The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • Waivers as economic waste?

    The huge losses from tax incentives the country has recorded over the years have made stakeholders in the maritime sector to question the propriety of continuous tax waivers granted operators in the blue economy. Besides, they are concerned about how some operators influence Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), MUYIWA LUCAS writes.

    THE damning verdict from Oxfam, an international non-governmental organisation (NGO), that 30 per cent of companies in the country evade tax, initially did not sink into the audience which gathered at the launch of two reports – Fair Tax Monitor Index and the Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index in Abuja.

    However, when the Oxfam in Nigeria Country Director, Constant Tchona, added that Nigeria loses about $2.9 billion (about N580 billion) yearly to tax waivers granted multinational firms, the audience attention was caught.

    “The fiscal incentives granted with the hope of stimulating investments into the country’s economy are eroded with poor governance and lack of transparency, especially when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has confirmed that there is no cost-benefit analysis to justify the exemptions,” Tchona said in his presentation.

    In their AfriHeritage Research paper of 2017, titled: “Tax Waivers for Multi-Nationals in Nigeria (MNC): Are These Based on Economic or Political Reasoning?’’ Dr. Hakeem Onapajo, of the Department of Political Science and International Relations, Nile University of Nigeria, Abuja, submitted that the system of tax waivers had been a conduit for MNCs to evade taxes and perpetuate corruption.

    The duo observed that tax incentives, especially to multinational firms, were offered on the notion that they would encourage foreign investments and promote growth. The researchers further said statistics from the Ministry of Finance and international development agencies provoke some pertinent questions. For example, former Minister of Finance Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the country lost N170.74 billion to various tax waivers between 2011 and 2013 alone.

    In the sector, foreign vessels have continued to enjoy several waivers put in place for their operations. This is as a result of the failure of local ship owners to compete favourably with them.

    Worried by this development, and after years of loss of jobs and businesses by indigenous vessel owners to their foreign counterparts, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)  rolled out plans to enable it end the granting of waivers to foreign vessels participating in Cabotage trade, reserved for Nigerians. NIMASA’s action is in line with the provisions of the Act, which reserved coastal trade for Nigerians to fly Nigerian flag.

    The industry regulator determined to reduce waivers, said it would grow capacity in ship building by encouraging the establishment of shipyards; creating affordable credit facilities to enable Nigerians acquire vessels; tax incentives for importing built vessels and building qualified Nigerian seafarers.

    “The tax regime makes it impossible for Nigerian ship owners to compete with their foreign counterparts. For instance, foreigners bring in vessels for a short period and they have a special tax regime that enable them pay little to nothing for their vessels to work and live in Nigeria. Whereas, a Nigerian is charged a full range of tax applicable (14 percent), making it near impossible for their Nigerian vessels to compete,” the Director-General of NIMASA, Dakuku Peterside, explained at a stakeholders conference in Lagos sometime ago.

    Tax holiday vs statutory levies

    Another grey area NIMASA is aiming to cancel waivers is in its financial dealings with the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG). It is imperative to draw the line between NLNG’s tax holiday and  NIMASA’s levies. NIMASA levies have nothing to do with the NLNG tax holiday. The 10-year tax holiday was a pioneer period incentive in the manner of similar relief to pioneer companies under the Industrial Development (Income Tax Relief) Act and pertains specifically to income tax. NLNG pays Companies Income Tax and Tertiary Education Tax, which are the heads of corporate income taxes recognised under Nigeria’s laws since the end of the tax relief period.

    However, NIMASA is empowered to collect statutory levies accruable to the agency, including the three percent levy on gross freight on inbound and outbound international cargo; two percent Cabotage levy and Sea Protection levy. Section 15(a) of the NIMASA Act 2007 stipulates: “The agency shall be funded by monies accruing to the agency from the following sources: three per cent of gross freight on all international inbound and outbound cargo from ships or shipping companies operating in Nigeria to be collected and paid over to the agency to meet its operational cost.”

