Maritime Stakeholders Meet in Lagos, Set Agenda for New NIMASA DG

DG, NIMASA

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*We shall develop strategies in line with President’s vision for marine, blue economy, assures Mobereola


By Francis Ugwoke

Maritime stakeholders on Thursday gathered in Lagos to set agenda for the new Director General of the Nigerian Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Anthony Adedayo Mobereola who assumed office recently.

The stakeholders, including former Minister of Interior, Capt Emmanuel Iheanacho, former Director-Generals of NIMASA all stressed the need for the new DG to focus more on delivering the core statutory obligations of the apex maritime regulatory agency.

Iheanacho who chaired the occasion said the expectations of industry stakeholders were for NIMASA to make “significant strides in promoting ship safety, maritime security, and environmental sustainability in our waters”.

.He added, “as we move forward together, we are confident that under the leadership of Dr Adedayo Mobereola, NIMASA will continue to drive innovation, pursue collaboration with stakeholders, and engender positive progress in our industry as a whole.

“In discharging his responsibilities, we would expect the DG to work closely with the IMO pursuing the core object of the IMO, namely within the provisions of Solas, Marpol, STCW, ILO, any other relevant international conventions.

“We expect the DG to be fully cognisant of the impact of technological developments in the marine and blue economy on the content and form of policies to be developed. We look forward to working together with the DG to address the challenges ahead and to seize the opportunities that lies before us”.

Former Director General of NIMASA, Barr Temitsan Omatseye in his contribution urged the new DG to promote the development of the industry by ensuring the Nigerian shipowners record significant growth.

Omatseye said this can be achieved by providing the enabling environment for indigenous shipping to thrive.

He also advised that NIMASA must return to its core functions for which it was created for.
According to him, there was the need to professionalize the agency, adding that every NIMASA staff must have clear job description.

He opined that representation in international shipping forum suffers sometimes because of inadequate training for staff.
Omatseye was of the view that there should be process audit, arguing that there should be no reason why shipowners cannot stay in the comfort of their offices to register ships as against having to be physically present in the agency.

In a paper presentation titled, “Marine and Blue Economy; Navigating to the Promised Land”, Dr. Emeka Akabogu, identified the principal mandates of NIMASA as developing and implementing policies and programmes to facilitate growth of local shipping capacity, advising strongly that this should be pursued.

Akabogu added, “One of the most significant programmes of government aimed at revolutionizing the maritime industry is provided for in Section 42(1) and (2) of the Coastal and Inland shipping (Cabotage) Act, 2003 which creates the regime for the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund The CVFF aims at giving opportunities for indigenous participation in all sectors of the economy. It provides for the creation and application of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to promote the development of indigenous ship acquisition capacity by providing financial assistance to Nigerian operators in the domestic coastal shipping.
“There is also a Maritime Fund created under the NIMASA Act, which is not regularly referenced, but which supports a broad range of industry initiatives beyond just ship acquisition. Source of funding – Section 15 – “The Agency shall be funded by monies accruing to the Agency from – (a) 3 percent of gross freight earnings on all international inbound and outbound cargo from ships or shipping companies operating in Nigeria; (b) 0.5 percent of stevedoring charges collected by employers of dock labour….”Section 16 – “The Agency shall provide (a) not less than 25% of its revenue for the Maritime Fund; (b) not less than 5% of its revenue for the Maritime Academy of Nigeria”MF – Section 17-(1) There is established the Maritime Fund (in this Act referred to as “the Fund”). (2) Monies in the Fund may be applied only for the purpose of furthering the objectives and functions of the Agency under this Act. (3) Monies in the Fund at the end of any financial year shall be carried forward as a credit to the Fund to the following financial year. (4) The Agency may apply monies in the Fund to promote the development of indigenous shipping and infrastructure in Nigeria. (5) The beneficiaries of the Fund under subsection (4) of this section shall be Nigerian citizens and companies. There is little information in the public domain about the management of the Maritime Fund.
“What needs to be done? Policy and agenda clarification Data and technology Minimum industry standards Recruitment Training agenda Legal framework optimisation Ship detention protocol Forfeiture for empowerment Development of standard clauses Focus on data capturing and management Application of technology Accountability”.

In his response, the DG, Mobereola, said he was full of appreciation for the advice from the industry operators, promising that the agency will go back to develop strategies for the industry.

He said that whatever strategies would be in line with the vision of the President for the marine and blue economy.

“We have taken notes of all comments and what was said will help when developing our plans, the purpose of NIMASA is to serve the industry”, he said.

He promised to look into the advice on the automation of the ship registry gender inclusion in the agency, adding that wherever there has been will be looked into.

He also assured that every challenges raised by stakeholders shall be addressed for a sustainable development of the industry.

The event was massively attended by maritime industry stakeholders.
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