The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • National Assembly may seek auction of 2,500 containers, 6,000 vehicles

    The National Assembly is working with some agencies to facilitate the auction of some abandoned and overtime goods at the ports.

    The lawmakers, it was gathered, want the Federal Government to reconstitute the Committee for Disposal of Overtime/Abandoned Goods to  sell such items at Customs commands across the country.

    A  scramble, it was learnt, has begun for the acquisition of the goods. Politicians, civil servants and those close to the top Customs Werarchy are said to have shown interest in the goods.

    The goods are at Apapa, Tin-Can, Onne, Port-Harcourt, Calabar, Warri, Lilypond, Kirikiri and Murtala Muhammed International Airport, among others.

    Customs sources told The Nation  that over 2, 500 containers and 6,000 vehicles may be auctioned.

    At Apapa and Ikorodu terminals, sources said, over  300 and 500 containers have been marked as overtime/abandoned goods.

    Onne Port, a source said, has many abandoned/overtime cargoes which the National Assembly may push  the government to sell anytime from now.

    “Apapa, Tin Can, Ikorodu and Onne ports have many abandoned/overtime containers that may be sold by the government if the owners fail to come forward to clear them before the current move by the Assembly starts to yield positive result.

    “Most of those that are likely to show interest in buying the abandoned goods are top politicians, government appointees and senior civil servants,’’ the Source said

    When The Nation visited the Lagos ports at the weekend, civil servants were seen making enquiries from top Customs officers.

    A senior Customs officer said since the government is yet to order the sale, some people have approached them to clarify the unapproved advertisement they are seeing on the social media.

    “Most of these people coming to us to buy these items don’t even consider those who imported them into the country before the goods were trapped inside the ports,” the source added.

    Some of the goods, he said, were imported with tax payers’ money and abandoned at the ports because they are sub-standard or prohibited items, which could not be cleared from the port under normal circumstances.

    Some of the items in the containers, the source said, included lace, used clothes, second-hand shoes, bags, truck head, iron rod, angle bar, pipes, gas trucks, rice, furniture, light and other household items.

    Most of the goods, the source said, were abandoned at the ports because they were seized by Customs officials for false declaration, undeclaration, attempt to evade duty, contrabands and demurrage charges by terminal operators.

    Some of the containers, the source said, were caught in the web because the owners were using the port for storage facility.

     

  • ‘Stakeholders sabotage enforcement of Cabotage Act’

    The implementation of the Cabotage Act is being sabotaged by stakeholders, a university teacher has said.

    Mr Dipo Alaka of the Lagos State University (LASU) said the law could be implemented if the agency saddled with enforcing it mustered the political will to do so.

    “This is the time for the government to buckle up and see to the implementation of the Cabotage law. But we need to understand the problems confronting the agency before we can say yes, maybe some individuals in government are trying to frustrate the implementation.

    “My thinking is that every ship that calls at our port should first declare arrival to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), NIMASA and the Navy. By doing so, it would become easy to implement the law,” he said.

    Alaka said further: “The agency saddled with enforcing the law does not even need to get to the jetty to arrest a vessel; she can ask a vessel to tell her its point of loading. So, if it is offshore Lagos or offshore Cotonou, the agency can then verify if it is on the list of Cabotage registered vessels.

    “Therefore,implementation should not be a major issue. From all indications, there must be a kind of conspiracy between the operators and people that grant approval for foreign vessels to come into the country.”

    He said Nigerian ship owners should be supported by the government and banks to buy sufficient vessels to adequately carry out coastal trade.

  • ‘Corruption, infrastructure deficit bane of maritime’

    Corruption and infrastructural challenge have been identified as the bane of the shipping and clearing arm of the maritime sector.

    According to the Chief Executive Officer, Olas Motors, Mr Samuel Anderson, the resolution of these issues would see shipping and clearing making huge contributions to the economy.

