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Tag: Ship owners

  • Ship owners seek enforcement of Cabotage Act

    Indigenous ship owners have criticised the Federal Government for not enforcing the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003 (Cabotage Act) to enable them participate in crude oil lifting.

    A member of the group, Captain Niyi Labinjo, urged the government to implement the law to allow indigenous firms to participate in oil business.

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

    The banks, the former ISAN scribe said, are willing to give them loans if the government could give them some quantities of crude to carry.

    He cited Brazil where the government approves about 700 agencies, to issue certificates of compliance on local content.

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

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

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

    “We will continue to press the government. We’ll continue to make our views known about the need for proper compliance with cabotage; about the need for proper compliance with the Nigerian Content Act.

    “For instance, if I have a government that is insisting that this year out of the 2.5 million barrels of oil that Nigeria exports, 1.5 million barrels would be carried by Nigerians and they say, ‘ISAN take this 1.5 million barrels, go and carry it,’ we will gladly go to the bank; the bank will give us money and we will do it.

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

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

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

     

  • Peterside flays ship owners over abuse of waivers

    Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General, Dr Dakuku Peterside, has blamed foreign and indigenous ship owners for abusing the waivers granted them by the agency.

    Speaking with The Nation on the sideline of the interactive meeting  with stakeholders in Calabar, he said the agency has suspended the issuance of Cabotage waivers to ship owners because of the problem.

    He however said the suspension was temporal.

    Also, the agency’s Executive Director (ED), Marine and Operations, Mr Rotimi Fashakin, said the issuance of waivers was supposed to be a stop gap to boost local capacity in manning, flagging owning and building of vessels that operate within the country.

    According to him, Nigerian ship operators apply for manning waivers to employ foreigners.

    “If Nigerians cannot employ Nigerian seafarers, then who will do that?” he asked.

    The ED stated that if the problem continued unchecked, the development of local capacity would fail.

    “The provision of waivers in the Cabotage Act of 2003 is meant to be an exception, instead of the norm as is being witnessed currently, even indigenous operators seek for waivers on issues, such as manning.

    “If the indigenous operators are not ready to employ Nigerians, on what moral grounds can we compel the foreigners to do same?

    “The agency has decided to suspend the issuance of waivers on manning for now. A marine notice has been issued to this effect.

    “As we have endeavoured to demonstrate in this report, NIMASA’s commitment to the development of indigenous shipping remains as firm as ever.

    “In this view, we have our hands on the pulse of every significant area of the industry from ship registration to the disposal of spent or scrapped ships and development of capacity for the acquisition of new tonnage, marine environment and management, maritime labour regulation, among others,” Fashakin said.

  • Ship owners, importers back NIMASA’s 5% growth  forecast 

    The Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), importers and clearing agents have urged the Federal Government to work with the  five per cent growth forecast by the Nigerian Maritime Administrator and Safety Agency ( NIMASA).

    According to them, there has been a steady increase in the level of investments and freight earnings from the sector, urging the government and its agencies at the ports to work with the forecast and see how to improve on it.

    Its President Alhaji Aminu Umar said NISA aligned with the five per cent maritime growth, forecast by NIMASA. He added that commercial banks had shown interest in financing indigenous ship owners, contrary to what obtained during the 2016 economic recession.

    He noted that foreign fund managers have been coming into the country to discuss how to fund maritime assets.

    Umar said there was no doubt that the industry could achieve the five per cent growth and probably surpass it.

    “Based on what we have seen since the beginning of this year, we believe we can surpass the five per cent growth forecast, if not double digit We believe it would be close to the double digit in the maritime sector.

    “The foreign reserve of the country has gone up, this showed a positive impact in the economy, which means that  our banks have the funds  to fund shipping. We have seen positive impact on the banks because they are already talking about funding a lot of maritime assets. So in my own opinion, the outlook is very positive,” he said.

    Umar continued: “Two years ago, banks did not even entertain you talking about funding; we are now seeing a lot of positive investments, a lot of private equity funds are now coming to invest in maritime assets. We have seen foreign funds managers, who are coming from Europe and are also talking about funding maritime assets here. We believe the outlook would be great for this year and 2019.

    “For the past two years, the freight earnings have been down  since 2016, but we are looking at it now that the freight earnings is already going up.”

    The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) outgoing President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said NIMASA’s five per cent growth projection was posible because the world maritime economic situation was improving and Nnigeria would benefit from it.

    According to him, many importers are bringing cargoes to the country instead of diverting them to neigbouring countries’ports, while ship owners are planning to invest in the industry because freight rates are going up.

    “The projection made by NIMASA is one of the tools we need to grow the maritime industry. The forecast will assist in the areas of having and keeping accurate records and plan for the future.

