Headlines
Russia-Ukraine conflict may lead to seafarers shortage, hike in wages—Experts

According to analysts, nearly 1.9 million seafarers are currently operating over 74,000 vessels in the global merchant fleet.
They said with the Russia Ukraine conflict showing no signs of easing and all focus on humanitarian logistics and aid, one key component of the supply chain – as usual – is being ignored and they are the seafarers.
Nearly 1.9 million seafarers are currently operating over 74,000 vessels in the global merchant fleet, according to the Seafarer Workforce Report published in 2021 by BIMCO and the International Chamber of Shipping (ICS).
“Of this total workforce, 198,123 (10.5 percent) of seafarers are Russian of which 71,652 are officers and 126,471 are ratings.
Combined they represent 14.5 percent of the global workforce.
“Shipping is currently responsible for the movement of nearly 90 percent of global trade.
“Seafarers have been at the forefront of the response to the Covid Pandemic, ensuring essential supplies of food, fuel and medicine continue to reach their destinations,” ICS said in a statement.
Guy Platten, Secretary-General, ICS, added: “To maintain this unfettered trade, seafarers must be able to join and disembark ships (crew change) freely across the world.
“Seafarers have been at the forefront of keeping trade flowing through the pandemic and we hope that all parties will continue to facilitate free passage of goods and these key workers at this time.”
Research by ICS shows that an average ship has a mix of at least three nationalities on board, and sometimes as many as 30.
“Three languages were the minimum spoken on the average ship.”
ICS has also called on governments around the world to ensure access to medical care for seafarers after it emerged that crews continue to be refused urgent treatment at ports during the pandemic.
Given this background, the International Maritime Organization held an Extraordinary Council Session on Mach 10 and 11, and the agenda was on addressing the impacts on shipping and seafarers of the situation in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.
“We anticipate we will receive specific submissions from Member-States as well as from NGOs in consultative status but mostly it will allow for States to make statements as to their views,” an official told The STAT Media Group.
The IMO Council consists of 40 Member States, elected by the IMO Assembly.
The International Group of P&I Clubs (marine insurance providers) personnel sub-committee has issued a contract addendum to assist owners and crew, especially Ukrainian crew, who would like to alter their contracts.
The last container ship in Ukraine – Joseph Schulte, capable of carrying 9,400 20-foot containers – arrived on the eve of Russia’s invasion and has not moved in 12 days, its crew and cargo safe but caught in a war zone, Bloomberg reported.
Seafarers and the ship are “safe and well,” according to a statement from a crisis PR agency that responded to an email request sent to Germany-based Bernhard Schulte that is listed as the ship’s owner, the report added.
Russian/Ukrainian seafarers more on tankers
” Hence it is on these trades that the main effects will be felt,” Drewry said in an update.
“A reasonable proportion of Russian and Ukrainian seafarers will already have foreign homes, and will therefore be less restricted in their travel to or from vessels during crew changes.
“Hence, a large number will therefore be directly affected now.”
Ukrainian seafarers currently at sea will find repatriation very difficult with a best case that they travel to a nearby country by air and then onward home via whatever means is available, Drewry added.
For a range of reasons, it is thought that they will find it very difficult or impossible to travel to join a vessel for their next scheduled tour.”
Given the fast-changing situation, employers may think twice about employing Russian seafarers if they cannot reliably get them to vessels as planned.
However, as mentioned earlier, given pre-existing tight officer availability, there will only be limited skilled labour available to fill any gaps.”
Drewry is expecting the conflict’s impacts on seafarer availability to lead to wage inflation, particularly for officers where supply conditions were already tight.
Headlines
I was never in charge of maritime industry —Saraki

Eyewitness reporter
It could also be recalled that Amaechi had made a couple of visits to the Lekki deep seaport, even on a Sunday, before the presidential visit, none of which Saraki attended.
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” Gbemi is also made of sterner stuff given her role in the “Otoge” political tsunami in Kwara which eventually swept off Bukola Saraki, her blood brother, from the political dominance in Kwara politics, a role which earned her the present position in the present dispensation.
“Today is my fifth week of assuming the leadership of the Ministry of Transportation”, she declared last week Friday in Lagos.
“We came to take stock of the sector. We had taken the stock of the Road sector,” she said.
Giving her summation of her findings at the end of the tour, she declared” Apapa and Tin Can ports are in terrible need of repairs.
“We will go and come back for repairs.
“We have the short, medium, and long-term plans for this. We need to start with rehabilitation here. Another problem here is power”
The Minister met various groups who are stakeholders in the industry.
Among them are women groups in maritime, terminal operators, stevedores, maritime workers union groups, haulage, and transport operators, maritime lawyers, freight forwarders, and maritime press.
Headlines
We have political will to ensure CVFF is disbursed—-Saraki

The Minister of State for Transportation, Senator Rukayyat Gbemisola Saraki has expressed willingness to muster the necessary political will to ensure the controversial Cabotage Vessels Financing Funds (CVFF) are disbursed before she leaves office.
“In the course of this visit, I have also interacted with so many stakeholders, including the indigenous ship owners.
“It is really a shame that this fund has not been disbursed, I learnt the value is $350 million now and I am not sure any part of it is missing.
She added that the disbursement would follow the approval by the National Assembly after beneficiaries must have been shortlisted.
Headlines
P&ID fraud : Court convicts, winds up Marqott Nigeria Limited.

Owolola Adebola
Justice D.U Okorowo of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has convicted and wound up Marqott Nigeria Limited, one of the 30 companies associated with the Process and Industrial Development Limited, P & ID, for money laundering.
The company was convicted on Thursday, June 16, 2022, after being found guilty of four-count charges bordering on money laundering preferred against it by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
Count one of the charges read: “That you, Marqott Nigeria Limited, being a designated Non-financial Institution; and Giovanni Beccarelli, Valentina Fantoli, and Dimitri Duca, being directors of and signatories to the bank account of Marqott Nigeria Limited, sometime in September 2014, in Abuja, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, failed to comply with the requirements of submitting to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, a declaration of activities of Marqott Nigeria Limited contrary to Section 16(1) (f) read together with Section 5(1)(a)(ii) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011(as amended and you thereby committed an offence punishable under section 16(2)(b) of the same Act.”
Count two read: “That you, Marqott Nigeria Limited, being a designated Non-financial Institution; and Giovanni Beccarelli, Valentina Fantoli, and Dimitri Duca, being directors of and signatories to the bank account of Marqott Nigeria Limited, sometime in September 2014, in Abuja, within the Abuja Judicial Division of the Federal High Court, failed to develop programs to combat money laundering and other illegal acts, to wit: failure to designate at management level a compliance officer within any strata of Marqott Nigeria Limited, contrary to Section 16(1)(f) read together with Section 9(1)(a) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2011 (as amended) and you thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 16 (2)(b) of the same Act”.
At the point of the first arraignment on February 7, 2022, the defendant pleaded “not guilty” to the charges, setting the stage for a full trial.
In the course of the trial, the EFCC presented many witnesses and tendered many documents as exhibits.
In his judgment, Justice Okorowo found Marqott Nigeria Limited guilty of all the four-count charges and convicted it accordingly. He also ordered that the company be wound up and its entire assets forfeited to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Marqott was first arraigned on Monday, February 7, 2022, for being an accomplice in the $9.6bn Gas Supply and Processing Agreement between the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and P&ID.
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