The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • Move against wharf landing fees may suffer setback

    The move by the Federal Government asking the Supreme Court to declare the Lagos State Wharf Landing Fees Law No. 5 of 2009 unconstitutional, and order the state to refund all the monies collected through the law may suffer setback.

    This is because some of the council authorities around the ports have threatened to start the collection of the money, if the move by the state government fails.

    The Wharf Landing Law was passed in 2009 when Babatunde Fashola, now the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, was the governor.

    The law imposes levies, from N1,000 to N3,000, on consignments transported from Lagos sea ports to local government areas of the state.

    Some residents of the local governments around Lagos sea ports, it was gathered, have written a letter to the Chairman, Lagos State Wharf Landing Fees Collecting Authority, Mr Joe Igbokwe, to assist them in collecting the money or allow officials of the local governments to do it.

    Some of the residents and motorists operating in Apapa, Amuwo-Odofin, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Surulere, Apapa-Igamu Local Council Development Area (LCDA) and environs, who spoke with The Nation, said they would support any move by the state and local governments to attract development and restore the past glories of their areas.

    They gave kudos to the state government for filling the pot-holes with broken bricks as a palliative measure pending the comprehensive rehabilitation of the roads in Apapa and Tincan Island.

    One of the residents and chairman of the group, Mr Solomon Jayeola, said they would support the local government authorities in collecting the money if the court rules in favour of the petitioner.

    It was gathered that associations at petroleum depots collect a huge amount of money from their members.

    Findings revealed that the Petrol Tankers Drivers (PTD) collects N10,000; oil and gas suppliers collect N2,000;  Engine Oil and Lubricants (ELD), Petroleum Station Workers (PSW) and Independent Marketers Branch (IMB) collect N2,000 and N1,000.

    Also, the National Association of Road Transport Owners (NARTO), Marine Survey (MS) and Surface Tank Kerosene Distributors (SUTAKED) collect N2,500, N5,000 and N3,000.

    “As residents of this area, we do not think N1,000 for a 40ft container and N500 for 20ft container is too much for the owners to pay to the government.

    “Also, car drivers are asked to pay N300 while SUVs are to pay N500. But we have observed that car drivers are not willing and that is why we will support our local government in collecting the levies because it is a source of revenue generation for them as entrenched in the Constitution,” Jayeola said.

    A motorist, Francis Solomon, also said Lagosians must support the state government in collecting the fees, and urged those affected to see it as part of their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

    “We want Lagosians to understand that the local governments around the ports are in dire need of the money during this period of recession. The local governments need your support and encouragement to look inwards to make life more comfortable for the residents.

    “There is need for  me to also draw the attention of the public to the inappropriateness of the solicitors to the AGF in this matter at the Supreme Court. The law firm is a counsel to Hermonfield Limited, a sub-contractor of the collecting agent appointed by the state government to collect wharf landing fees.”

    Solomon alleged that the genuiness of the law firm was suspect as the case appeared to have been filed after the failure of an attempt to foist the sub-contractor on the state government.

    Contacted, Igbokwe said the agency had issued 240 invoices to various companies and got only 81 responses in terms of payments.

    The figure, he said, represents 34 per cent. He called on those concerned to pay up so that the rule of engagement will not degenerate to  coercion.

  • NPA partners Navy

    The Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, has promised to improve on the relationship with the Nigerian Navy and others to secure the territorial waters.

    She spoke when the Flag Officer of the Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy, Rear Admiral Ferguson Dukas Bobai, visited her  in Lagos.

    She said NPA would sustain the relationship through information sharing, and called for the maximum use of the Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (CCCI) of both organisations through the  deployment of its personnel to promote security and efficiency.

    Bobai solicited for a space at the Takwa Bay for the swift response to security challenges on the waterways.

    “This would enhance maximum safety and security of lives as well as cargo on Nigerian waters,” he said.

    Ms Usman promised that the NPA would work towards granting the Navy a  temporary berthing space pending the rehabilitation of its facilities.

    She urged the Naval authorities to immediately reconvene the committee set up to facilitate the dredging at the Takwa Bay turning base and proceed with the implementation of the earlier recommendations and positions as agreed.

    She pledged that NPA would offer financial support to the project via budgetary provision and allocation in the next fiscal year.

  • NPA eyes hub status for ports

    NPA eyes hub status for ports

    The Chairman, Governing Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr Emmanuel Olajide Adesoye, has pledged to elevate the nation’s sea ports to a hub status through zero tolerance for corruption and associated vices.

    The board, according to him, will also ensure that the ports are run in line with best practices by addressing the perennial gridlock in Apapa, caused by poor access roads. He added that the truck holding bay would be made functional for the ports to become the leader in Africa.

