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Tag: Shippers’ Council

  • Shippers Council advocates ‘blue economy’ to boost revenue

    Shippers Council advocates ‘blue economy’ to boost revenue

    The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has urged agencies in the maritime industry to promote what it calls the blue economy to earn huge revenue  for the country.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, told The Nation that the country has abundant marine resources which would raise the standard of living, if tapped.

    The council, he said, was working with the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on the ‘’efficient exploitation of marine resources’’.

    According to Bello, the blue economy, covers both aquatic and marine spaces, including oceans, seas, coasts, lakes, rivers, underground water, fisheries, aqua-culture, tourism, transport, shipbuilding, energy, bioprospecting, and underwater mining.

    He said the country was well-positioned to rake revenue from the sector based on its huge maritime traffic, a population of over 180 million and a coastline measuring about 850km.

    The oceans and seas, Bello said, were ideal conditions for fishermen, pointing out that issues which must be addressed were holding back a blue economy there.

    “Another barrier to economic development is piracy, which has become a major obstacle to growth and development. Pollution is also damaging our marine environments, particularly from some of the ships calling at our ports. Therefore, government agencies need to come together to fashion out plans and coordinated action to control crime, exploitation and pollution, among others. Coordinated action through agencies in the sector and groups, such as the African Union will give us better result.

    “The Blue economy, encapsulating all of the potential of our oceanic resources, offers us a platform for Africa’s transformation both in terms of Agenda 2063 and in terms of the post-2015 Development Agenda and the sustainable development goals.

    “The majority of world trade is by sea. The majority of the world’s oil shipments are by sea. There is no food security without a sustainable ocean. The majority of new mineral resources will not be found on land but in the sea. The blue economy is Africa’s future and Nigeria must take the lead.”

    Blue economy, according to him, are wealth derivable from oceans and seas and other economic activities derived from the maritime sector.

    Government agencies, Bello said, need to collaborate to transform the  sector into a huge revenue earner for the government and country as a whole country.

    To initiate policies and programmes that will increase the revenue base of the country, Bello said, were part of the mandate of most of the government agencies in the maritime sector and dividends of the blue economy being promoted by the Minister of Transport Rotimi Amaechi through NIMASA.

    He stressed the need for investment in the sector which he said had similar potential and opportunities that exist in countries, such as South Korea, Ukraine, Singapore and other countries, which thrive on their industry.

    Bello said there was need to use the sector to derive more benefits for the country and its people.

    He charged government agencies and Nigerians to invest in the opportunities afforded by the Blue Economy, stating that it is the fastest growing sector in the world with enormous business potential.

    “Government agencies must initiate policies and programmes that will increase the revenue base of the government. Both the public and private sector have to collaborate to sustainably harness the potential of our maritime sector for the benefit of the nation’s economy, especially as the Federal Government continues the economic diversification drive.”

    Some of the areas to be looked into, he said, include fisheries, the coastline itself, mangroves, carbon absorption, seagrass beds and corals reefs and carbon sequestration, among others. In South Africa for instance, the blue economy could   generate one million jobs by 2033.

    Government policy on the blue economy, he said, should be centered on coastal tourism, offshore oil and gas exploration, deep and short-sea shipping, cruise tourism, fisheries and aquaculture, inland water way transport, offshore wind, blue biotechnology, marine mineral mining, marine aquatic products and ocean renewable energy.

     

     

  • My plan for ports, by Shippers Council boss

    My plan for ports, by Shippers Council boss

    The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is determined to make the ports more efficient to enable them compete with those of neighbouring countries, its Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, has said.

    Bello told The Nation that operators and other stakeholders should collaborate with the government to make the ports attractive, competitive and the sub-region’s preferred cargo destination.

    The collaboration, he said, was necessary to drive the change needed to reform the sector to attract more cargoes.

    He said NSC was working closely with the government and private operators in order to create a level-playing field for all.

    “The council is looking for an equilibrium that is needed in port operation, and that is why we interact with the operators regularly.

    “The port system is a representation of various interests and everybody has a target. That is why there is need for a neutral observer that will bring everybody together.

