The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • Ports reform: Govt cedes 60% equity to investors

    Ports reform: Govt cedes 60% equity to investors

    THE Federal Government has ceded 60 per cent equity to investors interested in developing new ports in partnership with it.

    The General Manager, Public Affairs of the Nigerian Ports authority (NPA), Captain Iheanacho Ebubeogu, said the arrangement would boost investors’morale and confidence in the sector.

    Ebubeogu, who spoke on the ongoing reforms at the seaports, said in building new ports through Public-Private Partnership, the Authority has developed a structure that would ensure commitment to the project.

    He said: “We have a structure where the prospective investors come up with 60 per cent of the cost of building the ports and the state where the port is domiciled takes 20 per cent and the Nigerian Ports Authority on behalf of the government, takes the remaining 20 per cent.

    “The importance of making the investor come with 60 per cent, is that he must be sure that his outline business case is genuine and not going to turn the project into a white elephant. In most cases, if we leave the government to bring all the money, we may have problem of deciding where it should be located and its location becomes political and that will mean putting down money down the drain.

    Ebubeogu learnt over time that a businessman who is profit-oriented must put down his 60 per cent if he is sure that his outline business case should be viable, then we shall join him.

    ‘’That is one of the advantages of that structure. The second one is that we will have the business component and attitude on how the port will be run we will get efficiency and everything that is expected of the port.”

    On infrastructure, Iheanacho said though the NPA was not yet there, it is focused on addressing two key issues. He said the youngest of the ports that the Authority have was built 30 years ago, adding: “We have just celebrated the centenary of Port Harcourt Port.”

    He continued: “There is what is called assumed design of the port and that is in response to the size of ships years back, but today ship owners are responding to the economies of scale by bringing bigger ships. So, what we are doing is modernising what we have to cope with the limit of the assumed design of the ports and venturing into building new ports, deep seaports with deeper drafts for vessels.

    “It has two advantages, one is we will achieve making Nigeria the hub for West and Central Africa because the type of ships that will come there are those that will carry about 14,000 TEU (20-foot Equivalent Unit), a term used to measure a ship’s cargo-carrying capacity.

    ‘’Secondly, the cost of maintaining those ports will be reduced because the distance of the channels will be shorter and therefore, dredging cost, marking cost and all other encumbrances that make up the overhead will be drastically reduced.”

    On corruption at the ports, he said it cuts across all agencies at the ports. “If you look at the port, it assumes two responsibilities. It has the supply chain component where the ports terminals and shipping companies belong. The port is also an international border post-led Customs and what everybody is doing is to ensure that we make the port to be electronically operated, to be ICT operated. With that we try to reduce to the barest minimum person-to-person contact that gives rise to corruption. If there is no person-to-person contact, corruption is drastically reduced. The NPA also has an anti-corruption committee and Servicom headed by a general manager and I’m sure other agencies such as Customs are doing the same. We try to ensure that we don’t compromise enforcement on the border posts.”

    Chairman of Ports Consultative Council, Mr Kunle Folarin, said the government would provide an enabling environment to ensure productivity and reduce the cost of doing business.

    “Besides, maritime security is also an arm of government and I think all these are being achieved. What we need to do more is to see that efforts are coordinated and all agencies of government are working to ensure that we arrive at the preferred destination,” he said adding that before the concession, infrastructure, productivity, security and modernisation of the ports are the issues that the NPA had to address.

    “But you can see that every aspect of these issues have been tackled. Certainly, the issue of infrastructure is being attacked,” he added.

     

  • Agric products, others top half year containerised export

    Agricultural produce,such as cocoa, sesame, cashew nuts, cotton and charcoal took a chunk of containerised commodities exported from Nigeria in the first half of this year.

    According to a trade report by Maersk Nigeria Limited, the volume of charcoal export rose by 76 per cent as of May, this year compared to the same period last year because of the longer winter in Europe.

    The report said finished produce export in May recorded 39 per cent year-on-year growth because of the streamlining of production activities by major manufacturing firms that made Nigeria their main production hub for the region.

    However, the finished produce export share still remains low from Nigeria, said the Managing Director of Maersk Nigeria Limited and Head, Central West Africa Cluster, Mr. Jan Thorhauge.

    He said as of May, this year, the containerised import market to Nigeria was estimated to have ended 159,000 FFE (40-foot equivalent units) compared with the same period last year, which produced an estimated volume of 155,000 FFE representing a relatively marginal year on year growth of about two percent.

