Stakeholders decry foreign dominance of domestic shipping
STAKEHOLDERS
in the maritime industry have strongly bemoaned the current state of the nation where foreign interests still control 98 per cent of shipment of export and import, especially oil and gas cargo, leaving a paltry two per cent for indigenous operators.
They stated this at the Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime ( TAAM) Conference organised by the SIFAX Group in collaboration with the Maritime Forum of the University of Lagos, with the theme, “The Maritime Roadmap Project: Making Nigeria a Leading Maritime Nation in the World.”
Former President of the African Shipowners Association, Temisan Omatseye, who spoke on the topic, ‘ Measurable Standards In the Nigerian Maritime Industry: Forging A Path Towards Sustainable Shipping,’ said this anomaly has been allowed to persist despite the abundant maritime potentials and human capabilities Nigerians possess.
Omatseye, also a former Director General, Nigerian
Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA), lamented that following the monopoly of operations, where the Federal Government allows foreign liners lift and import cargo, has caused indigenous shipping firms to become depressed and incapacitated.
He also said foreign liners now enjoy all kinds of benefits and impose all manner of arbitrary freight and sundry charges on Nigeriabound cargo to the disadvantage of the country and her economy.
He said the only way to address this problem is for the Federal Government to commence a Fleet Replacement Programme to enable indigenous shipping lines to acquire modern vessels that meet current technology and global acceptance in shipping.
He said government should, as a matter of urgency, begin to grant national carrier status to indigenous shipping companies as provided for in section 36 of the NIMASA Act, 2007, which statutorily empowers such national carriers to lift all project cargoes belonging to the Federal, State and Local Governments in the country.
Omatseye also added that the government must begin to operationalise Nigerian laws to discourage foreigners from intimidating indigenous operators.
He further suggested a deliberate policy for manpower training and tax- free remittances of seamen, even as welders with international certification should be trained in Nigeria while marine architects and nautical engineers must be locally trained to design local vessels that meet global standards in terms of quality and specifications.
Omatseye strongly recommended that the Lagos anchorage be made an international shipping hub by providing dedicated areas for bunker operations. He also charged the Federal Government to work with her training institutions to design international LNG bunker operations, while a fleet development programme will enhance the construction of new- build vessels to run on both diesel and natural gas.
Chairman of the SIFAX Group, Dr. Taiwo Afolabi noted that the days of overreliance on oil for Nigeria’s economic sustenance were over; given the uncertainties in the global oil and gas market, as well as the rising need for cleaner sources of energy.
Afolabi who was represented by the Managing Director, Sky Capital ( a subsidiary of the SIFAX Group), Bode Ojeniyi, said the potentials of the country’s maritime sector must be urgently exploited.
He said judging by the industry’s potential, Nigeria can rank among the best in the world, as it will only take careful planning, progressive policies, generous funding, enabling environment, friendly economic policies, manpower development and massive infrastructural development.
On his part, the Director General, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency ( NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, said there are universally accepted criteria for evaluating the status of an individual country in the comity of maritime nations.