    “That is what Nigerian Shippers’ Council is doing to cement the relationship so that synergy will be brought to bear for the positive contribution of shipping to the nation’s economy.

    “The more cargo we have, the more it translates to economic growth; the more it translates to employment; building of new infrastructure and making transportation the driver of the nation’s economy,”he said.

    According to him, the complaints by port users, shippers and shipping companies vary, adding that  the complaints were meant to right certain wrongs. Some complaints, he said, were monetary, and some, lack of equipment and short-landing of goods.

    The Council, he said, had been persuasive with its regulatory power to eradicate the challenges hindering port operations and making Nigerian ports the preferred cargo destination. To him, genuine automation of ports operations would increase efficiency and decrease waste.

    The effect of these, according to him, would be making the ports attractive with increased volumes of cargo, which again would enhance government revenue.

    He said there will be more employment and the ports will then become the preferred destination for importers.

    “If it is five days in port A and it is one day in port B, I will rather go to port B because it is the economies of scale that determines which port is used. We have made it possible for us to make that comparison within the sub-consciousness of the national discourse on the economy.

    “It is important for our ports to be efficient and our ports are picking up now. Corruption is what we have been talking about and there are many ways to kill corruption and one of them is automation because the moment you have automation, corruption will just disappear. With the introduction of electronic payment platform, what took place in six days then, will now take place in six seconds.

    “Some of the delays have been eliminated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the agency is also trying to introduce other electronic system of doing things, the same thing with Customs,” he said.

    The NSC boss urged the government to take a deliberate action to address many challenges confronting the port system through consistent and predictable policies.

    Investors, he said, needed certainty and ease of doing business in Nigeria, which could be brought about by the government intervention, especially in the 1gridlock at-  Apapa.

    According to him, no matter how efficient a terminal is, if there is no road to evacuate cargoes, how can you do it? So, there must be some level of intervention.

    “The ideas are to have an electronic passage to ensure that a truck is only in Apapa when it is needed to pick or drop cargo. Then the tank farms, we don’t need trailers to go to tank farms because we have the pipeline, which is also a means of transportation.

    “The moment we have these pipelines pumping to Mosimi and other flow stations, then we don’t need tankers in Apapa.

    “We cannot rely only on access road, ports should be accessible by road, rail, inland water ways and pipelines because the port is not a storage place for cargo at all.”

    Bello also said the NSC is also establishing Truck Transit Parks along major highways in the country to help address the challenges of trucks parking along major roads in the country, adding that  the project is Public Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at reducing incidences of road congestion and loss of cargoes due to indiscriminate parking by truck drivers.

    The executive secretary explained that the council, in partnership with states, would build modern parks with hotels, restaurants, filling stations and garages for repair and maintenance of vehicles.

    According to him, the facility will also have weigh measures not only for trucks, but also small cars travelling at night can stop over there and stay because there will be security. This will provide revenue for the state government because there will be employment for people and other small businesses can spring up also.

    “We have secured a land from Kogi State government along Abuja road, Enugu State government has also given us land in Obolo Afor and other state governments have indicated interest in the project,” he said, adding that the Council will soon introduce modern cargo tracking system.

    According to Bello, introducing cargo tracking device will help in revenue blockage and assist the Nigeria Customs  Service (NCS) in its revenue collection. He added that the Cargo Tracking and Advanced Cargo Information System is a trade facilitation system, which involves advance electronic transmission of cargo manifest ahead of the ships’ arrival.

    “Cargo tracking and advanced cargo information system is a trade facilitation system, which was introduced by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and is being supported by the Nigeria Customs Service.

    “The device is used to block revenue leakages at the ports. It enables Customs to place the correct duty on every cargo. We wouldn’t be having all these smuggling if we have the advanced cargo information system,” he said.

     

  • My plan for ports, by Shippers Council boss

    My plan for ports, by Shippers Council boss

    The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is determined to make the ports more efficient to enable them compete with those of neighbouring countries, its Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, has said.

    Bello told The Nation that operators and other stakeholders should collaborate with the government to make the ports attractive, competitive and the sub-region’s preferred cargo destination.

    The collaboration, he said, was necessary to drive the change needed to reform the sector to attract more cargoes.