    Thorhauge noted that the East Nigerian market maintained its superior performance over the West in terms of growth in volume ratio with a yearly growth ratio of 10 per cent on import and one percent on export.

    He said: “Not much has changed as the containerised market in Nigeria continues to be strongly dominated by imports, and for the last six years, the import/export ratio has remained at around 92 per cent import as against eight percent export.”

    Thorhauge said most of the country’s containerised cargoe came from the Far East, mostly China, while most of its export commodities went to Europe.

    He said: “The sourcing patterns have not changed fundamentally in the last six years, though imports from Europe and Middle East have experienced significant increase in the last two years.

    “Major products coming from the Middle East are industrial raw materials, chemicals, electronics, iron and steel and tyres while from Europe, major products include industrial raw materials, frozen fish and cars.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    The increased sourcing pattern can be attributed to better pricing from these regions, increase in the age limits of imported automobiles from five years to 10 years, increased construction as well as growing demands for finished products by the Nigerian populace, he said.

    He went on further to say that Nigeria’s export ratio can be improved upon if the government would be able to improve on infrastructure such as power supply, road network and rail services.

    The dominant items imported into the country, according to the report, have remained the same over the past six years and are made up of traditional commodities including cars, electronics, construction materials, food items, chemicals, electrical fittings, machinery and paper, among other goods covering industrial as well as private needs.

    He said: “We are quite optimistic that the import market in Nigeria will grow by about 6-8 percent for the second half of 2013. The export market is subject to harvest conditions and global market prices, but we foresee an increase of about eight percent for the rest of the year.

    “Forecasting in general in Nigeria remains a challenge and 2013 is no different. The market development will as always depend heavily on unpredictable macro-economic factors as well as stable oil prices and oil production, security issues in Northern Nigeria, relative peace in Eastern Nigeria, government policies, exchange rate fluctuations for the naira, among others.

    He said that most of the terminals in Nigeria have made major investments in the early parts of the year 2013 in terms of infrastructure, container handling equipment and terminal management software stating that these investments, along with the dampened market, have resulted in reduction in Port congestion.

    “APMT Apapa has in early 2013 initiated the final phase of their expansion plans, and both TICT and Ports and Cargo Handling Services are today operating almost entirely with RTG’s (rubber tired gantry cranes) which has dramatically increased the yard capacity. The average dwell time days (the time spent between a container being discharged and leaving the terminal) has also gone down by around 40 per cent.

    “Irrespective of these improvements, it is expected that the terminal capacity in Lagos ports will be fully utilized within the next 4-5 years, and it is essential that steps are taken to find new terminal capacity in order to keep up with Nigeria’s economic growth. Poor road infrastructure outside the terminals and lacking rail services also remain a concern,” he added.

     

  • Firm denies N486m monthly income from NIMASA

    Firm denies N486m monthly income from NIMASA

    The Global West Vessel Specialist Limited (GWVSL) has dismissed claims by some operators that it earns N486 million monthly from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for providing platforms to combat crime on the waterways.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, its Managing Director, Winfred Itima, said what the company is paid by NIMASA depends on the revenue the agency collects monthly based on its intelligence reports, monitoring activities and the provision of platforms.

    He said there was no specific monthly remuneration due to his company because the contract stipulates that the company would only be paid if NIMASA surpasses the revenue benchmark it is expected to generate.

    At the end of every month, he said, NIMASA totals the revenue collected and gives his company 50 per cent of whatever amount that is over and above the benchmark. No official of the company, he said, could claim to know how much is due the company in a month because that depends on whatever NIMASA makes above its benchmark from which it determines how much should be paid Global West.

    He said there were months the company did not get anything from NIMASA because it could not surpass the benchmark, adding that in such situations, it went to the bank for loan to run its operations.

    Itima said Global West had met its part of the contract by providing the platforms needed for patrol, monitoring and other operations through bank facilities which run into several millions of dollars.

    Itima said although it was still servicing such facilities, it is also expecting three more platforms to enable it to cover the Port Harcourt area in the next three months. It is expected to get to Warri area in the next eight months.

    On where to access funds to finance acquisition of the new platforms, he said the cash would be facilitated through more bank loans, adding that the banks are willing to give the firm the loan because it has not defaulted in the payment of past loans.

     

  • Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    A group, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Im-porters and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), has berated the Federal Government for not allowing Nigerians to reap the benefits of the port concession carried out seven years ago.

