The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • Naval chief seeks provision of helicopters, patrol vehicles

    The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, has urged the Federal Government to provide helicopters and operational patrol vehicles for the Navy to curb criminality on the waterways.

    Speaking after the inauguration of some projects undertaken by the Eastern Naval Command, in Calabar, the Cross River State capital, Ezeoba said the Navy needed equipment for requisite surveillance.

    He also called for the enforcement of the laws against criminalities on the nation’s waters, saying that those that have been arrested for engaging in act of illegality are prosecuted in courts of competent jurisdiction and appropriate punishment meted to serve as deterrent to other.

    He canvassed the prosecution of suspected oil thieves and other criminals engaging in illegal activities along the waterways.

    He said lack of prosecution of the suspects was one of the operational challenges the force was facing in its fight against criminality in the nation’s maritime domain.

    He said the enforcement and prosecution of the suspects would serve as a deterrent to others with similar intentions.

    He said the Navy has the challenges of inadequate platform, but added the challenges were being addressed.

    His words: “To police our large maritime boundaries requires a lot of platforms in the right places. We need helicopters, operational patrol vehicles, human capacity and above all, technology that will provide us with a requisite surveillance.

    “Very soon we will begin to see a very high level of compliance by Nigerians, particularly, as it pertains to rules and regulations governing the maritime industry.‘’

    The Naval chief said the Eastern Naval Command had been able to check illegal activities along the waterways within its area of operation.

    “The ENC from the demographic that we have and the operational chart, would have been able to reduce to a very large extent the act of vandalism, particularly along the Calabar River and Akwa Ibom River.

    “This has given seafarers and commuters, who use the waterway more confidence,‘’ Ezeoba said.

    He said the command had lived up to expectations by adding value, which had enhanced professional capability of the officers towards attainment of the strategic objectives of the force.

    He solicited the full cooperation of the public to enable the force to succeed.

  • Customs chief excited over new clearing regime

    Customs Comptroller-General Dikko Abdullahi is excited over the clearance of goods under the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).

    Announcing the take-off of the scheme at a town hall meeting with importers in Lagos, Abdullahi said the first PAAR was issued in 58 minutes.

    This, he said, was different from what obtained in the past when the service providers issued the Risk Assessment Report (RAR) in five days.

    Under the PAAR, importers will clear their consignment in less than six hours, thus reducing the cost of doing business at the ports.

    Abdullahi said: “This is to announce to the trading public that we have started. The first PAAR has been issued within 58 minutes. It is really encouraging and promising that we can issue a PAAR document in 58 minutes. Before now what is happening during the RAR regime is like five days which is only official, we know it is more than that.

    “The trading public has been complaining about the RAR issue, but with this, that is now a thing of the past. This PAAR is going to be issued before the arrival of the cargo and for those who ensure compliance, they will get their cargoes in less than six hours.”

  • Fed Govt releases fresh import guidelines

    Fed Govt releases fresh import guidelines

    • Goods to bear English label

    The Federal Government has issued fresh guidelines for cargo clearance at the ports and borders nationwide.

    Under the new regime, all documents must bear the product name, country of origin, specifications, manufacture, date and batch number, standards of production (e.g. Network Information Services (NIS), British Standards PD. International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO), International Energy Standards (IES), Documentation Identification Number (DIN).

    All goods, according to the guide lines, must be labelled in English, in addition to any other language of transaction; otherwise they will be confiscated by Customs.

    In a December 3 memo, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told the Comptroller-General of Customs, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, that the guidelines took effect from December 1.

    According to the letter, all imports shall be accompanied by the following documents:

    • Combined Certificate of Value and Origin (CCVO) contain the following information.

    • e-Form ‘M’ No:

    • Adequate description of goods;

    • Port of destination. (The actual port shall be specified e.g Tin-Can, Apapa, Kano, Onne, etc);

    • Shipment identification, date of shipment, Country of Origin, Country of Supply.

    • Packing List.

    • Shipped/Clean on Board Bill of Lading/Airway Bill/Railway Bill/Road Waybill.

    • Manufacturer’s Certificate of production, the Phytosanitary Certificate or Chemical Analysis Report, which must state the standards.

    • Laboratory test certificates for chemicals, foods, beverages, pharmaceuticals, electrical appliances, and other regulated products are also required from importers.

    The letter, signed by the Director, Home Finance, K Zaji, said any intending importer should in the first instance, process e-Form ‘M’ through any authorised dealer bank irrespective of the value and whether or not payment is involved.

    The first validity period of the e-Form ‘M’ for general merchandise, Zaji said, would be six months, which he said, may be extended for another six months by the dealer.

    The government, however, gives an initial validity period of 365 days to capital goods with approved e-Form ‘M’, and the maximum extension of another 365 days is allowed.