    Section 2(2) of the Act states that exemptions are only granted to “war ships and military patrol ships”. NIMASA argues that NLNG vessels do not fall within those exempted from the levies and that the tax holiday granted it was time-bound. Therefore, according to NIMASA, the NLNG was not exempted from payments of statutory levies after its tax holiday ended.

    “NIMASA has portfolios of statutory revenues that it collects from shipping companies/ship operators, manning agents and seafarers. This, the agency pays into the coffers of the government,” said the agency.

    Conflicting Acts

    The NLNG/NIMASA saga began in 2007, when the maritime regulator expected NLNG to start paying levies. By NIMASA’s calculation, NLNG’s tax holiday lapsed in 2007. NLNG saw no sense in NIMASA’s claim. As far as it is concerned, the Act setting it up exempts it from NIMASA’s levies.

    The NLNG Act 2004 predates the NIMASA Act 2007. Section 7(7) of the NLNG Act 2004 states: “No export duties, taxes, or other duties, levies, charges, or imposts of a similar nature shall be payable or imposed on the exports of liquefied natural gas or other hydrocarbons produced by the company.”

    In furtherance of the conflict in the both Acts, paragraph 3, Schedule 2 of the NLNG Act states: “Neither the company nor its stakeholders shall in any way be subject to new laws, regulations, taxes, duties, imposts or charges of whatever nature which are not applicable generally to companies incorporated in Nigeria.”

    Yet, according to NIMASA Act 2007, it has the right to collect levies from ships and small ships “registered in Nigeria and also from ships, small ships and crafts flying a foreign flag in the exclusive economic zone, territorial and inland seas, inland waterways and in the ports of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”. This, to stakeholders, is where the bone of contention lies.

    NLNG vs NIMASA

    NIMASA has continued to argue that the incentives granted NLNG, are not meant to be in perpetuity. The agency points at Section 2 of the NLNG Act, which limits the tax holiday of the company to 10 years or when the cumulative average sales price of the liquefied natural gas reaches $3 in million metric British Thermal Units (MMBTU). NIMASA said its market intelligence shows that as at January 2004, which was the fifth anniversary of the production of the NLNG, the milestone for the expiration of the exemption period had been surpassed by 200 per cent.

    Now, with the ruling of a Lagos Court of Appeal on March 29, 2019, in favour of NIMASA, a fresh round of legal tussle may be on the horizon.

    What next?

    Peterside, in commending the ruling of the appellate court, said it has reaffirmed confidence in the judiciary.

    “This judgment has further shown that the judiciary is unbiased and remains a beacon of hope for Nigerians. On our part as a responsible government agency, we will continue to work closely with the judiciary and other stakeholders to ensure that we realise our mandate of creating a robust maritime sector in line with best global practices,” Peterside said.

    For over 30 days, the NLNG did not respond to The Nation’s enquiries on the matter. After an unanswered phone call and text message to Elkanah Chawai, Senior Media Relations Officer, External Relations Division, NLNG, an electronic mail was sent to him on July 26, which he acknowledged receiving three days later.

    On August 4, a reminder sent to  Chawai was responded to on August 9. He appealed to be given more time to reply. He has not done so as at the time of going to press.

  • SOAN chief urges Nigerians on ship building

    The Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) President, Dr. George Onyung, has urged Nigerians to seek ways to increase their ship building capacity.

    Onyung charged Nigerians to take advantage of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)’s ban on substandard ships and prove themselves in the subsector.

    In an interview at the weekend in Lagos, he lamented that Nigerians were still perceived as ‘participants’ and ‘stakeholders’ in a lucrative business they should be ranked first.

    He said SOAN would, henceforth, adopt some measures to boost capacity of Nigerains in the subsector.

    Onyung lauded NIMASA for its five-phase cessation of waivers, stressing that the gesture would open a new window of investment for the country, as well as significant employment opportunities.

    He assured that ship owners would synergise with the agency and others to ensure that NIMASA midwifed the initiative.

    The SOAN chief said shipowners had decided to entrench a culture of proactive capacity building and acquisition, adding that it was the most vibrant approach towards taking the country to the next level.