    The group blamed the government and the concessionaires who took over the ports from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Customs for corruption, inefficiency and high cost of operations at the ports.

    The group, during an interaction with reporters in Lagos, said ports privatisation in other countries were done to benefit the economy, the citizens and successor companies, noting that the exercise had not benefited Nigerians except the few ‘money bags’ and foreigners who took over the ports from the NPA.

    Its National Coordinator, Comrade Chukwu Osita, told reporters that ports concession anywhere in the world is done with the primary aim to improve efficiency, bring about better port infrastructure and services with the attendant benefits to all parties. He noted that in Nigeria it is only the concessionaires that are benefiting while Nigerians continue to grapple with high cost of operations at the ports.

    He noted that the Federal Government actually had good intention towards the ports but failed to follow it through with the right appointments and policy implementation to ensure transparency and corruption-free operations in line with global best practices.

    Osita stated that President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation programmes in the Nigerian ports, which were meant to reposition the ports will not succeed because the system in place in the ports has been polluted with bribery and corruption. He said this has brought with it inefficiency and has made it unbearable for the stakeholders.

    He said that there are numerous challenges, which demand urgent attention by the government to save the ugly situation. Osita cited some of the issues to include the faulty Nigerian Custom Cargo Alert System, multiplicity of cargo clearance points and delays in the scanning of containers. He said scanning of containers by the Service Providers is delayed because the scanning companies deceived the government and brought in very old and refurbished equipments that break down often.

    Osita said there are infrastructural decay and maintenance neglect and IT failures in some of the Customs Commands while shipping companies delay service delivery. He said the issue of withholding of container deposits by shipping companies to the detriment of the clearing agents who might have taken the risk of getting loans from the banks to clear the goods for their principals is going on unabated.

    The group stated that unclean and unconducive ports environment, lack of provision of parking lots to enable stakeholders discharge their legitimate duties by the concessionaires, amendments and forgeries of vital documents and lack of equipments.

     

     

     

     

    Osita blamed the Federal Government for its inability to allow the Nigerian Shippers Council to perform its regulatory functions effectively saying this is impacting negatively on the Nigerian shippers adding there are lots of delays in documentation and movement of goods in the ports; even exited containers are not always allowed free flow by the Federal Operations Unit of the Nigeria Customs.

    He said that freight forwarders are made to pay too many taxes and those of them who dare to tell the public the true situation in the ports are witch-hunted by the Customs, their licences are blocked for minor reasons while issuing of new licences or renewal of old ones attract exorbitant fees.

    The group also blamed the government for ‘tactically’ ensuring that the Eastern ports at Calabar, Port Harcourt and Warri are underutilised thereby causing pains for importers who must have to use the often congested Lagos ports with its attendant problems to the importers. They advised the Federal Government to establish a Ministry of Ports and Customs which they believe will help in handling the issues concerning the ports better than what the Ministry of Transport is currently doing.

    They promised to unmask perpetrators of bribery and corruption in Nigerian seaports, Customs, Borders and Air Cargo Terminals very soon.

     

  • Agents bitter over high examination cost

    IMPORTERS and agents are complaining about the scan-ning of their cargoes because they are subjected to 100 per cent examination at Tin-can Island Container Terminal (TICT).

    The National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA) said the process makes their members pay more for consignments.

    Its National Secretary, Uchu Block, who spoke on behalf of the group, said TICT is worse than other terminals at Tin-Can.

    He noted that most goods scanned there are referred for physical examination resulting in about 10 days further delay.

    He cited what happened to him recently, saying a client imported a 20-foot container of completely knocked down (CKD) suit cases that came in through TICT.

    He said the container was routed for scanning and after it was done, the result showed that there was discrepancy because of the zip and other components of the item.

    He noted that the container spent extra 10 days at the port before physical examination was performed on it while his client had to pay N30,000 more than the duty on the consignment as terminal operator and shipping company charges.

     

  • Ship owners deplore govt’s failure to enforce Cabotage Act

    The Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria(ISAN) has deplored the Federal Government’s inability to enforce the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003 (Cabotage Act) to enable them participate in crude oil lifting.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, ISAN General Secretary Captain Niyi Labinjo urged the government to implement the law to give indigenous shipping companies opportunity to participate in oil business.

    The country, he said, exported about 2.5 million barrels of oil yearly, wondering why indigenous ship owners are not empowered to lift about 1.5 million barrels.