    Speaking with The Nation, Adesoye said the board would focuse on how to make the ports the best in the maritime world.

    NPA, he said, would pursue the core values of efficiency, customer and stakeholders’ satisfaction, safety and security of port users.

    The board, he pledged, would also promote accountability, transparency, equity and facilitate trade in line with international best practices.

    He said the board would collaborate with the Federal Ministry of Transportation to explore strategies to ensure the speedy passage of “the Ports and Harbour Bill” into law by the National Assembly.

    Adesoye said NPA would partner the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), terminal operators and others in the formulation and implementation of policies.

    Apart from aspiring to elevate the NPA, Adesoye said the board would make the ports the hub of maritime business in West and Central African sub-regions to generate more revenue for the government.

    The NPA, he said, would achieve optimum performance and improved port services capable of attracting higher vessel patronage, which would translate into more revenue for the nation.

    He said:“The role of NPA in the industrialisation and growth of Nigeria’s economy, particularly at this period of economic recession, cannot be overemphasised when it is realised that the maritime sector is one of the most important revenue earners after oil.

    “It, therefore, behoves on our board in the performance of its oversight functions to come up with concrete policies capable of rejuvenating the Authority with a view to confronting and overcoming its present challenges.

    “Consequently, in transmitting the positive values of change in all ramifications, the board shall seek to ensure that the NPA is run in line with best practices comparable to the best ports in the maritime world.

    “In actualising this conviction, we shall seek expert advice both within and outside the agency.

    “The objective here is to ensure that within our tenure of service, the NPA is elevated to a higher pedestal that will make it the hub of maritime business in both the West and Central African sub-region.”

  • Customs arrests 14

    Customs arrests 14

    • Rice, others seized

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Federal Operations Unit, Zone ‘A’ Ikeja, Lagos has arrested 14 suspected smugglers and seized 2,513 50kg bags of rice and 3,778 cartons of imported frozen poultry products.

    Its Area Controller, Umar Mohammed Dahiru, said officers of the unit also recovered unpaid duties of N30,154,174.75 from vehicles and other goods on which their owners made false declaration and undervalued.

    Other items seized by the unit included 528 kegs of vegetable oil valued at  N4,711,500; seven different types of vehicles worth N14,310,000 and other items which included new and used textiles material, shoes, bags, used tyres, mosquito insecticide, soaps, compressors and Bonita spaghetti worth N45,789,450.

    The Duty Paid Value (DPV) of all items seized in the month of September was put at N131,708,247.

    According to Dahiru, about 98 seizures were recorded by the unit last month.

    Commending the officers for their patriotism, he said the unit  had all it takes to suppress smuggling within his areas of jurisdiction.

    To sustain the tempo, Dahiru directed his operatives to intensify border patrols.

    He warned smugglers to desist from the act because the unit had deployed strategies that would cause them losses.

    He added the suspects would be charged to court after thorough investigation.

    Also, the Customs at the Tin-Can Island Port generated N25.6 billion last month, its Area Controller, Bashar Yusuf, has said.

    He noted that it was possible because of the measures introduced to strengthen their operations, particularly to block leakages.

    Yusuf, apart from involving stakeholders in the training to sanitise the system and change the orientation of those who believe in shortchanging the government, has also engaged his officers in capacity building in modern Customs operations.

    Its Public Relation Officer, Uche Ejesieme told The Nation that the Controller was determined to make the Tin-Can Port a hub, with the entrenchment of due diligence in operations.

    Yusuf also said the place of Customs in national development could not be overemphasised, and pointed out that his Command would not renege on its revenue collection function.

    He called for stronger relations between the Command and stakeholders for the actualisation of its mandate.

    “Beyond the fact that we have regular meetings with the critical stakeholders, I have always given the terminal/sectional heads a marching order to ensure that all importers/and their agents are compelled to comply with the extant laws on international trade,” he said.

    He commended compliant importers and clearing agents for their patriotism, which, he said, contributed immensely to the revenue profile of the Command.

    He said the importers and their agents would continue to receive the support of the Command.

    “We will always make them feel obligated to follow due diligence/process in their transactions,” he said.

  • Maritime academy opens

    Charkin Maritime and Offshore Safety Centre has started admitting students for the 2016/2017 academic session.

    The academy, located in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, is a leading provider of offshore safety and other skills training for maritime and oil and gas sectors.

    The school has state-of-the-art  facilities, which were unveiled by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi.

    The centre is one of the foremost training institutions in the country,

    Its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Sir Chares Nwami, said the courses were accredited by the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), International Well Control Forum (IWCF), and the International Standards Organisation (ISO).

    Others are the Oil and Gas Trainers Association of Nigeria (OGTAN), International Marine Contractors Association (IMCA), Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria (PETAN), International Association for Safety and Survival Training (IASST), and the International Association of Drilling Contractors (IADC).

