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The choking grip of foreign Shipping Companies on Nigeria’s Maritime Industry

John Johnson

Due to gross maladministration, policy somersault, pettiness, pecuniary considerations, official corruption and ineptitude, Nigeria has inadvertedly ceded the control of her vast shipping fortunes to the rapacious foreign shipping companies.

Despite her huge coastal attributes and opportunities that it is naturally endowed with, Nigeria has no control over her shipping industry which is being gleefully exploited and feasted on by the domineering foreigners.

All efforts by successive Governments to take firm control of the country’s thriving shipping industry through vibrant indigenous fleet expansion that would take control of her large import and export trade have come to naught as the foreign shipping lines have continued and consistently maintained their vice grip on the sector.

Nigeria is a naturally endowed coastal nation with a coastline of more than 800km and an exclusive economic zone of more than 200 nautical miles.

It’s predominantly import- dependent economy is supported by six active ports and six petroleum exportation terminals which stimulate its thriving commercial shipping activities.

With its huge but largely unproductive population that has insatiable appetite for foreign goods, Nigeria shipping industry therefore has a natural pull for foreign shipping lines which filled the void created by the   indigenous fleet to take control in the absence of strong and effective regulatory environment.

Engineer Abiodun Ilori, a Master Mariner, said Nigeria should not be carried away by its natural coastal attributes without proper utilization of the inherent opportunities.

“Our industry is not where it should be yet. You can imagine a small country like Norway that has less than five million people has 27,000 ships in the world. For every five ships that ply the waters of the world, one is a Norwegian flagged ship. Those are maritime nations we need to learn from. How did they get there? One Norwegian company has 650 ships.

‘’ I don’t like unnecessary speculations and just talking to make ourselves feel good by saying we have 840 nautical miles adjoining our coast, 10,000 miles of inland waterways. When we gather, that is what we talk about all the time. No one remembers that Norwegian waters are frozen eight months in a year because of the weather. It has never been an excuse for them not to develop their shipping industry’’

*Nigeria’s aborted dream to control her shipping fortunes*

Nigeria made a bold attempt at harnessing her maritime potentials and take control of her immense cargo throughput when in 1957, it floated an indigenous shipping line called Nigerian National Shipping Line(NNSL) which started operations in 1959 with three vessels which steadily grew to 16 vessels by 1964.

Government, through deliberate policies, sought to strengthen and empower the National shipping line and other private indigenous shipping companies to dominate the Nigeria shipping space.

By 1988, the NNSL fleet has grown to 24 vessels. The government, through the then National Maritime Authority(NMA), the forerunner to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA),granted six indigenous  shipping Companies a ‘national carrier’ status, including state-owned NNSL.

The then NMA planned to extend this privileged status to more indigenous shipping companies in order to reduce the control of trade by foreign shipping companies.

The Shipping Policy Decree of 1987 which established the then NMA gave approval for 50-50 share between the foreign and indigenous shipping lines for non-conference cargo.

Despite these deliberate efforts by government to empower indigenous shipping lines and the state-owned NNSL to take firm control of the nation’s shipping space, unfortunately the 24 vessels of Nigerian national carriers including the NNSL could only take 11 per cent of the cargoes at the Nigerian ports.

The NNSL and the private companies with national carrier status subsequently suffered from financial problems and lacked the facilities needed to attract cargoes.

In the 1990s, several of the NNSL vessels were seized in different parts of the world for alleged breach of contracts and unpaid bills, leading to its eventual liquidation in September 1995.
Its assets were assumed by its successor, National Unity Line (NUL).

The NUL, fully owned by the then Nigeria Maritime Authority, began commercial operations in July 1996 as Nigeria’s national flag carrier with only one vessel called MV Abuja.

In August 2005 the government put the NUL up for sale with no vessel but had shipping license.

With no one to buy the moribund NUL, a fresh bid to re-launch the National Carrier in 2011 hit the rock.

Subsequent efforts to revamp the dead national carrier, including the current efforts of a hybrid government committee headed by Barrister Hassan Bello, the Executive Secretary of Nigerian Shippers Council, have not yielded any result.

*The foreign Shipping lines bare their fangs*

With the several efforts of government to boost and empower indigenous shipping companies becoming futile and unsuccessful, the foreign shipping lines which have been waiting in the wings eventually swooped on the Nigerian shipping space, taking absolute control of the operations in the sector without competition from the non-existent local fleet.

From the early year 2000 when government has failed in its attempts to encourage indigenous carriers to take a dominant position in the shipping activities in the country, the foreign lines have had a vice hold on the sector, subjecting Nigerian importers to untold hardship through multiple and arbitrary charges.

They have been carrying out their operations with impunity and in flagrant disregard and disobedience to the regulatory authority.