    He said  if Singapore, which has no steel rolling mills, builds ships, Nigeria can, adding: ‘’Rome was not built in a day; but we also know it was not built in a million years!”

    Onyung said if Norway, who yearly had her waters frozen for eight months, still owned as much as about 20 percent of internationally trading ships, then Nigeria with fresh waters all through the year has no excuse for not committing to serious manpower development and ship acquisition.

    He said ship owners were determined to assist in the implementation of the Cabotage Act.

    “Our Cabotage Law has been with us for 15 years; we’ll see it as a contribution to ensuring that we open the doors for people to understand what cabotage really means and the opportunities in it. We must have both ship building and ship repair yard in Nigeria. There is need to open up for acquisition. Within the next five years, the Nigeria Content will be in the region of $3.5 billion.

    He announced an exhibition to be held by the association with the theme: “The ocean blue economy and national development”.

    Tagged as “The Lagos International Shipping Expo”, the exhibition, he said, is scheduled to hold on November 27 and 28 at the Oriental Hotel.

    It is aimed at exposing Nigerians to utilise the resources of the ocean for sustainability.

    The upcoming conference would open opportunities for no-Nigerains to collaborate toward ship building opportunities in Nigeria,” Onyung added.

  • Port Concession an impediment to eastern ports’ development?

    At the last week’s House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee Public hearing, the Nigeria Ports Authority was fingered as being responsible for the underutilisation of eastern ports, reports MUYIWA LUCAS.

    The port reform agenda was well thought out, or so it seemed. Therefore, when the Federal Government  opted to concession the ports in 2006, it was heralded as one initiative that would make the seaports more efficient, effective and attract more cargoes.

    Obviously taking pride in the growth that followed this process, in terms of cargo inflow, resulting in an all-time high of 84.9 million metric tonnes in 2014, the sharp slump in cargo inflow throughput to the lowest volume of 35.9 million metric tonnes in 2018 left many wondering as to the type of economic growth this was. Certainly, this development was an anti-climax for an industry that is regarded as having the capability to compete with the oil sector in terms of revenue generation.

    Lagos Ports at breaking point

    The failure to achieve at least an average capacity utilisation of the eastern ports, has no doubt contributed to the hardship being experienced in Lagos ports of Apapa and Tin Can. This perhaps explains why the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, described the two port complexes as being “overwhelmed and attained breaking points.”

    Gbajabiamila regretted that the Lagos ports were overstretched beyond their capacities and needed the support of other ports for ease of doing business. However, for various reasons, the Speaker’s dream of the eastern ports complementing Lagos ports may, for the time being, remain mere wishful thinking.

    Capacity, dredging issues, and blame game

    For many, the question to be asked, is “why the  inland port complexes in Warri, Calabar, Onitsha, Port Harcourt and Onne failed to provide alternative or even consummate services to aid decongestion of the Lagos ports complexes?”  

    A stakeholder in the industry of over 25 years blamed the situation on some of the concessionaires, who he accused of not having the capacity to attract growth to the port con-cessioned to them. The stakeholder, who craved for anonymity, said the concession agreements needed to be made more open for stakeholders to see and understand so as to know when and where anyone is acting in breach. He further revealed that aside shallow depths, concessionaires made no move to open talks with shippers on why their ports should be used.

    The source further revealed that lack of critical equipment for cargo handling is the bane of ports in the East.

    Besides, the NPA was also accused of being a landlord, operator and regulator, whereas no one regulates the authority in its dealings with concessionaires. The source said the NPA, through its failure to fulfil the government’s aspect of the concession agreement, such as maintaining common use facilities — access roads, power, pilotage — and other responsibilities, has made operation a difficult one for concessionaires.

    He said with the global industry embracing bigger vessels with capacity for carrying 20,000 Tonnes Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers, at once, there was an urgent need for the constant clearing of the water channels and dredging to accommodate such bigger vessels. Wrecks in the belly of waters leading to eastern ports have been impeding navigation along that area.

    “It is sad that despite the reported increased revenue by the NPA, the authority has not done much in the area of dredging for ease of navigation. Contracts awarded by NPA were given to incompetent firms on the grounds of suspected political patronage and some have led to ongoing litigation, “ the source said.