    “ The forecast will help to know if we are able to meet our target and if there are things we must put in place like good road net work, quick evacuation of cargoes, review of government policy and tariffs at the ports, among others. We pray that this year and next year will be the leading light to the peak in freight and maritime robust earnings for the country,” Shittu said.

    An importer, Mr Felix Abraham, urged the government to pay adequate attention to the industry because of the huge potential it holds for the nation. Maritime trade, he said, is the bedrock of the global business, and its connection to import, export and the growth of the world economy.

    “ That is why the five per cent growth forecast by NIMASA is a tool we must all work with to grow the economy,” Abraham said.

     

  • Ship owners seek govt support

    The   Federal Government has been urged to support indigenous shipping companies to grow and compete favourably with their counterparts in other climes.

    The President of the Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Mr Greg Ogbeifun  made the call in Lagos while briefing reporters on the activities of the group since the year.

    The Federal Government, its agencies and many Nigerians, he  said, will benefit from well-developed indigenous capacity if the government supports them through the disbursement of the Cabotage Fund.

    He identified the fall in crude oil prices as the major factor affecting their businesses in the oil and gas sector.

    Most of their vessels, he said, are now laid up without jobs and the few ones still engaged are working for such low charter rates that many owners can barely break even.

    He said the inauguration of the Cadetship Training Berths scheme has generated interest such that SOAN is now being approached by various organisations and individuals requesting for their candidates to be given a place in the scheme for sea- time training and the applicants have expressed their willingness to pay for such opportunities.

    The group, he said, will hold a workshop on December 7.

    The forum, he said, will bring together, ship owners  to examine  measures by which the fortune of the maritime sector can be improved and boost the  economy.

    The theme of the event, according to him,  will be Giving Critical Life-line to the Nigerian Maritime Industry.

    Expected at the forum are the Governor of Edo State, Mr Godwin Obaseki, Transportation Minister Roimi Amaechi, NIMASA Director Dr  Dakuku Peterside, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers Council, Mr Hassan Bello, chief executives of the banking industry.

    Mrs. Mfon Usoro, a former Director-General of NIMASA is expected to present a paper, among others.

  • Ship owners elect new leaders

    The Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) has reelected the Chief Executive Officer of STARZS Group, Greg Ogbeifun as President, for a second term of another two years.

    Other officers  elected by the group included  Dr. M. K. George Onyung, first Vice President; Mr. Alfred Okoigun, Second Vice President; Mr. Eno J. Williams, Financial Secretary/Treasurer; and the Mr. Sonny Eja, the Chairman Ethics & Privileges Committee.

    Also elected were  Nnamdi Obiagwu, as Chairman Finance and Membership Committee; Lucky Akhiwu as Chairman Technical Committee; and Joseph Awodeha as the Chairman, Training and Capacity Building Committee.

    In an interview, Ogbeifun pledged to collaborate with other ship owners to strengthen  the relationship between the group and government agencies, such as the  Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), NPA and the NNPC, to boost the economy and generate fresh employment opportunities for the youths.

    He assured that SOAN would leave no stone unturned to equip the cadets trained at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria Oron (MAN), Oron and those educated abroad by various foreign institutions.

    “The shipping industry needs them. We need them. Without them, there will be no enviable future for the nation’s shipping industry. So we are going to crystalise a strategy of articulating all our vessels and make them available for the training of  Nigerian cadets; working in full collaboration with NIMASA and of course, with the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron; as well as other maritime institutions in the country, to see that the standard maintained is global.

    “The Cabotage Act itself is good, but it needs to be reviewed to sharpen it and revitalise so as to make it achieve the purpose for which it was created,” he said.

    Ogbeifun said he sees his reelection as a further call to service; thanking SOAN and other stakeholders for their support.

  • Ship owners boycott Expo

    The Nigerian Maritime Expo-(NIMAREX) 2015 edition was  boycotted, last week, by its key stakeholders and some ship owners.

    Some key members of the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA) were absent at the event. Other critical stakeholders in the maritime and shipping sector were also not there.

    Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Director-General Dr. Patrick Akpo-bolokemi, attributed the poor attendance to the crisis rocking NISA.

    Akpobolokemi, represented by the Executive Director of Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr Calistus Nwabueze, urged the shipowners to close ranks, saying the Federal Government would implement the Cabotage Act and ensure that it works.

    “This is not the type of event that we envisaged, we expect to see all the shipowners who come to NIMASA to register their vessels, the core practitioners are not here, you need to reach out to them and make them identify with NIMAREX and other critical programme which NIMASA organised so that together we can build the sector better than it is.

    “I want to also say that it is very important that we forge unity within NISA; the shipowners, it is only when you are united that you can attract the attention of government, not when you are speaking in discordant tunes.