The shipping lines have treated and still treating the directives from the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA), the landlord and technical regulator, the Nigerian Shippers Council(NSC), the commercial regulator and the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency(NIMASA) with scorns and ignominy.

With weak regulatory environment and timid regulators, the foreign shipping lines have continually played gods, imposing arbitrary and multiple charges on their hapless customers who are helpless and harassed.

The atrocities of these shipping companies are being complemented with the equally oppressive regime of charges by the terminal operators who are working hand in gloves to further subject Nigerian importer to modern economic slavery.

Incidentally, some of these shipping companies and the terminals are of the same ownership.
For instance, Mersklines is said to be of the same parentage with the APM Terminal, the owners of the Apapa terminal reputed to be the biggest.

In the same vein, Grimaldi shipping is said to be from the same stable with PTML, the owners of RORO terminal in Tin Can port.

So, with the total control of the most vital supply chain, shipping and terminal operations, the foreign operators are able to build a complete hedge of economic subjugation around the hapless Nigerian importers.

*Shipping Charges as weapons of economic oppression*

Nigerian ports are reputed to be the most expensive to transact business partly due to the arbitrary and multiple charges by the foreign shipping companies and their collaborating terminal operators.

Some of the contentious charges include but not limited to terminal handling charges, container demurrage, Value Added Tax on Cost, Insurance and Freight, Container Deposit and Value Added Tax on container deposits.

Apart from these charges, which the Nigerian Shippers Council in 2010 put conservatively at 40 in numbers, there are other numerous surcharges which the shipping companies willfully impose on Nigerian-bound cargo for flimsy excuses.

According to a study on Impact of Unfair Surcharges and High Local Shipping Charges on National Economies of West and Central African States, Nigeria as a case study, on the Europe-Nigeria trade route, the number of multiple surcharges on Nigeria-bound cargo and the estimated loss to the Nigerian economy due to additional ‘Local Shipping Charges’ on imports exceeded N150 billion in a year.

These surcharges are Bunker Adjustment Factor, Currency Adjustment Factor, War Risk Surcharge, Congestion Surcharge, Peak Season Surcharge.

Others are Extra Risk Insurance Surcharge, Freight Rates Surcharge, Port Operations Recovery Surcharge among others.

In 2010, the Nigerian Shippers Council published a list of some 40 unapproved port charges. These include terminal handling charges, container deposit, container clearing, shipping company charges, demurrage charges, cost-on-turnover, transfer documentation charges, transfer charges, rent charges, equipment charges, manifest amendment charges and tally clerk charges. The discovery prompted the then Transport Minister, Senator Idris Umar, to issue an order for the cancellation of about 12 of the unofficial charges.

*Industry regulators as toothless bull dogs*

Stakeholders have lambasted the industry regulators, especially the Nigerian Shippers Council which is the economic regulator who is supposed to curb the operational excesses of the service providers and the Nigerian Ports Authority which is the technical regulator of the providers as toothless bulldogs capable of barking but lack the will powers to bite.
This timidity, they said, has emboldened the service providers in their exploitative operations.

Mrs Jean Chiazor-Anishere, a maritime lawyer, observed that lack of political will on the part of the regulators to enforce the existing laws, regulations and guidelines has encouraged the shipping companies to behave with impunity.

‘The lack of political will to strictly enforce the existing regulations in the sector has in no small measure emboldened these foreign companies in their act of impunity’’, she declared.

The Nigeria Shippers Council under Chief Adebayo Sarumi as its Executive Secretary was so incapacitated and castrated that it could neither bark nor bite.

Like a whimpering child, the Council, who was supposed to enforce the operational guidelines for the shipping companies, looked on helplessly as they carried on their operations with impunity

However, the Council gave a faith hope that it has recovered from its inertia when the incumbent Chief Executive of the Council, Barrister Hassan Bello, assumed office.

There was a spark of life in its activities which was aided by the commercial regulator status granted it by the federal government.

The Shipping companies and terminal operators under the aegis of Association of Shipping Line Agencies(ASLA) and Seaport Terminal Operators’ Association of Nigeria( STOAN) opposed the emergence of the shippers council as a commercial regulator  as well as its pronouncement of some of their charges as illegal in a bitter litigation war that took them to the Appeal court, which they eventually lost  at the Appeal court.

They had then challenged the powers of the Shippers Council to regulate their activities, declare some of their arbitrary charges as illegal and demand for refunds of some of their excessive charges at the Federal High court in 2015 where they lost.

They took the battle to the Appeal court when the upper court affirmed the position of the Council in 2018.

However, the Council has failed to leverage on this court affirmation to force the hands of the shipping companies and their collaborators in terminal operations to obey the rules of the land.

The Council under Hassan Bello has engaged more in advocacy for cheaper and legal shipping charges in a conciliatory manner rather than strict enforcement of regulations guiding the operations of the service providers.