    The banks, the ISAN scribe said, were willing to give them loans if the government could give them appreciable quantity to carry.

    He gave the example of Brazil where the government approves about 700 agencies which issue certificate of compliance on local content.

    Labinjo said about five years ago, the government trained 200 cadets under the National Seafarers Development Programme. He noted that since there were not enough shipping companies to work with, the cadets have been jobless.

    He advised the government to provide enough funds for the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom, to enable the academy to produce skilful cadets for the nation.

    He, therefore, sought proper compliance with Nigerian Content Act and encouragement of the association to participate fully, in the cabotage regime.

    “We will continue to press the government. We’ll continue to make our views known about the need for proper compliance with cabotage; about the need for proper compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.” If I have a government that is insisting that this year out of the 2.5 million barrels of oil that Nigeria exports, 1.5 million barrels would be carried by Nigerian and they say ISAN take this 1.5 million barrels, go and carry it, we will gladly go to the bank; the bank will give us money and we will do it.

    “So if you now say what is our expectation then we will now say this year we will struggle to carry the one million the government has given to us and hopefully by next year, we will do 1.5 million barrels. That is the expectation.

    “That is what has happened in the case of Brazil. Their government insists that you must use local content and the government approves about 700 agencies which were issuing certificate of compliance on local content.

    “So if you are producing this locally and it is being used by the oil and gas sector, someone will intend to continue to do it,” he said.

     

  • Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    Fed Govt blamed for corruption in ports

    • Group seeks Ministry of Ports and Customs

     

    A group, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders, Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), has berated the Federal Government for not allowing Nigerians to reap the benefits of the port concession carried out seven years ago.

    The group blamed the government and the concessionaires who took over the ports from the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Customs for corruption, inefficiency and high cost of operations at the ports.

    The group, during an interaction with reporters in Lagos, said ports privatisation in other countries were done to benefit the economy, the citizens and successor companies, noting that the exercise had not benefited Nigerians except the few ‘money bags’ and foreigners who took over the ports from the NPA.

    Its National Coordinator, Comrade Chukwu Osita, told reporters that ports concession anywhere in the world is done with the primary aim to improve efficiency, bring about better port infrastructure and services with the attendant benefits to all parties. He noted that in Nigeria it is only the concessionaires that are benefiting while Nigerians continue to grapple with high cost of operations at the ports.

    He noted that the Federal Government actually had good intention towards the ports but failed to follow it through with the right appointments and policy implementation to ensure transparency and corruption-free operations in line with global best practices.

    Osita stated that President Goodluck Jonathan’s transformation programmes in the Nigerian ports, which were meant to reposition the ports will not succeed because the system in place in the ports has been polluted with bribery and corruption. He said this has brought with it inefficiency and has made it unbearable for the stakeholders.

    He said that there are numerous challenges, which demand urgent attention by the government to save the ugly situation. Osita cited some of the issues to include the faulty Nigerian Custom Cargo Alert System, multiplicity of cargo clearance points and delays in the scanning of containers. He said scanning of containers by the Service Providers is delayed because the scanning companies deceived the government and brought in very old and refurbished equipments that break down often.

    Osita said there are infrastructural decay and maintenance neglect and IT failures in some of the Customs Commands while shipping companies delay service delivery. He said the issue of withholding of container deposits by shipping companies to the detriment of the clearing agents who might have taken the risk of getting loans from the banks to clear the goods for their principals is going on unabated.

    The group stated that unclean and unconducive ports environment, lack of provision of parking lots to enable stakeholders discharge their legitimate duties by the concessionaires, amendments and forgeries of vital documents and lack of equipments.

  • Ship owners deplore govt’s failure to enforce Cabotage Act

    The Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria(ISAN) has deplored the Federal Government’s inability to enforce the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003 (Cabotage Act) to enable them participate in crude oil lifting.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, ISAN General Secretary Captain Niyi Labinjo urged the government to implement the law to give indigenous shipping companies opportunity to participate in oil business.

    The country, he said, exported about 2.5 million barrels of oil yearly, wondering why indigenous ship owners are not empowered to lift about 1.5 million barrels.

    The banks, the ISAN scribe said, were willing to give them loans if the government could give them appreciable quantity to carry.

    He gave the example of Brazil where the government approves about 700 agencies which issue certificate of compliance on local content.

    Labinjo said about five years ago, the government trained 200 cadets under the National Seafarers Development Programme. He noted that since there were not enough shipping companies to work with, the cadets have been jobless.