    Speaking with The Nation at the weekend, Anderson said he came home to establish a branch of his company in response to former President Goodluck Jonathan’s appeal that Nigerians in the Diaspora should bring home their businesses and expertise to help build the economy.

    He regretted that the government has failed to provide basic infrastructure and tackle corruption.

    “Nigerians in the Diaspora have the expertise, resources and connection that can help develop this country but the country is being strangulated by corruption, policy inconsistency, poor infrastructure and other evils. These discourage them,” he said.

    For instance, he said, in China, the government builds houses and makes other provisions for its citizens in the Diaspora who are willing to relocate and invest in China while in Nigeria there is no form of encouragement, no matter what you want to do.

    Anderson said having stayed in the United States for many years, he has gained enough expertise that would enable him bring about a positive change in shipping and cargo importation in the country, but he was afraid because of too much corruption and infrastruc-tural decay at the ports. He said there was no port in Nigeria that compares to what is obtained in other developed countries and urged the Federal Government to fix the ports and reduce the number of its agencies.

    “In China or Hong Kong, you can have your container released to you in two hours once it arrives the port and this is at a cost equivalent of between N5,000 and N10,000 whereas in our ports, for your container to be released, it takes several days to weeks and costs several hundreds of thousands of naira or more than a million naira in some cases, despite the government’s effort at reformation.

    “In Asia, everything works systematically and you can plan successfully. But here, there are lots of policy somersaults; things are not organised for sustainable growth and most importers in Nigeria find it difficult to cope with this kind of system after experiencing the best way things are done in other countries,” he said.

    On shipping in Nigeria and the United States, he said there was no basis for comparison. “In Nigeria, there is no good equipment at the ports, there is no stability or continuity of policies whereas in other developed counties, the economy, the currency and every other thing is planned and this is what investors want to plan their businesses. It is not easy to set up anything in Nigeria because there is no reliable system in place.”

  • ‘How NIMASA can benefit from ship chandling’

    ‘How NIMASA can benefit from ship chandling’

    Nigeria is losing several billions of naira yearly for not focusing on ship chandling, The Nation has learnt.

    Importers and Customs Clearing Agents have urged the Director-General,  Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA),  Dr Dakuku Peterside and the Board of the agency to tap into chandling.

    They describe the business as a most lucrative one in the sector.

    Ship chandling, a business established in Nigeria through an Act in 1958, is made up of retail dealers who specialise in the supply of equipment and goods for ships, known as ships’stores.

    Items that could be found in a chandlery may include: rosin, turpentine, tar, pitch (resin), linseed oil, whale oil, tallow, lard, varnish, twine, rope and cordage, hemp, oakum and tools (hatchet, axe, hammer, chisel, planes, lantern, nail, spike, boat hook, caulking iron, hand pump, (marlinspike).

    Others are brooms, mops, galley supplies, leather goods, and paper. Items that could be supplied by the modern day chandlers range from foodstuff, drinks, oil, engine oil, water,  spares to materials that the Captain of the ship may require.

    Nigeria Licensed Customs Clearing Agents (ANLCA) President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said though the Local Content Act was meant to address such issues, the National Content Monitoring Board was yet to understand the dynamics of the local content in ship chandelling.

    He said the country loses billions of naira yearly due to the low level of activities in the ship chandelling sub- sector.

    He urged Peteride and and the agency’s Board to  co-ordinate the statues guiding ship chandelling to harness it to create jobs for the youth and boost the economy.

    He pointed out that ship chandelling needs funds to meet the demands of the crew.

    For instance, he said a ship of 5,000 Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT), would require about $50,000 monthly to take foods, pharmaceuticals, oil, lubricants and other things for it to go to sea and return to the port.

    The ANLCA chief said the association was worried that the legislation guiding ship chandelling had been in comatose, a situation, which allowed the profession to stagnate, adding that the Customs and Excise Management Act (CEMA), Section 24, which regulates ship chandelling, has not been reviewed since 1968 to reflect the new business trend.