    But any subsequent request for revalidation and consideration of e-Form ‘M’ after the maximum 365 days extension period, can only be granted by the Director, Trade and Exchange Department, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

    Supporting documents shall be clearly marked “Valid for Forex” or “Not Valid for Forex” as appropriate i.e. whether or not foreign exchange remittance would be involved.

    Also, all applications for goods subject to Destination Inspection (DI), Zaji said, must carry the “BA” code, while those exempted shall include “CB” in the prefix of the numbering system of the e-Form ‘M’.

    Importers intending to make payments for goods exempted under the D I scheme, the government said, would not be allowed to do so in the Foreign Exchange Market, except there is a prior approval from the CBN.

    Importers are also advised to ensure that the e-Form ‘M’ and the relevant pro-forma invoice carry a proper description of goods to be imported to facilitate price verification as follows:

    • Generic product name i.e. product type, category:

    • Mark or brand name of the product, where applicable;

    • Model name and/or model or reference number, where applicable;

    • Description of the quality, grade, specification, capacity, size, performance, etc;

    • Quantity and packaging and/or packing.

    The letter said the e-Form ‘M’ would be valid for importation if it is acceptable to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS).

    Authorised dealers were therefore, advised to confirm registration of the e-Form ‘M’ from Customs before proceeding with other import processes.

    Where import items such as food, drinks, cosmetics, drugs, medical devices, chemicals are required for health or environmental reasons, the new law demands that such items must carry Expiry Dates or the shelf life.

    A minimum of half-shelf life of such products are necessary as at the time of importation and the active ingredients must be specified, where applicable.

    Electrical appliances such as fluorescent lamps, electric bulbs, electric irons and ties, the government said, must carry information on life performance while cables shall carry information on the ratings.

    All electronic equipment and instruments, the guideline stated, must carry the following:

    • Instructions Manual;

    • Safety information and or safety signs;

    • A guaranty/warranty of at least six months.

    Importation of blank products by any importer is no longer allowed as such goods would be seized and destroys by Customs without warning, and the importer if arrested, would be prosecuted.

  • Agents complain of ‘low business’

    The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) at Idiroko border is unhappy with what it calls “low business”.

    Its Chairman, Mr Timothy Ayokunle Abel, said smuggling at the border was killing business.

    He said: “The border is virtually operating at snail speed due to the porosity of the area. Furthermore, most of the revenue yielding cargoes and imported vehicles are being divided to bush part through the aid of security agencies. This has an unsalutary effect on revenue generation from the command.”

  • Amosun to support freight forwarders

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has praised the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), for developing the maritime industry.

    Speaking when a delegation of NAGAFF visited him at the state secretariat in Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, the state capital, Amosun said he was delighted at the presentation by the delegation on the benefits of the Olokola Free Trade Zone, adding that he would support the body.

    He said the presentation showed the depth of NAGAFF’s knowledge about the industry and the seriousness of its members in the moving the industry forward. He assured investors that his government would encourage the development of all mode of transportation to boost the business of supply chain, and thanked NAGAFF for opening new frontiers in the discourse about the Olokola FTZ, which opens to deep sea water.

    In his presentation, the National President of NAGAFF, Chief Eugene Nweke told the governor that NAGAFF chose Ogun State as the host of its Annual General Meeting to shift the world’s attention to the economic benefits of the Olokola FTZ, which is complemented by specialised Ogun Rail Industrial FTZ and the Ogun Guandong FTZ.

    To harness the potential of the FTZ, Chief Nweke advised the Ogun State Government to pursue the acquisition of a certificate of status and recognition as an Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) from the Nigeria Customs Service by incorporating and using a subsidiary of the Olokola FTZ to pursue large scale importation using the FTZ to warehouse such import.

    Governor Amosun delivered the keynote address, while Prof Iyiola Oni of the University of Lagos was the guest lecturer.

  • Nigeria Customs Service has redeployed its senior officers

    A total of 18 officers, including seven Area Controllers in Lagos command were affected in the exercise which caught many of them unawares.

    In the Lagos commands, Comptroller Othman Saleh from the Seme command has been moved to Tariff and Trade (T and T) at the Customs headquarters in Abuja while Egbudin Willy from Lilypond command replaces Othman.

    Also, Isah T.M., who was in charge of T and T now takes over from Willy Egbudin at Lilypond command.

    Others affected in the shake-up include Ukaigbe P.C., who has been transferred from Post Clearance Audit (PCA) in Zone ‘A’ to the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) command while Abubakar B now takes charge of PCA.

    Similarly Ndalati G.G.M moved from MMIA to FCT. Also,  Alali G.C has been redeployed to head the Ikorodu Command of the service while Gambo D.S is now in charge of Lagos Industrial.