Angry stakeholders have accused Barrister Bello of engaging more in oration and rhetoric on the impunity of the shipping companies than whipping them to line.
Early in the year ,Bello promised the harassed users of shipping services that  shipping charges would be reduced by 35 per cent by the second quarter of 2020(April-June) as the agency is concluding negotiations with shipping companies.

“After that, NSC will negotiate with terminal operators and government agencies ,that would be in the third quarter and it would further reduce cost,” he said.

Importers and their agents who spoke to this magazine confirmed that no such reduction in charges has occurred even at the commencement of the third quarter of the year.

Instead, the shipping companies and the terminal operators are become daring every day in their impunity and exploitative behavior

The angry stakeholders said the Council, in its recent engagement with the service providers, has been full of “sound and fury that signifies nothing”

They readily made reference to the scorn and flagrant disobedience of the service providers to the order made by both the Shippers Council and NPA over demurrage waivers that should be granted during the Covid-19 lockdown.

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in April, had directed that all terminal operators should suspend all applicable terminal storage fees (demurrage) on consignments for an initial period of 21 days effective March 23. It also extended the demurrage-free period by another 14 days from April 13.

In another memo issued on April 8, NPA said it would “grant credit notes commensurate to the rental reliefs granted by the terminal operators to importers within the 21-day free storage period.”

Similarly, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), directed all shipping companies to suspend demurrage charges on cargoes during the period of the COVID-19 lockdown effective March 30th.

Executive Secretary, NSC, Hassan Bello, added that demurrage charges during this period should be refunded to the consignee or his authorised agent.

But all these directives by the two leading port regulators were partially obeyed by the service providers with no consequence.

In 2018, at the height of gridlock on the Lagos port access road, the NPA ordered the shipping companies to establish holding bays to keep their empty containers which were found to be the cause of the gridlock, with the warning to sanction erring companies.

However, four shipping companies Maerskline, Cosco Shipping, APS and Lansal, all foreign companies, were given 10-day suspension by the NPA for violating the directive.

Shockingly, the four erring companies, without fully complying with the directive, were hastily left off the hook by the NPA before the expiration of the period of their suspension.

Such was the timidity of the regulators which the stakeholders blamed for the impunity of the shipping companies.

The NPA has always displayed high level of timidity towards curbing the excesses of the service providers whose operations it is meant to regulate as technical regulator.

A source in the agency said regulating shipping rates is out of the NPA purview.

‘’Freight is not under our control as it is a relationship between shipping lines and consignees.

“It should equally be noted that NPA has very limited control over shipping regulations possibly due to reporting patterns of agencies operating in the maritime sector to diverse supervisory ministries.

“Not until the activities of various players in the industry are integrated to operate a single window (one-stop-shop) that we could see reduction in the cost of shipment into Nigeria’’, the source declared in an apparent attempt to justify lack of will power of NPA to call the shipping companies to order.

*What makes the Shipping companies thick?*

Stakeholders agreed that it was not for lack of regulations but the will powers by the relevant authorities to enforce them has been what has continued to embolden the service providers in their oppressive acts.

Also, the absence of competition from the indigenous operators who are less motivated has given undue advantage to the foreign operators.

Chief Issac Jolapamo, the Founding President of Nigerian Indigenous Ship Owners Association(NISA), gave a chilling insight into the politics behind the continued subjugation of Nigerian Shipping industry to the control of the foreigners.

According to him, the foreigners had willing collaborators among some powerful Nigerians who are working hands in gloves to perpetuate the control of the foreigners for their selfish interests.

It warned vthat the country shippind business will be under the vice control of the foreigners as long as the government fails to break the yoke through conscious and deliberate efforts spear headed by a bold and nationalistic leader that will call the bluff of the foreigners.

He declared that the only Nigerian leader who could have done this was former President Olusegun Obasanjo whom he said tried but failed because he did not listen to the right advice.

The respected ship owners lamented that the few indigenious operators who were bold and could posed a threat to the conspiracy agaist the development of the shipping sector have been silenced through economic castration.

He gave a further explanation to what happened.

‘’Most of the shipping companies in Nigeria are foreign controlled and that is why the indigenous ones have no headway.

“It is when Nigeria is ready to break away from their control that is when we can break away from it.

“It is when we are ready.

“We need will- powered government to break away Nigeria from their control.

“Nigerians are their chairmen and board of directors. It is a very tricky  situation.

“These people are powerful who have direct access to government.

‘It is when we are ready to do it our own way that is when we can break from their control.

It was due to the selfish interests of our leaders that we have not been able to break the stranglehold.

‘For instance, a tanker shipping company to be owned by the NNPC that was conceived over 40 years ago was not allowed to take off due to the pecuniary and selfish interests of some powerful Nigerians who muzzled the project from conception. They rather wanted foreign tankers to be lifting our oil because of what they could make out of such foreign domination.