    Shittu said the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has the power to enforce, as well as the requisite training to understand the dynamics of how this aspect of the maritime business is run.

    He said ship chandelling is one of the oldest maritime professions the country needs to harness to protect local chandlers and end foreign domination.

    Shittu said the continuous refusal of foreign ship operators to make use of indigenous chandlers contravenes the Local Content Act aimed at growing indigenous firms and creating jobs.

    “NIMASA and the Federal Government must do something about the business. The country must use all the resources we have to provide jobs for our people. Other countries are using ship chandelling to empower their youths and there is nothing wrong if we also tap into it,” Shittu said.

    But an importer, Mr Shola Adedayo, alleged that port operators were charging indigenous chandlers heavily, collecting about 20 per cent of the total cost of the goods to be supplied. “They collect the money before they allow them to pass through their terminals to supply the crew inside ships,” he said.

    Ship chandelling is regulated by an international body known as the International Ship Suppliers Association (ISSA), formed in 1955.

  • Agents kick against transfer of containers to off-dock terminal

    The President, Nigerian Importers Integrity Association (NIIA) , Godwin Onyekazi, has criticised the move to transfer containers to off-dock facilities, especially the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal (IKLT) in Lagos.

    Onyekazi  said the seaports were operating  below capacity and urged the Nigerian Ports Authority ( NPA) not to transfer long-standing (overtime) containers to offdock terminal. He said there is “ample space at Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports.”

    “Congestion in the terminals has always been cited as the reason for transfer of containers, but the economic downturn has resulted in less than 40 per cent  yard-occupancy for most terminal operators; effectively undermining the reason for the  transfer overtime cargo to Ikorodu,” he said.

    The NIIA chief said the sector suffered a huge blow last year, with the ever-increasing foreign exchange rates and a sharp decline in cargo volume, saying that “businesses, banks and social institutions surrounding the ports have closed as a result of the reduction in business faced by the ports.

    “A recent statement by the Senate in November 2016, highlighted the fact that the containers that have already been transferred to the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal have been abandoned with goods worth billions of naira rotting away daily; alluding to the fact that  inadequate maintenance facilities exist for the containers there. Therefore, moving even more containers will result in a sharper decline in the condition of containers and cargo, and that could lead to wastage.”

    He said moving overtime containers to offdock terminals may give room for importers to avoid payment for their accrued charges,  thereby encouraging importers to abandon their cargo at the port with the aim of facilitating movement to Ikorodu so they can procure them as overtime cargo.

    This, he argued, “undermines the integrity of terminal operators’ authority and processes leading to complete loss of revenue to terminal operators despite handling costs incurred and fulfilled financial obligations to the government over the years on such containers.”

    He said to transfer overtime cargo to Ikorodu Light Terminal will only result in huge additional cost burden to the government, given that the cost of moving the containers from various terminals to Ikorodu will be borne by the NPA.

    “This move will result in additional handling of containers which comes with increased cost of doing business for terminal operators; as well as likely claims from damages from handling during such a transfer.

    “There exists also the risk of loss of cargo to the consignee/importer due to allegations of diversion of cargo in transit from previous transfers and pilfering due to insecurity at Ikorodu terminal.

    “The extra cost to be incurred to carry out the transfer can be avoided, especially in times like this when all sectors and efforts should be focused on saving and not wasting public funds.

    “Combined with the recession, this move will only serve to compound the woes of the already suffering maritime sector; it will not bring additional business or progress whatsoever,” he said.

    Onyekazi added that the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is more certain of collecting appropriate import duties on the containers at the main ports.

  • Shipping chamber plans training

    The Nigerian Chamber of Shipping is to hold a three-day training programme on the “ABC of Shipping” in Apapa, Lagos.

    The event is slated  to hold from Wednesday, March 15 to Friday, March 17.

    According to a statement by the Chamber, the training, which is the first in a series that will hold this year, is tailored to meeting professional needs and challenges of the maritime industry.

    The training, the organisers said, will equip participants with the knowledge of shipping.

