The Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act, 2003 enacted by The National Assembly of The Federal Republic of Nigeria on April 30, 2003 was the patriotic efforts of late Senator Martins Yellowe, {Rivers West}, stakeholders comprising captains of the maritime industry in Nigeria, maritime lawyers, representatives of oil companies and members of the relevant committees of the National Assembly who converged at a business luncheon under the aegis of the MARITIME LAW GROUP of Olisa Agbakoba and Associates at the Apapa Club in 2002.The Act, which protects domestic shipping industry from foreign eclipse, preserve domestically owned shipping infrastructure for national security purposes and ensure safety in congested territorial waters, is now seem by industry watchers as mere tissue paper as Dakuku Peterside led NIMASA has become political rendezvous
Despite claiming that enforcement of cabotage policies led to the creation of 7,000 jobs for Nigerian seamen and raising cabotage trade by 32 percent in just six months, Dakuku Peterside, director-general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has admitted that the agency has failed in the implementation of the country’s cabotage laws. Yet, there does not seem to be any sign that the success point would be hit any soon.
NIMASA is Nigeria’s apex maritime regulating
agency charged with the implementation of the country’s coastal and inland
Shipping Act, now known as the Cabotage Act, which was enacted to activate
cabotage trade and maritime development in Africa’s biggest economy.
The cabotage act had made trading on Nigeria’s coastal waters
the exclusive preserves of vessels owned by Nigerians, built-in Nigeria, manned
by Nigerian seafarers and maintained in within the country.
16 years later, the NIMASA enforcing regulations for local
content in shipping businesses have failed to enforce the act, as foreign
vessels with foreign seafarers continue to do business in Nigeria’s cabotage
waters, with no local ships as competitors.
At the assumption of office by the current management, hope
went high for a positive change and a real Tons development to begin in
the maritime sector, especially as the Nigerian government also changed. There
were promises of turning the maritime industry around and returning billions of
naira to the government from the sector, but no improvement, no better
harmonisation and no good fortune has been seen in Nigeria’s maritime sector.
Last month, Peterside, the NIMASA chief said the agency had
stopped waivers for foreign vessels to operate in Nigerian cabotage waters,
while informing Nigerians that his enforcement of the cabotage act had led to
creation of 7,000 jobs and raising cabotage platforms and vessels by about 32
percent.
His claims came in spite of cries of local
operators that foreign vessels were having a field day in Nigeria’s coastal
waters, while some maritime workers accused him of bringing too much politics
into his job as chief executive of the maritime regulatory agency.
Peterside, who abandoned the glary reality about the
underdevelopment of Nigeria’s cabotage trade however, told the Alumni of
Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron that the enforcement of the cabotage
compliance strategy put in place by his NIMASA to “stop waivers on manning for
prescribed categories of officers in vessels engaged in the cabotage trade has
increased the number of Nigerians onboard vessels by 7,000.”
He said the implementation of cabotage policies was not a job
for NIMASA alone, stressing that NIMASA cannot enforce the cabotage act all on
its own.
“NIMASA alone cannot achieve the aspirations, intents and
objectives of the Cabotage Act. I believe that we have not done very well but
there is need for improvement. The greatest thing that can happen to us to
achieve the Cabotage law is collaboration and cooperation. If we leave NIMASA
to drive the Cabotage law, till tomorrow, we will not achieve anything. But if
the regulator, stakeholder and industry all come together, that is the only way
we can achieve the aspiration of the Cabotage law,” he stated.
“We have started a process of cessation of granting of
waivers which all of us agreed has been abused over time. In the area of
manning, we have put in place what we call the new cabotage compliance
strategy,” he maintained, adding, “We are going to create incentive for those
who are going to build vessels in-country.
He however said a new policy to ban importation vessels for
cabotage trading was getting the support of other agencies of government, which
input are needed to enforce the ban.
“We have got the buy-in of Customs, Central Bank, NNPC and
other stakeholders to enforce ban on importation of vessels for cabotage
trading. We have decided that certain categories of vessels cannot be built
outside this country by the end of next year,” he said.
This is not the first time the NIMASA boss would be making
promises of creating incentives for shipyards in Nigeria. In October 2015,
shortly after he became the director general of NIMASA, he had embarked on a
tour of all NIMASA formations and maritime operators facilities across the
country.
At the Onne Free Trade Zone, where the West Atlantic Shipyard operates, he had made the same promise. He also promised to acquire vehicles and marine platforms to help NIMASA officials go deeper into the waters to enforce cabotage regulations, but till date, the promises are still hanging.
Culled from Business AM
About Author