    According to him, the centre runs Ordinary National Diploma (OND) programmes in Nautical Science and Marine Engineering for Deck Cadets and Engine Room Cadets.

    Nwami said admission requirements included a minimum of five credits in SSCE/GCE/NECO or equivalent at not more than two sittings.

    He said in addition to the academic requirements for admission, candidates are required to be between 16 and 22 years; physically and medically fit without any form of deformity.

  • Shippers’ Council seeks domestication of Rotterdam Rules

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council, Mr Hassan Bello, has urged the Federal Government to ratify the Rotterdam Rules.

    The Rules, adopted at the 2009 Convention in Rotterdam, Netherlands, is the latest opf all international conventions on carrtiage of goods by sea.

    He said the plurality of international carriage of goods regimes was affecting the nation’s international maritime trade negatively, urging the government to support the implementation of the Rotterdam Rules, which are near perfect.

    Bello said signing on to a convention did not make it legal, adding that the country needed to ratify the Rotterdam Rules to make cargo carriage to and from the country’s territorial waters legal.

    Speaking with The Nation, after addressing over 800 participants at the Validation Colloquium organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation, in collaboration with Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) at the weekend in Abuja, Bello noted that uncoordinated international rules for carriage of goods by sea had created confusion and uncertainties.

    He urged the government to ratify and domesticate the Rotterdam Rules to address the confusion, uncertainties and other challenges in the law of carriage of goods by sea.

    He said the ratification of the  Rules would give Nigeria and other countries in the Central and West Africa sub-regions the hope of operating a more unified, more balanced and modern carriage regime, and urged governments in the regions to ratify the Rules.

    He said the Rules provided more benefits and opportunities to the shipping community than their predecessors, hence, the need for Nigeria and others to adopt and ratify them.

    Bello said the 25 countries that signed the Rule accounted for over 25 per cent of world trade volume, and were a mix of developed and developing nations.

    He said the Rules were developed to address the various defects in The Hague/Visvi and the Hamberg Rules.

    He said there were many benefits for shippers and for carriers under the Rules and urged the government to look beyond the “zero  sum” game.

    He said failure to ratify the Rules would mean a continuation of the cumbersome and costly status quo – or worse – for many years to come.

    Bello also canvassed the incorporation  of electronic commerce into international maritime trade transactions to boost the economy.

  • Agents task NPA, NIMASA boards on maritime reform

    Agents task NPA, NIMASA boards on maritime reform

    CUSTOMS agents have set agenda for the boards of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administartion and Safety Agency (NIMASA): they should revamp the sector to increase revenue generation.

    The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) urged the boards to find a lasting solution to the dilapidated Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos; ensure security at the ports and hasten cargo clearance.

    According to ANCLA President Olayiwola Shittu, the boards and other agencies have the responsibility to make Nigeria ports hubs in the sub-region.

    He told The Nation that the board chairmen should prevail on the government to use part of the money generated from the ports monthly to fix the roads leading to the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports.

    Mr Emmanuel Adesoye (NPA) and Maj-Gen. Jonathan Garba (NIMASA) alleged that the government had not done enough to provide basic infrastructure and tackle corruption at the ports. He urged the boards to devise strategies for increasing the tempo of activities at the ports.

    The ANLCA chief decried the deplorable state of the Lagos and Onne port roads, saying it was affecting cargo delivery, endangering workers’ lives and making things difficult for the people.

    Shittu urged the boards to seek explanation on what the money realised from the ports is being used for.

    “Is it good to read on the pages of newspapers that despite the recession, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generates over N50 billion monthly from the Lagos ports without any corresponding development of the roads that lead to the ports?” he queried.

    “Even the figure available to us showed that NPA, NIMASA, Customs, Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), the Standards Organisation of Nieria (SON) and other agencies are generating several billions of naira monthly and we are sure that about 80 per cent of the amount is generated in Lagos. Why is the government finding it difficult to develop port infrastructure and make the  ports attractive for business and generate more money?” he asked.

    He said: “Telling the Federal Government alone, this time around, will not be enough. It is time to hold agencies that base their existence on the ports responsible and ask for their interventions to put pressure on the government to intervene, to save the lives of Nigerians suffering and dying on these roads every day.

    “Other operational challenges in the ports were discussed and we resolved that they should be aggregated in writing, for appropriate action, especially against some shipping companies, through their home countries.”

  • Shippers Council seeks removal of trade barrier

    Shippers Council seeks removal of trade barrier

    The Nigerian Shippers (NSC) has called for the removal of trade barriers in Africa.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, made the call during the inauguration of the Interim Working Committee of the West Africa Road Transport Union (WARTU) in Lagos.