    He said NSC was working closely with the government and private operators in order to create a level-playing field for all.

    “The council is looking for an equilibrium that is needed in port operation, and that is why we interact with the operators regularly.

    “The port system is a representation of various interests and everybody has a target. That is why there is need for a neutral observer that will bring everybody together.

    “That is what Nigerian Shippers’ Council is doing to cement the relationship so that synergy will be brought to bear for the positive contribution of shipping to the nation’s economy.

    “The more cargo we have, the more it translates to economic growth; the more it translates to employment; building of new infrastructure and making transportation the driver of the nation’s economy,”he said.

    According to him, the complaints by port users, shippers and shipping companies vary, adding that  the complaints were meant to right certain wrongs. Some complaints, he said, were monetary, and some, lack of equipment and short-landing of goods.

    The Council, he said, had been persuasive with its regulatory power to eradicate the challenges hindering port operations and making Nigerian ports the preferred cargo destination. To him, genuine automation of ports operations would increase efficiency and decrease waste.

    The effect of these, according to him, would be making the ports attractive with increased volumes of cargo, which again would enhance government revenue.

    He said there will be more employment and the ports will then become the preferred destination for importers.

    “If it is five days in port A and it is one day in port B, I will rather go to port B because it is the economies of scale that determines which port is used. We have made it possible for us to make that comparison within the sub-consciousness of the national discourse on the economy.

    “It is important for our ports to be efficient and our ports are picking up now. Corruption is what we have been talking about and there are many ways to kill corruption and one of them is automation because the moment you have automation, corruption will just disappear. With the introduction of electronic payment platform, what took place in six days then, will now take place in six seconds.

    “Some of the delays have been eliminated by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and the agency is also trying to introduce other electronic system of doing things, the same thing with Customs,” he said.

    The NSC boss urged the government to take a deliberate action to address many challenges confronting the port system through consistent and predictable policies.

    Investors, he said, needed certainty and ease of doing business in Nigeria, which could be brought about by the government intervention, especially in the 1gridlock at-  Apapa.

    According to him, no matter how efficient a terminal is, if there is no road to evacuate cargoes, how can you do it? So, there must be some level of intervention.

    “The ideas are to have an electronic passage to ensure that a truck is only in Apapa when it is needed to pick or drop cargo. Then the tank farms, we don’t need trailers to go to tank farms because we have the pipeline, which is also a means of transportation.

    “The moment we have these pipelines pumping to Mosimi and other flow stations, then we don’t need tankers in Apapa.

    “We cannot rely only on access road, ports should be accessible by road, rail, inland water ways and pipelines because the port is not a storage place for cargo at all.”

    Bello also said the NSC is also establishing Truck Transit Parks along major highways in the country to help address the challenges of trucks parking along major roads in the country, adding that  the project is Public Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at reducing incidences of road congestion and loss of cargoes due to indiscriminate parking by truck drivers.

    The executive secretary explained that the council, in partnership with states, would build modern parks with hotels, restaurants, filling stations and garages for repair and maintenance of vehicles.

    According to him, the facility will also have weigh measures not only for trucks, but also small cars travelling at night can stop over there and stay because there will be security. This will provide revenue for the state government because there will be employment for people and other small businesses can spring up also.

    “We have secured a land from Kogi State government along Abuja road, Enugu State government has also given us land in Obolo Afor and other state governments have indicated interest in the project,” he said, adding that the Council will soon introduce modern cargo tracking system.

    According to Bello, introducing cargo tracking device will help in revenue blockage and assist the Nigeria Customs  Service (NCS) in its revenue collection. He added that the Cargo Tracking and Advanced Cargo Information System is a trade facilitation system, which involves advance electronic transmission of cargo manifest ahead of the ships’ arrival.

    “Cargo tracking and advanced cargo information system is a trade facilitation system, which was introduced by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and is being supported by the Nigeria Customs Service.

    “The device is used to block revenue leakages at the ports. It enables Customs to place the correct duty on every cargo. We wouldn’t be having all these smuggling if we have the advanced cargo information system,” he said.