“So , the foreign domination in Nigeria is not something one can break easily because they are so entrenched .

“It needs a leader who has guts and is nationalistic with strong political power who can deliver Nigeria from this foreign domination..

“That was what happened in China and other Asian countries which control their own freight markets today.

“The only Nigerian leader who could have broken the foreign domination in Nigerian shipping industry was former President Obasanjo who really tried but failed because he didn’t listen to the right advice.

“These people crippled Cabotage regime before it even started.  They knew the effects of a successful Cabotage on their operations so they crippled our refineries and resorted to importation of refined petroleum products.

“They went to CBN and queried the bank why it was paying for imported fuel discharged at Lagos ports and asked that they move the point of discharge to Benin Republic and Ghana.

“Do these countries produce oil?

“They also crippled few of the outspoken indigenous ships owners so they could have their ways.

“It was a deliberate and complicated web of conspiracy between the foreigners and the powerful cabal in Nigeria to allow the Nigeria shipping industry to be subjugated for their selfish interests.

“This has made our regulatory agencies to be toothless bulldog.

“Some of us have struggled to ensure we break this yoke but we have been frustrated and incapacitated, businesswise.

“Now there is nobody to bell the cat, to lead the campaign for the emancipation of Nigerian shipping industry.

“Except the leadership commences a  programme that will break the jinx.

“Their agents within the government have effectively frustrated the efforts of some of the indigenous operators whom they consider as threats to their illicit practices.

“The experience is so frustrating.

“That is the same reason they weakened the Nigeria Indigenous Ship Owners Association(NISA) which had been given them a serious challenge.

Mrs Anishere also gave an insight into why the foreign shipping lines are audacious.

“Acts of impunity in this context would refer to the arbitrary hike in the cost paid on freight amongst other monopolistic tendencies, “she said.

She explained that majority of shipping companies in Nigeria unfortunately are owned by foreigners.

According to her; “there are no competitive indigenous ship owners, which is one of the major reasons foreign shipping companies are so powerful and unchallenged”.

“Overtime, our shipping laws and regulations have aided and abetted the unruly behaviours of these foreign shipping companies, thereby making it near impossible for freight forwarders and dockworkers to engage in a level playing ground”.

Chiazor-Anishere also noted that lack of political will to enforce the existing regulations is making the shipping companies behave the way they are doing.

“The lack of political will to strictly enforce the existing regulations in the sector has in no small measure emboldened these foreign companies in their acts of impunity, “Chiazor-Anishere said.

She observed further that inconsistency in policies and issuance of ambiguous policies are a contributory factor to the problem of foreign domination in the Nigerian maritime sector.

She also maintained that another challenge faced by indigenous shipping companies is the availability of capital.

She said: “World over, shipping is known to be a very capital intensive enterprise.

Ultimately, the indigenous shipping companies do not have the capacity to compete with the foreign companies, hence the monopoly of market”

Mr Francis Uchechukwu Aniezechukwu, a legal consultant and Director -General of Sea Empowerment Initiative(SEI) declared that the regulators that are supposed to regulate the shipping companies are not working.

“They are not doing the oversight function as they should. There is no law that empowered shipping companies to collect container deposit in Nigeria.

“I have written to NSC to show me the law and the statutes but what they are telling me is that there was a contractual agreement and such agreement is a product of a statutes

Aniezechukwu  maintained  that one of the reasons they  cited in terms of container deposits is that it is only a guarantee that they collect to show that the containers must come back.

“I say it ought not to be because the freight forwarders they are dealing with are not touts but freight forwarders that are licensed by the federal republic of Nigeria.

“So, if you think containers will not be returned, take an insurance for containers because the making of container deposits in doing business in Nigeria is enormous.

“N200,000 per a container deposit for a ship that has as much as 10,000 containers. Do you know how much that is translated to?
“Nigerian shipping companies are reaping close to N80 billion yearly on container deposits alone, “he said.

He, however, noted that when these containers are returned, the deposits are never refunded. According to him; “they come up with the idea that it was delayed and deposit time paid has been exhausted and there is nothing you can do about it because the regulators are not regulating.

“If I have my way, I will take a regulator that will regulate the regulators”.

Aniezechukwu also said that shipping companies collect demurrages at will because they are not being regulated.

“We have so many petitions written to NSC but NSC never asked us. I don’t know the reason why they are not doing what they are supposed to do but I think they don’t have the capacity to do what they are supposed to do.

“Government is an institution itself and Government made them regulators. There is a court decision that the regulators have right and rule. The Federal High Court said that they are statutory regulators of the shipping companies and if they refused to do what they are supposed to do, it’s as a result of their negligence or complacency, “he said.