    He advised the government to provide enough funds for the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom, to enable the academy to produce skilful cadets for the nation.

    He, therefore, sought proper compliance with Nigerian Content Act and encouragement of the association to participate fully, in the cabotage regime.

    “We will continue to press the government. We’ll continue to make our views known about the need for proper compliance with cabotage; about the need for proper compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.” If I have a government that is insisting that this year out of the 2.5 million barrels of oil that Nigeria exports, 1.5 million barrels would be carried by Nigerian and they say ISAN take this 1.5 million barrels, go and carry it, we will gladly go to the bank; the bank will give us money and we will do it.

    “So if you now say what is our expectation then we will now say this year we will struggle to carry the one million the government has given to us and hopefully by next year, we will do 1.5 million barrels. That is the expectation.

    “That is what has happened in the case of Brazil. Their government insists that you must use local content and the government approves about 700 agencies which were issuing certificate of compliance on local content.

    “So if you are producing this locally and it is being used by the oil and gas sector, someone will intend to continue to do it,” he said.

  • Firm denies N486m monthly income from NIMASA

    The Global West Vessel Specialist Limited (GWVSL) has dismissed claims by some operators that it earns N486 million monthly from the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for providing platforms to combat crime on the waterways.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, its Managing Director, Winfred Itima, said what the company is paid by NIMASA depends on the revenue the agency collects monthly based on its intelligence reports, monitoring activities and the provision of platforms.

    He said there was no specific monthly remuneration due to his company because the contract stipulates that the company would only be paid if NIMASA surpasses the revenue benchmark it is expected to generate.

    At the end of every month, he said, NIMASA totals the revenue collected and gives his company 50 per cent of whatever amount that is over and above the benchmark. No official of the company, he said, could claim to know how much is due the company in a month because that depends on whatever NIMASA makes above its benchmark from which it determines how much should be paid Global West.

    He said there were months the company did not get anything from NIMASA because it could not surpass the benchmark, adding that in such situations, it went to the bank for loan to run its operations.

    Itima said Global West had met its part of the contract by providing the platforms needed for patrol, monitoring and other operations through bank facilities which run into several millions of dollars.

    Itima said although it was still servicing such facilities, it is also expecting three more platforms to enable it to cover the Port Harcourt area in the next three months. It is expected to get to Warri area in the next eight months.

    On where to access funds to finance acquisition of the new platforms, he said the cash would be facilitated through more bank loans, adding that the banks are willing to give the firm the loan because it has not defaulted in the payment of past loans.

  • Service providers’ contract extended

    The contract for the six pre-shipment inspection agents(PIAs) for the exportation of petroleum products has been extended by one year by the Federal Government. The government also appointed two monitoring agents to oversee the operations of the six PIAs.

    According to a circular from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the issue, the contract extension expected began from June 7, 2013 to the same period next year.

    The circular signed by Batari Musa, the Director in charge of Trade and Investment, with reference number: TED/FEM/FPC/GEN/01/012, dated May 4, 2013 on the appointment of additional Pre-shipment Inspection Agents for oil and gas export under the Nigerian Export Supervision Scheme (NESS), said authorised dealers and the public are hereby informed that the Federal Government has extended the contract for the under-listed pre-shipment Inspection Agents (PIAs) for a period of twelve months with effect from June 7, 2013.”

    According to the circular, while Globalscan Systems Technology Limited is to handle Qua Iboe, Bonny and Pennington terminals, JBIS Integrated Resources Limited has been allocated Akpo, Agbami, Erha Bonga and EA terminals and Robinson International Energy Limited is expected to handle terminals at Yoho, Brass Oyo, Antan, Oso Ebok and Okono.

    Similarly, Trobel International Nigeria Limited got Okwori, Okoro, Ukpokiti, Escravos and Obe, while Candid Oil Services Limited is expected to handle Abo, Usan, Forcados,Tulja, Odudu and Ima; and Gulf Inspection Services Limited (GIS) is to take charge of all gas terminals.

    The two monitoring agents, Messrs Arlington Securitas Limited and Swede Control Intertek Limited will oversee JBIS Integrated Resources Limited, Trobel International Nigeria Limited; Gulf Inspection Services Limited (GIS) and Robinson International Energy Limited; Globalscan Systems Technology Limited and Candid Oil Services Limited.

    The circular noted that “all authorised dealers, oil and gas exporters and the general public to take note of the provision of the circular for compliance”.