    Mr. Christian Holm, managing director of Hull Blyth Nigeria Limited, agreed that Nigeria seaports lacked the capacity to handle bigger vessels because of infrastructure decay.  He said the ports were far from being modernised and incapable of accommodating bigger vessels and process cargoes in good time, noting that poorly-developed ports would attract smaller vessels and increase cost of shipping.

    But NPA Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala-Usman said the authority had dredged Escravos Channel leading to Delta ports from 3.4 to seven meters to accommodate bigger vessels.

    Represented at the public hearing by the NPA Executive Director in charge of Engineering and Technical Services, Idris Abubakar, an engineer, Ms Usman said the Escravos Channel was last dredged 35 years ago before her administration embarked on it.

    She further revealed that aside reduction in terminal charges to encourage patronage of the ports, her administration had embarked on corporate social responsibility to alleviate the plights of host communities and encourage entrepreneurship. She told the lawmakers that the distances from fairway buoys in eastern ports were much longer than that of Lagos ports and would require vessels in eastern ports to deploy more fuel and spend more time before berthing. Ms Usman added that the breakwater in Warri Port had given way while roads leading to the ports in various parts of the country required attention of the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing.

    The many troubles of eastern ports

    But for the President, Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria, Paul Ogbuokiri, the underutilisa-tion of the eastern ports has, to a large extent, become a disadvantage to the gains the country ought  to reap from the port concession programme. He regretted that the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports had been experiencing traffic congestion due to increasing cargo throughput, occasioned by the 2006 port reform carried out by the Federal Government. Ogbuokiri submitted that inactivity and or underutilisation of the five seaports and the Ontisha River Port that make up the eastern ports was the reason for the over utilisation of Lagos seaports.

    In his paper at the public hearing, Ogbuokiri noted that if the eastern ports, comprising Warri Port and Koko Port (otherwise known as Delta Ports Complex); Port Harcourt Port, Onne Port and Calabar Port and the Ontisha River Port, were fully functional, there wouldn’t be gridlock, logistics-cum cargo congestion at Lagos ports.

    He said it was worthy to note that the Nigerian Civil War, government preference of Lagos ports for the importation of certain goods, insurgency-cum host community sabotage and past NPA management’s lip-service to dredging port channels and upgrading of old port infrastructure were key factors that had made it impossible for the country to maximise the use of eastern ports.

    “So, as the names of the eastern ports are different, so are their challenges; some related, some unrelated,” Ogbuokiri noted.

    He is right. The eastern ports, after the port concession in 2006, consist of 15 terminals: Port Harcourt Terminal A, concessioned to Ports & Terminal Operators Nigeria Limited; Port Harcourt Terminal B, concessioned to Bua Ports & Terminals Limited; Onne FOT A, concessioned to Intels Nigeria Limited; Onne FLT A, concessioned to Brawal Oil Services Limited; Onne FLT B, concessioned to Intels Nigeria Limited; Jetty FOT, Onne; conces-sioned to Atlas Cement Company Limited; Calabar New Terminal A, concessioned to Intels Nigeria Limited; Calabar New Terminal B, concessioned to Ecomarine; Calabar New Terminal C, concessioned to Addax Logistics Nigeria Limited; Warri Old Terminal A, concessioned to Intels Nigeria Limited; Warri Old Port Terminal B, concessioned to Associated Maritime Services Limited.

    Others are Warri New Terminal A, concessioned to Global Infrastructure Nigeria Limited; Warri New Terminal B, Concessioned to Intels Nigeria Limited; Warri Terminal C, con-cessioned to Julius Berger Plc and Koko Terminal, formally conces-sioned to Gulftainer Limited, now Sifax Group for 25 years. The Onitsha River Port is yet to be concessioned.

    Different strokes for different folks

    The challenges besetting these ports vary. For instance, the Calabar port is said to have a major problem of its shallow depth. This is futher worsened by its collapsed quay apron and dilapidated access roads. For Onne port, its major problem is the port access road which is in very bad shape, just as the port also needs rail connection. Port Harcourt port suffers mainly from the collapse of quay apron and the poor access roads.

