Ogbeifun: 60% of Coastal Trade in the Hands of Foreigners

About 60 per cent of Nigeria’s coastal trade are in the hands of foreigners, the President, Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Mr. Greg Ogbeifun has said.

The Federal Government of Nigeria has been making efforts to ensure that Nigerians, especially indigenous ship owners, take the centre stage in the implementation of the provisions of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003.

However, those efforts are yet to yield the desired results as majority part of the business is still in the hands of foreigners.

Speaking at the 7th Practical Maritime Dispute Resolution Seminar organised by the Maritime Arbitrators Association of Nigeria (MAAN) in collaboration with the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) in Lagos, Ogbeifun expressed dismay that Nigerian ship owners have continued to hold the short end of the stick in Nigeria’s coastal trade over the years.

Presenting a paper titled “Twelve Years of the Cabotage Act – A Critical Assessment: An Industry Perspective” the SOAN boss expressed regret that in the 12 years since the inception of the Cabotage Act, it had not fulfilled its mandates to empower indigenous shipping to take their rightful place in the scheme of things.

Ogbeifun, who is also the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer, Starzs Investments Company Limited, said more than 60 per cent of coastal trade in Nigeria still being handled by foreign operators to the detriment of their indigenous counterparts.

He stated that the status quo from before the enactment of the Act has persisted, leaving indigenous shipping practitioners full of the same lamentations as they had before the Act was enacted by the government during the administration of Chief Olusegun Obasnjo.

He noted that Nigeria had not benefited from the lofty idea of putting in place the Cabotage Act in the last 12 years.

Giving an insight into the provisions of the Act, Ogbeifun said the four cardinal pillars of Cabotage include Cabotage ves-

sels must be built by Nigerian shipyards; Cabotage vessels must be wholly owned by Nigerians; Cabotage vessels must be managed by Nigerians; and Cabotage vessels must be registered in Nigeria.

In order to meet the requirements of the pillars of Cabotage, he said the federal government must create policies that encourage indigenous maritime practitioners in ship building as well as the acquisition of ships through the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF).

According to Ogbeifun, who also operates a shipyard in Onne, Rivers State, all impediments to the implementations of the Cabotage Act must be removed. “Partnership training programmes should be developed between the federal government and ship-owners,” he said.