    “Presently, there is a very serious effort by the Federal Ministry of Transport to look into the operational difficulties we are having in the implementation of Cabotage Act, and emphasis is being placed on developing indigenous vessel acquisition capacity”.

    Akpobolokemi hinted that the much-awaited disbursement of Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) might take place any moment from now, assuring that the Ministry of Transport is currently showing renewed interest on vessel acquisition.

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Managing Director Alhaji Sanusi Lamido Ado-Bayero urged stakeholders to use maritime resources to develop the economy.

    The NPA boss urged the stakeholders to play leading role as catalysts to the development of the economy.

    He, however, said the downward trend in global oil price had posed a challenge to national development.

    Bayero urged Nigerians to take full advantage of the abundant maritime endowments and growth opportunities in the maritime sector.

    “There is no gain saying that most great nations of the world delivered their greatness from the endowments.

    “Early civilised states such as Egypt derived her prowess and globally-acclaimed wealth and prosperity from the blessings of the Great Nile River.

    “The tradition has been sustaining Egypt till date as one of the greatest maritime nations of the world.

    “Singapore is known as solely relying on her maritime endowments which have been developed to the extent that the country is reputed to be the world’s bunkering destination,‘’ the NPA chief said.

    He said that Indonesia was reputed for her high production of seafarers who were all over the world manning vessels of different configurations and sizes.

    The Chairman of the NIMAREX 2015 planning committee, Mr. Adedoyin Ayo however, called on the Federal Government to look into the problem of funding for vessel acquisition and tonnage building, saying that the maritime sector contributes immensely to Nigeria’s GDP.

     

  • Ship owners seek removal of waivers, others

    THE Federal Government has been urged to cut interest rates to enable ship owners upgrade their facilities and compete with foreigners.

    Stakeholders urged the government to build a vibrant investment climate for the maritime sector.

    The Chairman, Logistic Chains, Bola Adebajo said there should be policies to create synergies between the industry and other sectors, such as banking and manufacturing.

    He said 60 per cent of the inward and outward bound goods in the West and Central Africa sub-region pass through the nation’s waterways, calling on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar to assist in developing the industry.

    He said the country needs to expand its merchant fleet based on the high volume of bulk liquid, gas and dry cargoes that pass through its waterways.

    He suggested measures, such as dedicated institutional financing mechanism for the shipping and maritime sector, a comprehensive maritime regulatory policy, to delineate the role and responsibilities of the government and private sector in the development of the maritime sector and building.

    Another stakeholder, and the President, Folas Motors, Mr Folagade Adeyemi, said the purchase of modern vessels, Adeyemi said, would also provide jobs for millions of Nigerians and the restive youths across the country.

    He said there was need for a sustained partnership between the private and public sectors for effective funding.

    The country, he said, had not enjoyed the commercial benefits of transporting large quantities of cargoes because the local ship owners lack the necessary capital.

    Adeyemi suggested that the Federal Government should integrate education into the university system so that Nigerians, who are interested in seafaring can get the necessary training needed to promote the sector.

    Adeyemi also  urged the Federal Government to remove the waiver clause from the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act (Cabotage Act of 2013).

    He  said over 50 per cent of firms have been shut due to the poor implementation of the Cabotage Law.

    “The removal will help to address the plight of indigenous ship owners whose businesses have been damaged,’’ Adeyemi, said, adding that it was sad that indigenous ship owners were not doing well despite that they started business in Nigeria.

    The waiver clause, according to him, has been made more important by the Ministry of Transport to the detriment of the implementation of the Cabotage Law itself.

    “I am alarmed at the kind of vessels that are granted waiver in Nigeria. Instead of giving waivers to specialised vessels in consonance with the dreams of the initiators of the Act, we end up giving waivers to anchor handling and tankers which the Act did not envisage for waivers.

    “In other climes, they do not leave the administration of waiver to be handled by the ever busy government officials like the Minister, Permanent Secretary or NIMASA, but rather, it’s an all-inclusive exercise where applications are received by the agency concerned and forwarded to the stakeholders who do the needful and make recommendations to the implementing agency which now carries out the recommended action,” Adeyemi said.

  • NIMASA, ship owners discuss single hull tankers’ ban

    NIMASA, ship owners discuss single hull tankers’ ban

    Indigenous ship owners acting under the aegis of Nigerian Shipowners Association (NSA) are currently discussing with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on how to handle the deadline for the operation of single hull tankers (vessels) as directed by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) a few years ago.

    The IMO said as from next year, operation of single hull vessels is outlawed

    The discussion is considered vital because most of the vessels owned by indigenous operators are single hull and should NIMASA implement the IMO policy by next year, the maritime sector may likely collapse.