    According to Ogbuokiri, since the construction of the Onitsha River Port to lighten cargoes from Apapa and Port Harcourt to terminal with the aim of serving the shippers in Ontisha, Nnewi and other surrounding towns, it has not been operationalised, even after the completion of the dredging of the River Niger to Baro in Niger State. Owing to this, the AMJON president submitted before the committee that no fewer than 754 vessels are said to have deserted the Eastern ports between 2013 and 2016. Specifically, the number of vessels that berthed at the ports reduced from 2,268 vessels in 2013 to 1,514 in 2016.

    According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the number of vessels that berthed at the Delta port fell from 609 in 2013 to 433 in 2016, while the Gross Registered Tonnage at the port also dropped from 8,687,160 in 2013 to 6,177,809 in 2016.

    Hopeful investors?

    Notwithstanding the problems, investors seem to be hopeful that cargoes from Lagos ports, due to the congestion western ports face, would one day be diverted to them.

    For instance, the West Africa Container Terminal (WACT), at the Onne Port has invested $3.5 million in container handling equipment such as five reach stackers, two empty handlers and 14 terminal trucks. It also invested $10 million in two mobile harbour cranes to better serve its customers. Also, to complement the investment of terminal operators and to attract cargoes to eastern ports, the NPA introduced a rebate – a 10 per cent discount on harbour dues – in concessioned terminals at eastern ports. The NPA said the ports that would be affected by this initiative were: Calabar, Rivers and Delta ports.

  • ‘Lagos ports are not congested’

    In a swift reaction to the sub-missions of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the public hearing of the House Ad Hoc Committee on eastern ports, where he described the two Lagos ports as being “overwhelmed and have attained breaking points,” the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) has said the Apapa and the Tin Can Island ports are not congested.

    The body, in a statement obtained by The Nation, said both ports were operating at less than 70 percent capacity. The association said the major challenges facing the ports were the access roads, which are severely dilapidated.

    STOAN spokesman Bolaji Akinola, in the statement, said: “It is important to correct the understanding of the public about the ports. The hinterland infrastructure leading to the ports in Lagos, namely the roads, are at breaking points. The ports are not congested and are not at breaking points.

    “Most of the terminals in the two ports are operating below capacity. The busiest terminals are operating at less than 70 percent at the yard and 60 percent at berth. So there is no port congestion anywhere as of today,” he explained.

    Akinola said the ports in Lagos have capacity to handle cargoes beyond the volume they were handling, if the government pays attention to dilapidated port access roads, in addition to ending the manual handling of cargo clearing processes by the Nigeria Customs Service. He said port operation was not about the size, but about the efficiency of connecting facilities around the port.

    “I think the major problem we have at hand is that successive governments allowed the port access roads to degenerate so bad. The two main entry routes into the Lagos ports are the Ijora-Wharf Road and the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway. The Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, which is the major road to the ports with six lanes, has packed up several years ago. Every petroleum tanker, port truck and trucks belonging to the many manufacturing concerns in Apapa now use the narrow Ijora-Wharf Road, which is not even in a perfect state also. This has resulted in the inevitable chaos we see on the roads. If these roads are repaired as they should be, the chaos will disappear,” Akinola said.

    He also said ports in other parts of the country were not immune to the challenges of bad road. For instance, he said the Onitsha River Port, recently constructed by the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), was not functional because of bad roads.

    “Also, if you visit the ports in Rivers State – Onne and Port Harcourt Ports – and the ones in Delta State, it is the same story of dilapidated roads. The roads are bad and trucks spend several hours trying to get in and out of the ports,” the STOAN Spokesman further said.

    He called on the Federal Government to embark on “urgent comprehensive repairs” of the roads leading to all ports in the country, especially Lagos ports. He also tasked the government on the provision of functional truck parks in Apapa to stop trucks from parking on the roads and impeding the flow of traffic’’.

     

  • ‘Lagos ports are not congested’

    The Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria (STOAN) says the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa and the Tin-Can Island Port Complex are not congested.