Emeka Akabogu, a maritime lawyer queried the multiple charges imposed on importers/shippers and said that what constitutes some of the charges are unnecessary if things are done in accordance with global best  practices.

Eugene Nweke, a maritime expert observed that the concession of the seaports has not curbed high charges.

He said that shipping companies and concessionaires capitalise on the timidity of industry regulators, weak and compromised regulatory environment  to fleece importers/exporters of millions of naira.

“It is every unfortunate that importers have nobody to protect their interest. Apart from increasing terminal and other shipping charges, shipping companies and concessionaires compel importers to pay for demurrage at the ports even when it is the terminal operators that caused the delay”, he lamented.

Nweke also blamed the high propensity for revenue without commensurate provision of enabling environment as an incentive for the shipping companies to impose arbitrary charges on the hapless users of their services.

“There are some questions you ask they will be staring at you. Ideally, shipping companies are supposed to be regulated by the economic regulators. The economic regulator is assumed to be independent but must also project the policies of the government.

“Now where some government agencies that are in contractual agreement with some of these people have not provided enabling ground for them to thrive and want to come back to regulate them, what do you do?

‘The Nigerian Shippers’ Council finds itself in a big quagmire and NPA needs to put in place regarding the contractual agreement between them and the terminal operators.

“How do you reconcile the fact that a carrier berths in your water and it takes two weeks to berth and when it berths, it takes another week to discharge, where is the turnaround time? How do they recoup?

‘Is the government firm? Nigerian Shippers’ Council is out to regulate the entire maritime industry and part of what they are to do is to get the shipping companies to get consistent pricing system.

“But have we as a nation put in place a sustainable pricing or costing system. There are fluctuations here and there, so what do you want Shippers’ Council to do?

“Do you think that the government is not aware that the cost of doing business in Nigeria is higher than other African countries? Government is out to drive revenue generation, they rate their performance based on revenue generation and not based on efficiency of services.

“Government should give directives and stand by it. The government has the responsibility of calling any shipping company that thinks it has any backing to order to show that the country is larger than any individual.

All attempts to get the reactions of the foreign shipping companies were roundly rebuffed as they build almost impregnable wall of secrecy around their operations.

But we were able to go round the cocoon of secrecy the weaved round their operation to get their thought.

A source close to some of these foreign companies whispered to our correspondents that the business environment in the country is politically unstable, stifling and unfriendly.

‘’The environment in Nigeria is not business- friendly. Government regulatory environment is concernment more to impose a lot of levies and charges on the operators without providing an enabling environment for your business to thrieve.

“So the only way to survive and break even and also recoup our vast investments is by passing these plethora of charges from NPA, NIMASA and other regulators to the final consumers, hence what you guys regard as arbitrary charges on our customers are inadvertently caused by the stifling regulatory environment”, the source, who denied any collaboration with some powerful Nigerians, declared.

Kayode Farinto, a member of the governing board of the Council for the regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria(CRFFN) seemed to concurred with the argument of the shipping companies.

“I am one of the people that believe that the shipping companies are the major problem in the country. I am shifting grounds in view of what I have seen. The blame doesn’t go to them alone, chunk of it goes to government agencies as well.

“I took my time to do my research and I notice that NIMASA charge lots of money on a vessel, there is what we called gross tonnage of a vessel, which means that the bigger your vessel, the higher the money you pay to NIMASA and they have been collecting this in dollars and with the MD of NPA concerning these charges against Shipping companies.

“For example, NIMASA is charging for Maritime Environmental and Management Protection Levy, NPA is charging Pollution charges and they are the same charges collected from a Shipping line.

“And because Nigeria is a market where every vessel would like to come due to our burgeoning population so, to survive these shipping companies tend to slam charges on whoever has consignment over a vessel.

“You can’t be charging for Environmental Protection Levy and NPA at the same time charging for Pollution charges”

Speaking further, the Vice President of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA) said that when a vessel calls on the Nation’s water-way, NIMASA charges 3 three percent Freight on each container, stating that NIMASA collects about $100 for 1 by 20ft container and $200 dollars for 1 by 40ft container.

While other stakeholders believed that failure to pass the Port and Habour bill as well as National Transport Commission bill was part of the reasons the foreign service operators are difficult to tame, others like Yinka Bakare, the President of National Association of Freight Forwarders and Air Consolidators who is also a member of the governing council of CRFFN, alleged that most of these foreign companies are backed by powerful Nigerians and government officials who are giving them the much needed latitude to exploit the Nigerian shippers and importers.

Comrade Adewale Adeyanju , the President General of Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria shared the same sentiment when he said that most of these shipping companies always put Nigerian politicians as their Chairmen or members of the board who will give them cover to perpetrate their impunity.
‘They took unfair advantage of their godfathers in government and business world to further perpetuate their unfair trade practices in the country’’, the angry stakeholders said.