    “It would expound the “Principles of Shipping Operation and Practices, Maritime Survey and Operations, Maritime Safety, Health & Environment, Maritime Law & Policy Framework, Maritime Financing, Marine Insurance, and Freight Forwarding Practice,” among others, the statement stated.

    Interested participants have been directed to write to info@nigerian-shipping.org with “Registration for ABC of Shipping.” as title.

    Meanwhile, Mr Andy Isichei has been appointed as the President of the body.

  • Wike unveils land ship MV Rivers Pride, approves C of OOluwakemi Dauda

    History  was made in Rivers State last week when the Governor, Chief Nyesom Wike unveiled Nigeria’s first-ever land ship, MV Rivers Pride.

    He also approved a Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) for the land on which the land ship will be situated at Ozuoba, along the Eastwest Road in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    The land ship was built by an indigenous and privately-owned maritime training institution, Charkin Maritime and Offshore Safety Centre.

    To give effect to his approval, Wike directed the Chairman/CEO, Charkin Maritime and Offshore Safety Centre, Sir Charles K. Wami, to meet the Director of Lands to bring up his file on his table to append his signature.

    Wike said this at the unveiling of the land ship and the foundation laying of 200 cadets accommodation block in the centre.

    Apparently pleased with the strides made by the centre, Wike said the government will do everything possible to assist the centre to grow to an enviable height to the benefit of the indigenes in particular and Nigerians in general.

    He lauded Wami and the management of the centre for the achievement it has recorded since it was established.

    Dignitaries and stakeholders in the industry, including the Royal Ambassador of Norway to Nigeria,  Jens-Petter Kjemprud, Director- General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, lauded the centre for its efforts in human capacity development in the  industry over the years.

    Wami solicited the support of the  government to ensure that the centre attains its set goals and objectives. He asked for a C of O to enable the centre get financial assistance from commercial banks for its programmes.

    Wami said the centre needed the encouragement of stakeholders to continue to provide maritime education and training of international repute.

    According to him, Charkin Maritime and Offshore Safety Centre has a trend of rendering and improving on high- quality training to guarantee competence in a conducive and friendly environment. It is a one-stop-shop for the marine, oil and gas training.

    He explained that the inauguration of the facility was meant to bridge the gap in maritime education and training.

    The land ship comprises full mission navigational bridge simulator, ECDIS Simulation Room, GMDSS (Navigation) Simulation Room, which conforms to the 2010 Manila Amendments by the global maritime watchdog, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), and the basic dynamic positioning class.

    Other components of the land ship are advanced dynamic positioning and examination class, nautical institute examination room and the drilling system crane simulator.

    The centre has the nod of local and international regulatory agencies across the globe. These include NIMASA, Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), OPITO, United Kingdom, and the International Well Control Forum (IWCF), United Kingdom.

    Others are the Nautical Institute (NI), Oil and Gas Training Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), International Association of Safety and Survival Training (IASST), United Kingdom, and the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigerian (PETAN).

    Besides that it is a member of British Safety Council, among others, it is also affiliated to the Regional Maritime University, Accra, Ghana.

     

  • How to rid ports of wrecks, by Customs chief

    How to rid ports of wrecks, by Customs chief

    WHAT can be done to the abandoned vessels littering the Lagos shoreline maritime trade? This is the puzzle a senior Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) official  wants unravelled.

    According to him, the vessels’ owners must be fished out and prosecutedto make the waters safe.

    The NCS official, who asked not to be named, said the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) should be responsible for clearing the vessels.

    It was learnt that some vessels behind Tin-Can Port are bad and could  sink if not removed soon.

    Investigation revealed that over 30 vessels  must be removed because of  the danger they pose to Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports.

    Lagos being a littoral state, and the commercial hub of the country, has attracted more  vessels than any other port in the sub-region. Weak laws, difficulties with vessel owners, limited jurisdictions and lack of funds, it was learnt, hampered past  efforts to remove them.