  • ‘No compromise on ports efficiency, says shippers’ council

    The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), is committed to ensuring efficiency at the ports to make them compete with those in neighbouring countries, its Executive Secretary, Hassan Bello, has said.

    Bello said automation of the ports’ services was necessary to drive the change needed to reform the sector to attract more cargoes into the country.

    He said ports automation and the establishment of the Truck Transit Parks would increase efficiency and decrease waste, adding that openness would facilitate cargo clearance.

    “If it is five days in port A and it is one day in port B, I will rather go to port B because it is the economies of scale that determines which port is used. We have made it possible for us to make that comparison within the sub-consciousness of the national discourse on the economy.

    “It is important for our ports to be efficient and our ports are picking up now. Corruption is what we have been talking about and there are many ways to kill corruption and one of them is automation because the moment you have automation, corruption will just disappear. With the introduction of their electronic payment platform, what took place in six days then, now takes place in six seconds.

    “Some of the delays have been eliminated by NPA and the agency is also trying to introduce other electronic system of doing things, the same thing with Customs.’’

    The NSC boss urged the government to take a deliberate action to address many challenges confronting the port system through consistent and predictable policies.

    He said that investors needed certainty and ease of doing business in Nigeria which could be brought about by government intervention, especially in the gridlock at Apapa.

    According to him, no matter how efficient a terminal is, if you don’t have the road to evacuate cargos, how can you do it. So there must be some level of intervention.

    “The ideas are to have an electronic passage to ensure that a truck is only in Apapa when it is needed to pick or drop cargo. Then the thank farms, we don’t need trailers tanker to go to tank farms because we have the pipeline which is also a means of transportation.

    “The moment we have these pipelines pumping to Mosimi and other flow stations, then we don’t need tankers in Apapa.

    “We cannot rely only on one access like road; port should be accessible by road, rail, inland water ways and pipelines because the port is not a storage place for cargo at all.’’

    Bello also said that NSC is also establishing Truck Transit Parks along major highways in the country to help address the challenges of trucks parking along major roads in the country. He said the project was Public Private Partnership (PPP) aimed at reducing incidences of road congestion and loss of cargos due to indiscriminate parking by truck drivers.

    The executive secretary explained that the council, in partnership with state governments, would build modern parks that would have hotels, restaurants, filing stations and garages for repair and maintenance of vehicles.

  • Shippers Council seeks e-truck call-up system 

    Shippers Council seeks e-truck call-up system 

    Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has called for the implementation of an electronic truck call-up system at the seaports.

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, made the call while receiving members of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) in his office.

    Bello said the cost of transportation was vital to the success of business, adding that the council had decided to reduce the cost of transportation through competition instead of through price fixing.

    According to him, transportation is part of manufacturing.

    Part of responsibilities of the Council, he said, was to ensure efficient and timely delivery of shipping services to importers and exporters at minimal cost.

    He said a study by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) study has shown that there were over 4,000 trucks in Apapa, as against 1,300 trucks.

    “What we have are individual truck operators with only one truck and most of the trucks are dilapidated. We have been meeting the transport companies to ensure changes,’’ Bello said.

    MAN Corporate Affairs and Logistics/ Strategic Planning Committee Chairman, Mr John Aluya, stressed the  need to strengthen collaboration with the NSC.

    Aluya said the NSC was a strategic partner, adding that the sector was important to manufacturing because most raw materials were imported.

    He said: “The ease of getting our raw materials is important to us and the NCS. Being the port regulator, NCS is working toward reducing the cost of doing business at the ports.

    “There is a slow pace of cargo clearance, which is affecting the cost of doing business and Nigeria is not alone in this league.”

     

  • Shippers’ Council plans stakeholders’ summit to boost export

    Nigerian Shippers’ Council is to organise a Stakeholders’ Summit in the Southwest, to promote non-oil export potential of the six states.

    The council’s Zonal Coordinator for Southwest, Mr. Rotimi Anifowose, who spoke during a visit to Ekiti State Commissioner for Commerce, Industries and Cooperatives, Mr. Michael Ayodele, expressed the readiness to partner the government on export of crops, such as cocoa and cassava, where the state had comparative advantage.