    Mr Bolaji Akinola, spokesperson of the association, said this in a statement in Lagos on Sunday.

    Akinola  said that both ports were operating at less than 70 per cent capacity.

    He said the major challenges facing the ports were the access road, which had become dilapidated.

    “It is important to correct the understanding of the public about the ports.

    “The hinterland infrastructure leading to the ports in Lagos, such as the roads, are at breaking points, while the ports are not congested and not at breaking points.

    “Most of the terminals in the two ports are operating below capacity. The busiest terminals are operating at less than 70 per cent at the yard and 60 per cent at berth.

    Read also: 15 ships at Lagos ports with petroleum products

    “So there is no port congestion anywhere as of today.”

    Akinola said the ports in Lagos had capacity to handle beyond the volume of cargo they are handling at the moment if the dilapidated port access roads are repaired.

    He urged government to put an end to the manual operation of cargo clearing processes deployed by the Nigeria Customs Service.

    He said that port operation was not about the size of the port only, but about the efficiency of the connecting facilities around the port.

    “I think the major problem we have at hand is that successive governments allowed the port access roads to degenerate so bad. The two main entry routes into the Lagos ports are the Ijora-Wharf Road and the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway.

    “The Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, which is the major road to the ports with six lanes, has packed up several years ago.

    “Every petroleum tanker, port truck and trucks belonging to many manufacturing concerns in Apapa now use the narrow Ijora-Wharf Road, which is not even in a perfect state also.

    “This results in the inevitable chaos we see on the roads. If these roads are repaired as they should be, the chaos will disappear,” Akinola said.

    He said ports in other parts of the country were not immune to the challenges of bad road.

    He called on the Federal Government to embark on “urgent comprehensive repairs” of the roads leading to the ports in the country, especially the Lagos ports.

    Akinola also urged government to provide functional truck parks in Apapa to stop trucks from parking on the roads and impeding the flow of traffic.

    He said that there was need to develop alternative modes of haulage in the country, saying that over-reliance on road haulage was not healthy or sustainable for the country.

    “The Federal Government would need to get the rails working so that cargoes could be moved around the country by rail.

    “The National Inland Waterways Authority should also focus its energy on enhancing waterways transportation, as some cargo could also be moved to their final destinations by the waterways,” Akinola said. (NAN)

  • Poor rail affecting port operations, says Bala-Usman

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director,  Hadiza Bala-Usman, has warned that no country should contemplate establishing seaports without an adequate rail transportation system.

    Usman, who cited Nigeria’s experience where ineffective port railway infrastructure affects port operations, emphasised in her welcome address at the beginning of the West Africa Rail Revolution Conference in Lagos, that rail transportation and linkages would continue to play a crucial role in seamless port operation.

    The theme of the two-day conference was: “Defining the future of the transport infrastructure, maintenance and expansion in West Africa.”

    She noted at the conference, which drew participants from several European and West African countries, that: “If anyone had any doubts as to the clog that poor railway infrastructure could be in the wheels of effective port operations, the challenges that we currently face with the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin-Can Island (TCIP) would instruct you about why no country should contemplate establishing port without the complement of adequate rail transportation.”

    A substantial part of the challenges being faced in the optimisation of the ports in Lagos area, which has extended to distort normal activities in Lagos, according to her, “is due to failure to provide adequate rail infrastructure in the first instance and the eventual failure and the dilapidation of the meagre structure that was available at the beginning”.

    She explained the need for operators of the ports across Africa to embrace the economic benefit of the sector as a key player in the growth and development of their country’s economies, adding that this can only be realised through collaboration in the sharing of experience at resolving complex issues.

    Bala-Usman said the conference that the Federal Government was assiduously working towards a more efficient port terrain  through the deployment of modern rail infrastructure, urging delegates to embrace the new agenda and explore possible means of taking it to the next level.

    Director General/Chief Executive Officer Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission at the Presidency, Chidi. K. C Izuwah, in his welcome address reiterated the need for Africa to ensure that adequate provision is made for port infrastructure.