    The Customs official said the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, should direct NPA and NIMASA to engage professionals who will assist in fishing out the   vessels owners to enable the government pursue claims against them for ecological damage.

    The official said: “Shipwrecks and abandoned vessels on the nation’s waters provide hideouts for criminals. For instance, abandoned vessels have constituted a base for pirates, sea robbers and miscreants to attack legitimate vessel operators and fishing trawlers. This has posed a threat to other vessels, maritime trade and investment worth of several billions of dollars. In the past, fishing trawlers lost about N25 billion to piracy.

    “All vessels plying the nation’s water ways are supposed to be registered with NIMASA so that owners of abandoned and wrecked ships can be contacted in times of need.

    ‘’There are reports that some vessels come into the waters without the knowledge of NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy. If the allegation is true, it means that such vessel owners do not observe international best practices, and the agencies must find appropriate means of sanctioning them,” the Customs official said.

    A maritime lawyer, Mr Benjamin Adedayo, described the ugly phenomenon as a reflection of the indiscipline, poor administration and lack of commitment to international obligations. He admitted that Lagos was vulnerable to shipwrecks and abandoned vessels because its coastline is situated west of the entrance of the ports.

    Investigations also revealed that most of the abandoned vessels neither have legal documents, nor are registered with NIMASA, hence, the reason the agency could not trace most of the owners.

    “Past government’s efforts aimed at addressing the issue and solving the problem have been feeble because of the overlapping functions by the Federal Government agencies involved in the removal of the ships. For instance, there was a disagreement between the management of the three key parastatals in the Federal Ministry of Transport – NIMASA, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the National Inland Waterways Authority on how to address the issue.

    “The former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, inaugurated the Committee on Wrecks Removal from Nigerian Waterways and Channels. The committee had Mr Bola Olowosejeje as Secretary and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigerian Navy, Lagos State government, Federal Ministry of Justice, NPA, NIMASA and Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) as members.

    “The committee was to audit the wrecks and abandoned vessels on territorial waters and make the necessary arrangement for their removal and disposal. The committee, which had four weeks to complete its assignment, was also required to organise the disposal of all residual metals in a transparent manner, as well as advise the Federal Government on ways to minimise the littering of the waterways with wrecks, derelicts, and abandoned vessels. Areas of jurisdiction were clearly defined as a way of fast-tracking the evacuation.

    “But the establishment of the committee did not really provide the much needed relief to Lagosians,” Adedayo said.

    The General Manager, Public Affairs of NPA, Chief Michael Ajayi, said the authority had made significant progress in removing most of the wrecks on the Lagos channels that were assigned to it under the arrangement. According to him, 100 per cent of the job has been done by NPA.

    He listed the evacuation of a big vessel from the Commodore Pool channel as one of NPA’s major achievements. The vessel had been buried in the sea bed for years and was a barrier to navigation, preventing bigger ships from entering the Tin-Can Port.

    The spokesman of Ilado community in Lagos, Mr Seyi Agbato, listed some of the problems they are facing because of the abandoned vessels.

    “There is a cumulative effect whereby sand accumulation by one ship adds to the other, resulting in the incursion of water as the wrecked ships are very close to each other. The recurring abandonment of vessels on the Lagos water has resulted in the erosion of choice beach lands, including coastal plants like coconut trees on the beaches. Lagos loses billions of naira to these erosions, accelerated by the shipwrecks and abandoned vessels, as strong waves can remove over one metre of land within 24 hours,” Agbato said.

  • Govt urged to invest in ports

    How can Nigeria become a hub of maritime operations in West and Central Africa? It is by the Federal Government backing the initiative of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to develop new port facilities to compete with others in the sub-regions, say importers’ clearing agents.

    At a forum in Lagos, their spoke-person and Bolas Motors’ Managing Director Sesan Abolarinwa said it was imperative for the government to promote the maritime industry to benefit from the increasing cargo traffic across the globe.