    He said regional transportation required integration, harmonisation and standardisation.

    “This is the reason the meeting is being structured because the volume of trade within the African sub-region is not very high. The volume of trade within the Central African region is representing one per cent, comparing with that of Europe which stands at 70 per cent. We need to look at ways of improving trade within the sub-region and there are so many things to trade on among us, “he maintained.

    Bello noted that Nigeria’s trade was supported by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), laws and protocols which had been guiding the effective operation of trade in the region.

    According to him, the Council had been playing a critical role in ensuring that the institutions and bodies were supported in one way or the other.

    He also commended the National Road Transport Owners (NARTO) for its involvement in laudable activities.

    He expressed the Council’s readiness to give the newly-inaugurated committee the necessary support to meet its aspirations.

    In his inaugural address, WARTU President Mr Ogbogo Aloga, lauded the Council for the role it played in ensuring a level-playing ground among stake-holders.

    Aloga said the role of transportation in the African sub-region could not be over emphasised. This, he said, necessitated the inauguration of the WARTU committee.

    He was quoted in a statement issued by NSC as saying: “This is a welcome development because trade within the sub-region is already moribund and requires urgent restructuring of the trade to boost the inter-regional trade relationship.

    “The integration that is coming now is very important because it will also increase trade on African corridor and remove barrier among the countries,” he said.

    He said the newly-inaugurated body was set to address the issues affecting trade, such as communications, security, and exchange rate among ECOWAS countries.

  • ‘Develop railway for heavy cargoes’

    THE Federal Government has been advised to develop the railways to facilitate carriage of goods, especially heavy cargoes that are transported by road.

    A lawyer and university don, Mr Dipo Alaka, said connecting the rail to waterways was important.

    “Marine transport is a component part of transportation system and from my professional training and experience, marine transport cannot operate in isolation of other modes of transportation, especially the rail system,” he said, adding that if the link is right, the cost of goods in the market will be reduced.

    “When goods come into the country, the only means of distribution is by road. Unfortunately, the roads are bad. My position is that we need to revisit the rail that is missing in our transport system. As long as the rail system is absent, it will be difficult to have problem-free port operation. The cost of port operation will continue to be high,” he stressed.

    He said the port system is increasingly becoming automated, noting that the Federal Government has to respond to the global thinking of mechanisation. The university lecturer, however, said that expertise and modern equipment were needed to operate an efficient port system.

    He said marine transport is essential to the operation of any country’s economy and a vital part of any nation’s transport system, adding that without marine transportation, Nigeria would have been landlocked and its economy would have remained stagnant in different areas..

  • Agents task NPA, NIMASA boards on maritime reform

    Agents task NPA, NIMASA boards on maritime reform

    CUSTOMS agents have set agenda for the boards of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the Nigerian Maritime Administartion and Safety Agency (NIMASA): they should revamp the sector to increase revenue generation.

    The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) urged the boards to find a lasting solution to the dilapidated Oshodi-Apapa Expressway in Lagos; ensure security at the ports and hasten cargo clearance.

    According to ANCLA President Olayiwola Shittu, the boards and other agencies have the responsibility to make Nigeria ports hubs in the sub-region.

    He told The Nation that the board chairmen should prevail on the government to use part of the money generated from the ports monthly to fix the roads leading to the Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports.

    Mr Emmanuel Adesoye (NPA) and Maj-Gen. Jonathan Garba (NIMASA) alleged that the government had not done enough to provide basic infrastructure and tackle corruption at the ports. He urged the boards to devise strategies for increasing the tempo of activities at the ports.

    The ANLCA chief decried the deplorable state of the Lagos and Onne port roads, saying it was affecting cargo delivery, endangering workers’ lives and making things difficult for the people.

    Shittu urged the boards to seek explanation on what the money realised from the ports is being used for.

    “Is it good to read on the pages of newspapers that despite the recession, the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) generates over N50 billion monthly from the Lagos ports without any corresponding development of the roads that lead to the ports?” he queried.

    “Even the figure available to us showed that NPA, NIMASA, Customs, Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC), the Standards Organisation of Nieria (SON) and other agencies are generating several billions of naira monthly and we are sure that about 80 per cent of the amount is generated in Lagos. Why is the government finding it difficult to develop port infrastructure and make the  ports attractive for business and generate more money?” he asked.

    He said: “Telling the Federal Government alone, this time around, will not be enough. It is time to hold agencies that base their existence on the ports responsible and ask for their interventions to put pressure on the government to intervene, to save the lives of Nigerians suffering and dying on these roads every day.

    “Other operational challenges in the ports were discussed and we resolved that they should be aggregated in writing, for appropriate action, especially against some shipping companies, through their home countries.”