As Chief Jolapamo warns, the end to this domination by the foreign shipping companies may still not be in view as long as there are no deliberate efforts by a bold and willing Nigerian leader to break the stranglehold.

Just like George Floyd said to his white murderers in the United States of America, the Nigeria shippers/Importers who are groaning under the choking grip of their foreign exploiters, are gasping for breath, saying, ‘’we can’t breathe’

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MARAN convokes national discourse on resurgence of maritime crimes in Gulf of Guinea

The Eyewitness Reporter
Worried by the recent resurgence of piracy incidents and security threats in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG) in the first half of 2023, the Maritime Reporters’ Association of Nigeria (MARAN) is dedicating the maiden edition of the MARAN Annual Lecture (MAMAL) 2023 to Maritime Security.
Mr Godfrey Bivbere, President MARAN, said this in a statement in Lagos.
According to Bivbere, the inaugural edition of MAMAL 2023 is themed: “Maritime Security: Emerging Threats and Actionable Steps” .
“The theme is targeted at proffering long-term, sustainable solutions that will effectively address maritime crimes in the GoG region and protect seafaring and fishing communities in the affected countries,” he said.
Recall that the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) report of July 2023 confirmed that the GoG witnessed a surge in maritime incidents in 2023, with five incidents in the first quarter and nine in the second quarter.
Out of these, 12 were classified as armed robberies and two as piracy, predominantly targeting anchored vessels in the region.
According to the IMB report, in these incidences, 14 crew were kidnapped, of which 8 crew members were taken from vessels anchored within the GoG territorial waters.
Additionally, in two separate hijackings, 31 crew members were held hostage, communication and navigation equipment were destroyed, and partial cargoes were stolen. One of these incidents also involved the abduction of 6 crew members.
He pointed out that MARAN, as the foremost umbrella body of journalists covering the Nigerian maritime sector, had identified and commended the collaborative initiatives and efforts of the Nigerian Navy.
The MARAN president noted that the initiative which was in partnership with other security agencies, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), other regional navies and maritime administrations led to a significant reduction in piracy incidents on Nigerian waters and the GoG throughout 2022.
He said that to a large extent, the establishment of the Gulf of Guinea Maritime Collaboration Forum for the Shared Awareness and Deconfliction (GOG-MCF/SHADE) had enabled stakeholders within and outside the region to connect and discuss frequently how best to tackle piracy in the area and this yielded verifiable results.
Bivbere pointed out that the effective deployment of Naval assets, warships, Falcon Eye, the Deep Blue Project assets, establishment of the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime-related Offences Act 2019, among others are worthwhile accomplishments attributable to the Nigerian Navy in recent years.
He, however, said there was a need for consolidated efforts that would be explored at the summit.
“With the recent decision of China to join in the international anti-piracy effort in the Gulf of Guinea, MAMAL 2023 will also dissect the continuous presence of foreign navy frigates in the region for an evaluation of the positive impact and perceived threats.
“Following the recent extension of the Nigerian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from 200 Nautical Miles to 350 Nautical Miles, MAMAL 2023 will be highlighting the capability of the Nigerian Navy and other agencies in providing adequate security for the zone,” he said.
The MARAN president said that the MAMAL 2023 had been scheduled to hold on the 24th of October 2023.
The Nigerian Navy, regional navies and other stakeholders in the maritime sector including Shipowners, NIMASA, Shipping Lines, Terminal Operators, Nigerian Shippers Council, and major seafarers organisations are all expected to attend this epoch-making event.
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NIMASA set to open Lokoja office to harness waterways resources

The Eyewitness Reporter

The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has disclosed that the Agency is set to reopen the Lokoja office, as part of efforts towards harnessing the Blue Economy, enhancing collaboration, while also promoting Research and Development.

The DG, who made this known when he played host to the Executive Secretary of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (KADSEMA), Mal. Usman Hayatu Mazadu at the head office of the Agency in Lagos, noted that investment in research would play a major role in ensuring the harnessing of Nigeria’s maritime potentials.

“The key cardinal principle of opening the NIMASA Lokoja office is to improve on Research and Development.

“Our goal is to establish the nexus in maximizing the use of available resources in the nation’s inland waterways and the deep blue waters within 28 states, spanning over 4000 kilometers of inland waters and over 200 nautical miles of ocean resources; with the coming of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy.

He said, “Now, the Blue Economy has come to stay and very soon you will see the impact of what we have; in terms of the gains and benefits to grow our Gross Domestic Product while improving the well-being of our own Economy”.

Earlier in his remarks, Mallam Usman of KADSEMA lauded the Agency for the feat achieved so far, which cuts across the entire Nigeria.

While seeking cooperation with the Agency in possible areas, he expressed the readiness of KADSEMA to support the Agency in areas that may be deemed possible.