    According to him, the ministry is an important stakeholder apart from trade associations, importers and exporters.

    Anifowose said the visit was to explore areas of collaboration to make stakeholders benefit from services rendered by the council.

    He said the Federal Government in 2014 made the council the economic regulator of ports and arbiter between providers and users of shipping services.

    The Shippers’ Council boss said the agency would soon come up with an Annual Stakeholders’ Summit in the Southwest to tap into non-oil export as a foreign exchange earner.

    Anifowose said: “As providers and users of shipping services, we must facilitate trade and we are coming up with an Annual Stakeholders’ Summit because Southwest is very key to the economy.

    “It will be a two-day summit that will focus on non-oil export and we are inviting Ekiti State. The summit will be an annual event. Trade groups, importers and exporters across the six states are involved.

    “We are also working hard to ensure rice, cassava and cocoa farmers have access to funds and ensure that businessmen who are into international trade in Ekiti State are not shortchanged.”

    Ayodele said recession is a challenge to look in the direction of non-oil resources to generate foreign exchange, adding that Ekiti would partner the Shippers’ Council to harness investment potential of the state.

    He said: “We have other resources that can lift the economy, but the problem is that we have abandoned them. We have to look into the enabling laws and regulations to implement them.

    “Ekiti State government is ready to partner the Nigerian Shippers’ Council and we want to key into your plan. We have been having an interface with trade associations in the state.

    “We are also having their data to facilitate our collaboration with them.”

  • Shippers Council seeks trade barriers removal

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

    Its Executive Secretary, Mr Hassan Bello, said regional transportation required integration, harmonisation and standardisation.

    “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 said.

    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 has been playing a critical role in ensuring that the institutions and bodies would be supported.

    He pointed out that the Council, since its appointment as Economic Regulator of the port, had been involved some laudable activities.

    He expressed the Council’s readiness to give port operators, stakeholders and other government agencies the necessary support to meet their goals and aspirations.

    He lauded the Federal Government for its role in ensuring a level-playing ground among stakeholders. in the maritime industry.

  • Shippers’ Council gets Southwest coordinator

    The Nigeria Shippers’ Council has appointed Olurotimi Anifowose as the zonal coordinator for its Southwest Zonal Coordinating Office.

    He replaces Tolulope Jaiyeola, who was redeployed to the council’s corporate head office in Lagos.

    Anifowose joined the council in 1992 as Public Relations Officer 1. He conceptualised and implemented its corporate communications strategies till 2010, when he took over as head, Industrial Relations & Welfare Services.

    A 1988 graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, and later University of Lagos in 1991, Anifowose will coordinate the functions and activities of the council in Oyo, Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Kwara states.

    He has attended workshops, conferences and seminars locally and internationally, and is a member of Nigeria Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), International Dispute Resolution and Energy Institute of Nigeria, among others.

  • Shippers Council partners stakeholders to boost revenue

    The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is partnering  some stake-holders to promote shipping.

    Its Executive Secretary, Hassan Bello, said the agency was collaborating with the Nigerian chapter of the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers (ICS) for effective training and capacity development.

    He spoke when he received the officials of ICS, led by its Chairman, Captain S. Olanrewaju, in his office.

    According to him, the visit is timely and appropriate because it came at a time the Ministry of Transportation is taking stock of shipping.

    He said the NSC, being the economic regulator of the ports, plays an advisory role to the government on macro-economic issues as they affect shipping and transportation.

    Bello said it was imperative for the council to seek knowledge on types of ships, vessels, the configurations and trade routes.

    The council, he said, must know the various branches of shipping like freight forwarding, consolidation of cargoes and others to help it advise the government, especially now that the Council is the chairman of the Nigerian Fleet Implementation Committee (NFIC).

    “If you control the means of transportation, you control the trade. There is the need for us to own and operate ship in order to boost our economy through the earning that we will get. It is not right to leave it in the hands of foreigners to control. They make make money in our country and go back to their country.”

    Olanrewaju sought the council’s support to sponsor its workforce on short and long-term professional and skill development programmes.

    The institute, he said, was brought from London to boost the economy.

  • 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.