number of objectives, mainly to address the issues in the Gulf of Guinea, among others.
On improving local shipping capacity, Dakuku said the agency has been working towards achieving this, explaining that this was what led its plan to end in stages the grant of Cabotage waiver.
“ The winding down process is phased to avoid major disruptions to the Cabotage trade. The plan is to achieve the key objectives of the Cabotage Act in terms of in-country construction, ownership, manning, and flagging of ships engaged in coastal trade by 2024.
“The process of bringing the grant of Cabotage waiver to a gradual end has already begun, with the Agency launching a renewed effort to implement the provisions of the Cabotage Act. This was following a series of engagements with stakeholders”.
The DG said the agency has adopted a strategy of encouraging Nigerians to go into joint ventures and joint ownership of vessels with foreign operators on a 60-40 basis.
This measure, according to him has “started yielding fruit with about 20 new vessels currently flying the Nigerian flag under this arrangement, as against one in 2018. Bareboat charter of vessels has witnessed an increase, while foreign-owned vessels on Nigeria’s Cabotage register has witnessed a decline”.
“It will interest you to know that, there has been an increase in the number of wholly-owned Nigerian vessels on the Nigerian Cabotage register. The 2018 half year result showed that 125 vessels were registered, representing a 33 per cent increase when compared with the 94 registered in the corresponding period in 2017. Currently, there are more than 200 vessels captured in the Cabotage register.
“Also, about 68 per cent of vessels trading within the country’s maritime space are Nigerian-flagged. So the Agency is doing a lot in ensuring adequate attention is paid to the essence of the Cabotage, aimed at encouraging indigenous participation and job creation.
“One of the critical agencies NIMASA is collaborating with in the capacity-building and Cabotage waiver cessation strategy is the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB). NCDMB has the mandate to build local capacity in the oil and gas sector in line with the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act. The NIMASA/NCDMB cooperation is already yielding fruit, as both agencies have achieved the categorisation of vessels for uniformity and harmonised enforcement.
“That collaboration has also helped in the conduct of capacity audit of existing shipyards and maritime training institutions in the country.
“As for the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), the Agency is currently working with the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Transportation to ensure the disbursement of the fund soon.
“You will recall that on the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Rotimi Amaechi recently said he would meet with relevant government agencies under the Federal Ministry of Transportation as well as indigenous ship owners to work out the modalities and process of disbursement”.
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