    According to him, developed nations of the world have placed emphasis on developing their infrastructure, which would further enhance import operation and efficient delivery across board.

  • NIMASA targets world-class ship registry

    Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has said the agency’s target is to have a world-class registry.

    Peterside, who disclosed this at the weekend in Lagos while receiving the report of the committee on the review of the Nigerian Ship Registry, said the goal was for Nigeria to have a ship registry that would meet international certification standards and compete favourably with the best in the global maritime community.

    “NIMASA is working at giving Nigerians a ship Registry that is respected across the globe and that will be attractive to ship-owners, so they can fly the Nigerian flag. In no distant future, our ship registry will be more effective, more efficient and responsive to change, thus meeting international standards for certification,” he said.

    Peter noted that the agency had already begun the process of automating the country’s ship registry. According to him, from the preliminary report earlier submitted to the agency, diligent implementation of the committee’s findings would have a beneficial effect on the Nigerian maritime sector.

    “We are putting in place the necessary building blocks for Nigeria to be the first African country to achieve a five-star International standards certification by 2020. International standard certification for ship registration is our goal at NIMASA,” he said.

    The committee chairman,  Emmanuel Ilori, an engineer, who spoke before submitting the report, said ship registration and the effectiveness of established processes in a country’s maritime operations are critical in determining the health of a national maritime administration.

    “All the committee’s efforts were geared towards making the Nigerian flag globally acceptable. The committee carried out an extensive review of the Nigerian Ship Registry, took cognizance of stakeholders’ opinions and expectations, and carried out comparative analysis of the ship registration processes of some global registries in arriving at the report. NIMASA’s management should consider and implement submissions contained in the report,” Ilori said.

    The nine-man committee terms of reference, which was set up in February 2018, included to examine the status of the ship registry in line with international best practices, advise and recommend requisite improvements of necessity in the registry.

    The committee was inaugurated on February 27, last year to establish a strategy to revamp the Nigerian ship registration process in order to raise the profile of the Nigerian flag in the global maritime space.

  • ‘Olokola Deep Seaport ‘ll earn $9b annually, create 1m jobs’

    With the cancellation of the Badagry Deep Seaport project, attention seems to have shifted to the proposed Olokola Deep Seaport in Ondo State.

    A top stakeholder in the shipping sector and Victory Energy Resources Limited Managing Director, Otunba Sola Olatunji, said about one million jobs would be created once the Olokola Deep Seaport comes on stream.

    Olatunji, who disclosed this in a chat in Lagos, said the project would be a major catalyst to the economy, such that the direct and indirect jobs to be created would be in excess of one million. He added that about $9 billion would be earned annually.

    According to Olatunji, another selling point for the  seaport, apart from helping to remove the Lagos gridlock, is its over nine meters natural draught.

    He said: “Deep Seaport business is all about logistics. I just mentioned to you that out of about 20 vessels that come to West Africa daily, 17 come to Nigeria.

    “If this port is realised, all those vessels will come here (Olokola) for their maintenance, bunker and groceries. Do you know the implication? Do you know how much that will be accruable to Nigeria daily from that? Do you know what only chandelling activities to these vessels will do to this economy? We are talking of transactions that are all done in foreign exchange,” he said.

    He added that the Olokola River has the longest coast and deepest draught in Nigeria, hence will be able to take bigger vessels that cannot berth in Lagos and other River Ports in Nigeria.

    He noted that many ancillary services attached to shipping will help to generate more jobs for the people as well as attract investors into the country.

    “So, you will now see new businesses thriving, new markets emerging because sailors will come out from the ships to go and buy things.

    “Boat operators, ancillary service providers will come and investor will put money in the business,” he stressed, suggesting that the proposed seaport be run on a Private and Public Partnership (PPP) model.

    It will be recalled that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) recently cancelled the proposed Badagry Deep Seaport over alleged discrepancies in the consultant report, but those in the know said a major issue is the gridlock in Lagos, which the citing of the deep seaport at Lekki and Badagry would create.