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Maritime stakeholders set agenda for success of Blue Economy

Adegboyega Oyetola,Minister of Marine and Blue Economy
The Eyewitness Reporter
Key stakeholders in the maritime sector during the  Roundtable discussion hosted by the League of Maritime Editors (LOME) to commemorate the unveiling of its  Secretariat in Lagos, on Thursday, September 14, 2023,  have enunciated fresh measures to be adopted, to ensure that the Blue Economy contributes tremendously, to the development of the Nigerian society.
The stakeholders, include the Director General of the  Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh,  the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA), Muhammed Bello Koko, the Executive Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council(NSC), Hon Emmanuel Jime and the Patron of the League of Maritime Editors, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, who is an ex- President of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents(ANLCA).
During the Roundtable, titled,’’ How to Achieve the Benefits of the Blue Economy’’, the League Patron, Prince Shittu who was the Chairman, the   NIMASA  DG, represented by the Agency’s Director of External Affairs, Chief Isichei Osamgbi,  said that the blue economy is already operational, but required the proper identification of comparative advantages, for the purpose of what is potentially advantageous and sustainable.
He challenged industry players and operators, to see themselves as co-drivers in the journey towards the success of the Blue economy, saying without this,  the success story of the Blue economy cannot be complete.
 Jamoh disclosed that, whereas the blue economy in Nigeria is still unfolding, it is at the stage where a collaboration of efforts, must concentrate on optimizing the comparative advantages in order to remain competitive in the global space.
Represented by the Director External Relations, Isichie Osamgbi, the DG NIMASA said the country must tell herself the truth that the blue economy holds the front row potential in resource growth and as a leading revenue projection and hence should be accorded the right attention to drive its explorations.
“Today we are no longer talking about the benefits of the blue economy, we have passed that conception stage, current discussions should be how to tap into the various strata, the unfolding of the separate gold mines as already enshrined in the NIMASA Act.
“We need to do more collectively to improve on our individual spheres of contribution and achieve a sustainable template that will create a beneficial impact. For us, the effort to strengthen maritime security and achieve maritime safety, grow shipping development, marine tourism, and cruise transportation are key considerations we keep expanding.
“So, the time has come to maximize our abundance in the blue economy and to also be able to operationalize their economic benefits by looking at the comparative advantages each resource provides. We must be determined and focused, we are not the first to have maritime security challenges, Singapore’s niche market is the blue economy, and we must have the political and operational will to tackle insecurity as the top of the identified monster.
“We must come together and set the agenda for a functional blue economy and it is commendable that the League of Maritime Editors has been doing this, because however we look at it, today, the blue economy and the maritime domain hold the biggest prospect for achieving the required GDP.
“We must remove the sentiments of what is in it for me and embrace the patriotic ethos of what is in it for the country. When we agree on what should be done and how to go about doing it, and how to sustain the developments, and how to expand, then we would have actually become serious.
“And like all others, the protection of the marine environment from pollution is also key, and that takes us to our exclusive economic zones. What is economically critical is the exclusive zone, these are the issues that should agitate our minds.”
Also speaking, the Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mr. Mohammed Bello-Koko represented by the  Tin Can Island Port Manager, Jibril Buba, advocated enhanced capacities through deliberate policy and stakeholder actions necessary to drive the processes.
While applauding LOME for providing the arena to brainstorm on the dynamics of the blue economy, Bello-Koko said the Authority has for a long time already prepared the grounds for its takeoff and consistent with the full realization is always providing the enabling environment through which the required efficiencies, competences and capacities can be developed and sustained.
He said, “We know where we are coming from,  we remember the era of warfare in the port, we used to have women delivering babies in the port and all that. And NPA in its quest for excellence in 1993, said look, we cannot continue to remain like this. It was consciously or unconsciously the way of re-awakening the blue economy, it’s only that it didn’t get the name blue economy.
“As the first speaker said, attitude is important, often roles and duties are dumped on NPA which does not belong to us. The foundation must be regenerated, we now changed the name of Nigerian Post Authority to Nigerian Port Plc all in a quest to improve efficiency.
‘’Of course, you all know our mandate efficiency in cargo handling is what will make the industry move forward. “but whatever we come up with as far as we do not change our behaviour, we do not change the way we do things, our overlapping functions, then the blue economy will not find its footing.
“By 2006 we were partnering, we followed the pattern of the remaining people of the world and came up with what we now have as a landlord model. Now we now have the machinery.  There is no berth that does not have mobile harbor cranes, some of them have up to eleven, some up to twelve, some more than that. They have the mobile harbour crane, have enough gantry cranes in the terminals,
 “Now, when we had the time that vessels used to come to this country and they spend up to 40 days, that is pre-concession of the terminals. Now it is  72 hours in the case of container vessels and in the case of bulk cargo at ENL and the rest, ten days. We’ve achieved 0% waiting time.”