    Outside the Lagos commands of the service, Adesanya K.O. moved from CSS on promotion to Edo Delta command, while Controller of Sokoto, Kebbi and Zamfara command. Mr. Akande Bamidele, has been move to Cross Rivers, Akwa Ibom Command.

    Maitama K.I. is now the Controller of Kogi, Kwara, Niger while Haruna M. moved from FCT to Ogun State command.

    Legg Jack, A.E.; head PCA headquarters while Abbas M. has been drifted to head Sokoto, Kebbi, Zamfara command.

    Kashim Ajiya now heads Enugu, Anambra, Ebonyi command while Usman S.M. is in charge of Mechanic and Dada O.O has been moved to the Customs headquarters.

    Finally,Okpe S. O. has been transferred from Edo, Delta command to Zone A headquarters.

    Sources at the Seme border said, smugglers and importers who were hitherto carrying out their illegal activities unrestricted before Othman was posted to the command in September last year, became handicapped because of the logistics he put in place.

    Othman, sources said, caused the smugglers sleepless nights by always stopping the movement of their cargoes from entering the country because they violated the Federal Government’s laws on import.

    A security official who spoke with The Nation under the condition of anonymity said many cargoes were stopped by Othman from entering the country about two weeks ago because of what he called discrepancies in document.

    When contacted, the National Cordinator,Trans Border Association of Nigeria (TBTAN), Alhaji Mikky Okunola confirmed the story.

    Okunola said Othman prevented many cargoes from entering the country because the importers failed to meet government laws.

    He said perpetrators of anti economic businesses in the area did not like Othman.

    Okunola said many of the importers who engaged in shady businesses had problem with Othman because some of them thought they could pass the eagle eyes of the former Area Comptroller.

    Othman, Okunola said, resumes office as early as 8.am and attends to every document submitted to his office for the release of cargo, and ensured that nobody was allowed to bring any goods into the country without following the Federal Government laws on imports and duty payable.

    “Under his watch, the command implemented the federal government’s laws diligently. Unarguably, the command recorded unprecedented tightening of the border against the influx of prohibited items with full deployment of the available customs manpower and logistics in compliance with the government law,” Okunola said.

    The Customs Public Relations officer of the command, Mr Ernest Olottah said Othman delivered on the core Customs responsibilities such as collecting and accounting for all revenue due to the government; preventing the smuggling of prohibited items and commodities into and out of the country; facilitating legitimate trade and promoting national security in the course of discharging his functions.

    “As a well trained senior officer, he deployed tact, inter agency cooperation, improved customs community relation and necessary enforcement in achieving government’s objectives. He also promoted government’s diplomatic ties with Benin Republic through regular interface and cordial coexistence with his counterpart in the Benin Republic,” Olottah said.

  • Four suspected pirates for trial

    The four suspected pirates, who hijacked an oil vessel, MT Norte, car-rying 17,000 metric tons of Petrol Motor Spirit (PMS) in the Gulf of Guinea on August 15, will soon be presented to appropriate quarters for prosecution.

    Speaking with reporters during his tour of some facilities of the Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta State, the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba, said the Navy had concluded investigation on the suspects.

    The vessel was saved by five naval gunboats and NNS OBULA from the Central and Western Naval Command on August 17.

    In the rescue operation, 12 of the 16 sea pirates were allegedly killed in a gun duel and four others were arrested.

    Giving an insight into how the ship was rescued, the Flag Officer Commanding the Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Sidi-Ali Hassan, said in Yenagoa that upon receiving the report, the Navy alerted NNS Andoni and NNS Ikot Abasi.

    Six gun boats and NNS Delta in Warri and the Naval operation base in Egweama, Brass in Yenagoa were deployed in the rescue operation.

    Hassan said: “Eight NN vessels were used in pursuit of the hijacked MT Norte with 16 suspected pirates on board. The participating ships eventually shadowed the hijacked vessel and forced her back into Nigerian waters.”

  • ‘Foreigners dominate oil trade’

    Only 60 of the 600 vessels in the upstream oil sector are owned by indigenous operators, the General Secretary of the Indigenous Shipowners Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Captain Niyi Labinjo, has said.

    He told The Nation that a vessel on offshore operations makes about $5,000 daily, saying it is the least amount made by a foreign vessel doing business in Nigeria.

    He said because of the lack of indigenous ships, the country loses about N2 trillion yearly.

    “We have plenty of hydrocarbons. As at today, it is 37 billion barrels, but our government is working towards making it to 40 billion barrels. That is our proven reserves. We are said to be the 10th world producer of oil. The world uses 84 million barrels per day of oil and Nigeria produces 2.5 million barrels every day. For gas, we have 24 trillion reserves.

    “We have the best shrimps in the world, called tiger shrimps. That is why you have many Indian fishing companies in Nigeria. All the tiger shrimps are exported. We import into Nigeria every five million metric tonnes of cargo and 100 million metric tonnes of goods. We also import 65 million litres of petroleum products every year.