  • Poor roads may hurt Lekki FTZ, Dangote refinery, Rep warns

    A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Adebayo Balogun (Ibeju-Lekki Federal Constituency, Lagos), has warned that roads in the Free Trade Zone and Dangote Refinery cannot accommodate the emerging industrial revolution in the region.

    Balogun said another Apapa gridlock situation might happen in Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area, which could negate the benefits of port operations if futuristic and proactive measure is not taken to expand the road.

    The lawmaker said: “If the economic projects that contribute most to the federation’s account are not nurtured for sustainability, we might gradually be walking ourselves into a state of permanent recession.”

    To him, “Dangote Oil Refinery, which is the largest in Africa with its conglomerates like a fertiliser plant, a petrochemical plant and a sub–sea gas pipeline project, is expected to commence operations at the local government.”

    Speaking on the need to construct a coastal road from Akodo-Ise to Victoria Island, Lagos, Balogun noted that existing roads have been damaged.

    He urged the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing to commence the process of completing the whole stretch of the Port Harcourt – Lagos coastal road.

    ”The Ministry in the interim, should make provisions in the 2020 budget estimates for the construction of a coastal road from Ise in Ibeju Lekki to Victoria Island in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State,” he said.

    This call, according to him, is in furtherance to a motion he moved earlier, titled: “Urgent need to construct the Lekki coastal road from Akodo Ise to Victoria Island, Lagos State”.

    He noted in the motion that Ibeju-Lekki Local Government Area is located along the coastal line of Lagos State and is probably the fastest growing economic and industrial hub, especially with establishment of the Lekki Free Trade Zone, which sits on a total land area of 16,500 hectares.

    “And with a daily production of 650,000 barrels per day will transform the Nigerian economy from a net importer of refined petroleum products to a net exporter of petroleum product,” he said.

    He also noted ‘that the Annual Statistics Bulletin (ASB) Report for 2019 has shown that the value of exports of petroleum products in 2018 amounted to $54.513 billion, while its import was $54.645 billion, making export growth by $16.53 billion in 2018 from $37.983 billion in 2017, to have no impact as the value of imports already outweigh exports.’

    According to him, the Lekki Deep Sea Port, which will also be sited along the coastal line of Lekki, will after completion, increase the revenue from Lagos ports from its present value of over N250 billion to over N600 billion, as importers, who are using the ports of neighbouring countries would switch to the Lekki Deep Sea Port.

    “The Lekki coastline road, starting from Akodo Ise in Ibeju Lekki Local Government Area to Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island in Eti-Osa Local Government Area, is part of the Federal Government’s proposed Port Harcourt to Lagos Coastal road project,” he said.

  • NIWA, LASWA to collaborate on waterways operations

    The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) plan to set up a 10-man working committee to assist in achieving the agency’s four cardinal points agenda.

    The agenda are: the harmonisation of tariff, enforcement and regulation of standards, unified waterways operations and creating an enabling environment for passengers and operators.

    LASWA General Manager Emmanuel Oluwadamilola, who spoke at the weekend in Lagos, said the agreement reached by the agencies would focus on enforcement of all waterways laws, adding that harmonisation and unification of operations is key to achieving safety.

    He noted that tariffs, fees and penalties would be streamlined through the harmonised system put in place, adding that all payment made by operators would be designated to a single purse.

    The LASWA boss stressed also that parties would share proceeds in furtherance of their respective agencies. He also disclosed that both agencies would also collaborate with the Nigerian Navy and Marine Police to ensure compliance by passengers and operators.

    “Our agreement reached is for us to set up a joint committee, which is going to ensure the implementation of these points highlighted. That joint committee is made of five people from NIWA and five people from LASWA and they are the people that will sit down and harmonise the whole process put together towards the implementation,” he said.

    He said the previous administration channelised four routes which are about 80 percent completed,  pointing out that the joint committee would emphasis on additional routes that would come on stream.

    “Now that we have joint resources, we will pull them together because channelisation is capital intensive; it runs into millions or billions of naira; and since Lagos was able to do at least four before, now that we have come together you will realise that we will be able to double the figure,” Oluwadamilola said.