    New facilities, Abolarinwa said, should be designed by the Ministry of Transport to meet the logistics needs of the industry while anticipating the need for future development.

    He called on the government to help in funding maritime researches, saying the sector lacked in-depth investigation due to poor funding.

    “The maritime industry has experienced an appreciable development in recent years. That development is set to stay.World trade continues to shift global markets and production lines make new demands on transport systems and on ports in particular.

    “Ports serve the national interest, supporting the competitiveness of national and regional economies. It is in the nation’s interest that our ports remain able to handle cargo trade and its potential development efficiently and sustainably.”

    The maritime industry, Abola-rinwa said, was in dire need of a number of reforms.

    “New port facilities would help to bring the industry to international standards. The importers lamented that previous administrations, like most practitioners in the maritime industry, did not live by the rules guiding the profession, which they said has resulted in a number of problems in the sector.

    “The maritime industry requires reforms; reform by way of standardising, educating, informing, sanitising the practice and making it global because the mere mention of the words import and export trade means we are not doing it locally but across borders. Therefore, there are set rules, information and knowledge that operators must possess,” he said.

    The Chairman, Tokunbo vehicle importers, Mr Samson Adebari said the maritime industry has project for rapid and sustainable growth.

    “Based on this development and the strategic position Nigeria occupy in the industry and the sub-region, for the development of human capital for an enhanced economy, it is expected of the government to train our youths to develop interest in maritime education,”Adebar said.

  • NPA partners FRSC on road worthiness of vehicles

    NIGERIAN Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman, has
    given  March 1 as the deadline
    for the enforcement of Minimum Standard of Safety and Road Worthiness (MSSRW) for trucks entering the six major ports.

    Speaking during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Roads Safety Corps (FRSC) in Lagos, Ms. Usman said the NPA has the responsibility to protect lives and properties of all stakeholders accessing ports services by ensuring that all articulated vehicles and trucks, which daily freight containers, and assorted bulk cargoes to different parts of the country from the ports, meet the required minimum safety standards.

    Ms. Usman said NPA was collaborating with the FRSC as part of efforts to put lasting solutions to the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway gridlock.

    To ensure full compliance, NPA, she said, is collaborating with the FRSC and other safety enforcement agencies to achieve safety standards for trucks accessing the ports by adopting the Road Traffic Safety Standarisation Scheme (RTSSS), which includes regular inspection and certification of the NPA’ fleet.

    She said: “Apapa for example, is home to Nigerian‘s two foremost ports which are being managed by nine terminal operators. Between the two ports, more than 65 per cent of dry cargoes and about 90 per cent of the nation’s liquid (petroleum products) are handled. This is because it hosts about 35 tank farms in addition to the numerous other businesses that are located in this port city.

    “Going by the operational activities highlighted above, there is always heavy vehicular traffic around all port locations and most of these vehicles are not in good state.

    “This debilitating vehicular traffic has assumed a frightening dimension in so many port areas. It has led to serious accidents that have claimed innocent lives and several man hours’ lost in traffic jam. Miscreants, armed robbery and other social vices have been on the increase because of the perennial traffic situation in those areas.”

    She said past efforts by the authority; some state governments and terminal operators to ameliorate the situation were to no avail because most of the vehicles plying the road are not road worthy, urging the FRSC to ensure that no rickety vehicle enters the port.

    FRSC’s Corps Marshal, Boboye Oyeyemi, said his agency was happy over the NPA‘s initiative. He tasked owners of heavy duty trucks operating within and around the ports on the need to strictly adhere to the minimum safety standards in order to ensure safety of haulage operations, saying FRSC will enforce all the aspects of the MoU.

    He said adequate and appropriate driver education and speed limiter are vital and would therefore be enforced by his men.

    He emphasised that as from the agreed date, the Field Commands of the agency would be fully mobilised for the enforcement of the law.

    While commending NPA for signing the MoU, he enjoyed fleet owners and truck owners’associations to obey the new rules by the NPA, that would be effective fromnext month.