League Congratulates, Sets Agenda for New NIMASA DG
*Urges Jamoh to focus on indigenous shipping devt, war against piracy
*Says new DG should pursue disbursement of CVFF, change in crude oil trade terms to involve Nigerians in products affreightment
By Francis Ugwoke
The League of Maritime Editors and Publishers weekend joined well meaning Nigerians in congratulating Dr. Bashir Jamoh for his appointment as the new Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA).
In a letter signed by the President, Mr Kingsley Anaroke and Secretary General of League, Mr Francis Ugwoke, the group described Jamoh’s appointment as well deserved considering his wealth of experience and record in the industry.
The letter noted that Jamoh’s appointment came at a critical time when all eyes were on the maritime industry for increased contributions to the national economy in view of the travails in the oil sector.
Noting that Jamoh’s appointment was on the strong conviction by the federal government that his stewardship will usher in far reaching transformations in maritime, League urged the new NIMASA boss to do everything to raise the contributions of the sector to the Gross Domestic Products (GDP)
As a member of the Fourth Estate saddled with the responsibility of championing the interests of the industry and masses, the group in the letter set an agenda for the new DG in the areas of indigenous shipping development, war against piracy/port state control, capacity building, among others.
The group pointed out that with improved shipping development in Nigeria, the dismal performance of Nigeria in her efforts to win a seat in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) will witness a positive change.
According to the letter, a downturn in piracy and increased fleet expansion among Nigerian shipowners will no doubt take the nation’s maritime industry to greater heights.
Part of the letter reads:
“Indigenous Shipping Development
“There is no doubt that the Cabotage Shipping regime introduced in 2003 has not impacted positively on the growth of the sector. We say this because of the fact that so many indigenous shipping companies have been in comatose due to poor enforcement of the regime. NIMASA as the apex maritime agency under your leadership therefore has a role to play to make the law work. To achieve this, we advise that you first ensure that illegal vessels operating on the nation’s waters with claims of having waivers are checked. At a point, Nigerian ship owners undertook the measure but could not sustain the fight. This should be handled by your agency which has all the forces and resources. We also wish to draw your attention to the age long Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) which replaced Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund (SASBF) and urge that you use your good offices to ensure that this fund is disbursed. This will no doubt improve on the current national fleet. We are aware of the politics of CVFF disbursement, but we believe your intervention in terms of letting the Transport Ministry understand why the fund should be disbursed without delay will help change the situation. We also note the disdain on the part of the Ministry of Petroleum and its agency, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and multinational oil companies against indigenous shipping companies. You are aware of the discrimination by the NNPC and oil companies in awarding contracts for movement of petroleum products within the coastal waters. The two prefer instead to use foreign companies which is the reason for increased issuance of waivers to foreign vessels. We wish to enjoin you to use your good office to address this issue. It will further open up the nation’s maritime industry. There cannot be any better way to free indigenous shipping companies from the comatose state than this.
“In the past your agency opened up discussions with the NNPC on the possibility of involving Nigerian companies in crude oil affreightment. This has over the years suffered setback. The reason is obvious. The trade terms between Nigeria and buyers of her crude oil has been the obstacle. It is on the basis of Free on Board (FoB). We urge that your leadership should continue to fight for a change to Cost, “Insurance and Freight (CIF). If this is achieved, it will open up the economy with a lot of multiplier effect. The argument that Nigerian shipping sector does not have the capacity can no longer hold water as shipowners have said that they have not been challenged to this effect. Many of them are ready to go into partnership among themselves to acquire tankers for this. Some of them already have bigger tankers trading in international waters.
Capacity Building
“NIMASA has been involved in a number of human capacity building initiatives in the past few years. We wish that this is sustained. This no doubt will help in the actualization of cabotage shipping regime. The agency should not stop in its assistance to the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN) as it plays a big role in bringing to bear the quest for improved human capacity for the sector.
Piracy/Armed Robbery Attacks on Ships
“As you are aware, how much traffic the nation’s ports record depends to a large extent on safety and security of the vessels coming to Nigeria. For long, there has been news about increased piracy and armed robbery attacks. We expect that this will be priority job for you and your management to address. It is indeed one of the yardsticks to measure your success level. The implication of unsafe environment for ships calling at Nigerian ports has its effect on charges and diversion to other neighbouring ports. Your management team should be able to raise the standard of safety and security on Nigerian waters and to a large extent the Gulf of Guinea.
Conclusion
“We wish once again to point out that with improved shipping environment in Nigeria under your leadership, the dismal performance of Nigeria in her efforts to win a seat in the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) will witness a positive change. A downturn in piracy and increased fleet expansion among Nigerian shipowners will do the magic”.
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