    “In the oil and gas industry, Nigeria has about 500 oil wells. For each well, there is a rig, which is supported by a minimum of five ships, and they are called oil support vessels.”

    He said a foreign ship earns $5,000 while others earn N150,000 per day.

  • Farmers challenge govt on smuggling

    Farmers challenge govt on smuggling

    The Chairman, Rice Farmers Association of Nigeria (RIFAN), Southwest Zone, Mr Olusegun Atho, has said unless smuggling is tackled, the policy on imported rice will yield no result.

    He identified smuggling as the major factor that would hinder the ban on the imported commodity, just as it had adverse effect on local rice production.

    According to him, “Government needs to come out and deal with the issue of smuggling, in order to encourage local growers.”

    The Federal Government recently announced the plan to ban rice importation by 2014, in order to develop local production of the commodity.

    But, Atho said in Lagos, that government needed to provide incentives to farmers to become self-sufficient in rice production.

    He also advised government to put in place proactive measures to meet the country’s rice demand before banning imported rice.

    Butresing the association’s stand, he said: “I don’t see any reality in this 2014 deadline. Not until when necessary machinery is put in place should government ban imported rice.

    “Government should equip farmers with the necessary tools, including tractors, organic fertilisers and give adequate training to farmers.”

    The RIFAN chairman also advised the government to provide adequate funding by way of grants or loans to farmers.

    “These factors are very important and must be put into consideration, before the proposed ban.

    “If these things are not in place, the ban cannot be realistic. Until when government begins to do something about it, that is when we can see the seriousness.”

    Atho also appealed to the government to construct more dams and provide mini-pumping machines for farmers to prepare them for irrigation farming as well as introduce modern rice production technology.

    “If government can provide all these to farmers, that is when government can boast of self-sustainability,” he said.

  • Fed Govt revokes N270b destination inspection contract

    Fed Govt revokes N270b destination inspection contract

    The Federal Government has revoked the over N270 billion contracts for Destination Inspection (DI) at the ports.

    It has directed the multinational agencies handlling the job to hand over their equipment and offices at the seaports, airports and border stations to the Customs, The Nation learnt.

    The contract was awarded about eight years ago to the service providers.

    The service providers, which included SGS, Global Scan and Cotecna, provided the scanners  to check the risk status of goods coming into the country.

    The initial seven years’ contract was extended by six months by President Goodluck Jonathan on December 31, last year and extended for another six months last June.

    With the government’s directive, the Customs is now in charge of imports and exports procedures.

    Sources told The Nation that the government refused to renew the over N270 billion contracts for the service providers, following the failure of some of the service providers to pay tax on their earnings.

    When contacted, the National Public Relations Officer of Customs, Wale Adeniyi said, officers and men of the Service have been undergoing training over the years in preparation for the eventual take-over, adding that they were fully prepared to carry out the important responsibility at the seaports, airports and border stations.

    He said the NCS would manage the inspection processes such as: Processing of the electronic Form M; Issuance of the Pre Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) to replace the Risk Assessment Report (RAR) formally issued by the Service Providers.

    He listed others as control of scanning equipment and operations and deployment of a robust risk management system developed by the Nigeria Customs Service in consultation with partner agencies.

    To facilitate trade, Adeniyi said Customs has adopted the Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR).

    He said a state-of-the-art ruling centre has been put in place for the issuance of PAAR in Abuja. The centre, he said, has the following features: a world-class data centre with disaster recovery plan; a robust Internet Connectivity with backup, a dedicated power supply backed up with two units 1000 KVA, and a 350 trained officers working round the clock in three shifts

    Adeniyi explaimed that it would also have a web-based system, using recent technologies to ensure a faster and more accurate service and generate PAAR not later than five working days for shipments by sea and two working days for shipments by air/land after receipt of documents (based on Import guidelines).

    He said, the trade information portal, www.nigeria tradehub.gov.ng has proven to be a platform that puts information at the disposal of all actors in the trade chain.

    Stakeholders, who spoke with The Nation on the new role given to Customs, said it was a welcome development. They however blamed the Federal Government for extending the contracts twice within a year when it knew that the contract has failed some of its objectives.

    The National President Association of Nigerian Lisenced Customs Agents (ANLCA), Alhaji Olayiwola Shittu, said the extension was unnecessary in the first place because the Customs, according to him, has all it takes to do the job, adding that more Nigerians could have been employed by Customs.

    Shittu, however, advised Customs to train more Nigerians, get good scanners and make provision for uninterrupted power supply for them to succeed in their exercise.

    “Customs should not forget that some people somewhere, may not want them to succeed and that is why they need to employ fresh graduates from the university and give them training and retraining them,” Shittu said.