 you remember the Amada shipping saga, that is what gave an offshoot of Tin-Can Island port to act as a shock absorber to Apapa port’’.
Bello-Koko also identified the fishing sub-sector as an advantageous resource area that can grow the blue economy substantially.
He said, “ if the government can deliberately, or the stakeholders can deliberately form a sort of consortium and then come up with a bigger fishing industry, I think it will move the industry forward because what we have now are fragmentations.
“Apart from probably the foreign partners that are doing well, exporting lobsters, our lobsters are well loved in America and the UK. You can hardly find them here but those farmed are constantly being exported to the US and to the UK and we are making very good foreign exchange from it.
“Apart from the fisheries which can move the blue economy forward, we also have, like other countries, the net industry. The net industry in countries like India generates thousands of employment. Why do we have to import the nets and the crafts that were used in fishing?
“So if you can help us push for the development of the net industry, it will in fact assist in boosting the fishing industry. And then also we have the welders of the craft itself, that’s entirely another industry that will come up under fishing alone, so these are things that can generate serious employment opportunities, plus forex.”
The NPA boss commended LOME for the acquisition of its secretariat which has been designed to also serve as Centre for Media Advocacy, noting that the place will serve as a catalyst for positive change in the industry.
“I am particularly delighted by the fact that this Secretariat will serve as a hub for collaboration, information exchange, and the development of best practices. It will be a platform where stakeholders from various segments of the maritime industry can come together to address challenges, explore opportunities, and shape the future of our sector.”
In his contribution, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) Hon Emmanuel Jime represented by the Council’s  Director Consumer Affairs  Department, Chief Cajetan Agu,  described the blue economy,  as having huge economic potential that should be harnessed by all.
 Describing Nigeria as a blessed country in terms of the abundance of Blue Economy,   the NSC CEO  said what is needed is to harness the potential of the blue economy. Jime pointed out that the opportunities embedded in the blue economy were so many that it has become the project of the entire African Union (AU).
 The NSC boss identified the potential of the blue economy as shipping, fisheries, underwater mining, cruise transportation, and tourism, among others. He said that realizing these potentials, the AU sees the blue economy as a project that no country will do alone because of the issue of security.
 Jime stated that the criminals move around in different territorial waters, and as such the blue economy needs to be implemented together.  He disclosed that the AU has developed a model of the blue economy after studying the potential, adding that for the body, it is the rebirth of the African Renaissance.
He however acknowledged that Nigeria through NIMASA has been able to reduce drastically the issue of piracy in her territorial waters and Gulf of Guinea (GoG.
Before the League’s Patron,  cut the tape to inaugurate the Secretariat,  the NIMASA DG; NPA MD, and the  Shippers’ Council ES/ CEO, had identified the various benefits that would accrue to the League from having its own Secretariat and encouraged the members of the Association to tap into those benefits.
 They all, lauded the various contributions of the League members, to the development of the maritime sector, and urged the League to ensure that it uses the Secretariat to brainstorm to set the agenda for the success of the Blue Economy, as well as the additional progress of the shipping sector.
Shittu, particularly charged the League, to consider building its own Secretariat being senior practitioners, and appealed to industry stakeholders to support the initiative whenever it comes on stream.
“I am delighted to be part of this epoch-making event, some of you l have known over the years, two, three decades, I remember those days while serving under Alhaji Sanni Kamba in the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents and l was the National Publicity Secretary, even though l was based in Port Harcourt, l was always coming around for meetings and briefings, so all along l have been part of you.”
“I foresee a future where we will be moving out of this apartment and going to our own property. Despite their moderate critical reporting as senior practitioners, l think that it is good for the industry.
“But generally, people should also be able to criticize certain reports, especially misleading reports. One of the mistakes we make is that we read stories and forget to read the commentaries or push out reactions.
“I am delighted to see the representatives of the CEOs of the agencies at the commissioning of your Secretariat, this shows mutual respect, even though they get you to attend their commissioning events all the time, it is good they identify with you during your own one-off events.
“Knowing that your profession is one of utmost service with very little monetary attachment, l am sure that if you ask them for water to support your secretariat, they will give you wine”., he had said.
Earlier, in his speech, the President of the League, Chief Timothy Okorocha had told the guests that the Monthly Roundtable Parley of the Association, which was on hold is now back, assuring that the League would again be providing the missing nexus in the industry, with regards to developmental journalism, and the essential advocacy that nations depend upon to nurture their peculiar circumstances and to build their capacities.
He expressed the League’s appreciation to all the stakeholders that have assisted the Association in one form or another, noting that, since, the Secretariat that is being inaugurated, is the beginning of a new long journey, LOME will still need their support to make the Secretariat,  a Center of Media Advocacy, as conceived by the body’s immediate past Executive.
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