    The indigenous ship owners are therefore seeking a safety net from NIMASA.

    The Head, Maritime Safety and Seafarers Standard, NIMASA, Mr. Vincent Udoye, who spoke to The Nation on the issue, said the NIMASA’s Director-General, Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi is passionately looking into the matter with a view to finding a leeway for the ship owners.

    Udoye said: “The Director-General of NIMASA is very sympathetic to the plight of the indigenous ship owners;  so we are looking at avenues or whether there is a caveat where we can actually avoid banning single hull tankers come 2015.

    “So we are working closely with the Director-General and very soon NIMASA will come out with its official position, which will not be contrary to IMO’s directive.

    “Even IMO knows that countries are at different levels when it comes to enforcement of the directive.

    “I believe there is a certain window whereby you can apply the enforcement selectively because IMO recognises that it is the country that gives effect to its resolutions.

    “ So if we look at our own local situation, and realise that we will have a serious problem if the resolution is enforced draconically, we have to find a way to give the indigenous ship owners a soft landing so that they will not completely dislocate the maritime industry in Nigeria.

    “Without fear of contradiction, I must tell you that majority of the Nigerian owned ships are single hull tankers, therefore, if we have to ask all of them to stop trading from next year, where is the replacement coming from? What are the gains of the Cabotage Act? What of the gains of Local Content Law? We will make mockery of all these gains.  How about Nigerian seafarers? Those currently working on board those vessels, where will they be? Will they be employed by the foreign companies? The answer is no.

    “So we must look at our own peculiar environment and find how to apply that law that says single hull tankers should be phased out in 2015. The Director-General will come out with a policy statement on that.”

    NSA President,  Capt. Dada Niyi Labinjo confirmed that the group is in discussion with NIMASA.

    He said: “The ban will affect ship owners in Nigeria very adversely and we have been discussing with NIMASA  before now and I’m sure we still have avenues to discuss with NIMASA.

    “Luckily, I was the one that led the technical committee of ship owners’ team for the meeting in 2009 and I made some passionate position known at the time. I told NIMASA at the time that it may not be auspicious for them to ask all the single hull ships in Nigeria to be thrown away, it is not possible. We agreed on certain positions.”

     

     

  • Ship owners hold summit today

    Ship owners and managers will meet in Singapore today,  to   examine the strengths of their relationship and consider the state of the global shipping industry during the first international shipowning and ship management summit.

    The event will take place at  the Singapore headquarters of International Communications Specialist Singtel.

    The Summit, organised by Shipping Innovation (organisers of the successful London International Shipping Week) will feature thought-provoking presentations from industry leaders representing both the ship owning and ship management sectors.

    The International Shipowning and Shipmanagement Summit will consider latest industry developments and international concerns, as well as examine relationships within the shipping chain. Leading ship owners and ship managers will be joined by influential representatives from sectors including ship broking, insurance and chartering for this one-day summit.

    The summit is being held in association with Inter Manager, the international trade association for third party and in-house ship managers, and will be chaired by InterManager Past President Roberto Giorgi.

    The summit is sponsored by Bibby Ship Management, Braemar Shipping Services Plc/Braemar ACM Shipbroking and Videotel and is supported by the Singaporean shipping industry including the Singapore Shipping Association whose Honorary Secretary, Esben Poulsson, will deliver the keynote address.

    Director of  Shipping Innovation, Sean Moloney, who will chair one of the afternoon panel discussions said: “The summit will provides ship owners and ship managers with the opportunity to hold a microscope to their industry and examine in detail the quality of their relationship and work together to address the challenges which face them. We are looking forward to some thought-provoking debates.”

     

  • Ship owners decry failure to enforce Cabotage Act

    Ship Owners have condemned the inability of the Federal Government to enforce the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003 (Cabotage Act) to enable them to participate in crude oil lifting.

    ISAN General Secretary Capt. Niyi Labinjo said the government should implement the law to allow indigenous shipping companies participate in the oil business.

    He said local ship firms should be given the leverage to lift the corresponding portion of the crude meant for export, stating that the banks were willing to support them with the required financial backing if the government could allocate to them an appreciable volume of crude oil to lift. He told The Nation that in Brazil, the government approved about 700 agencies that were issued certificates of compliance on local content.

    Labinjo said about five years ago, the government trained 200 cadets under the National Seafarers Development Programme in readiness to drive the effort, but regretted that since there was not enough shipping companies to work with, the cadets have remained jobless.

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

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

    “We will continue to press the government. We’ll continue to make our views known about the need for proper compliance with Cabotage; about the need for proper compliance with the Nigerian Content Act,” he said.