NIMASA, Dangote Refinery to address operational concerns

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is collaborating with the management of Dangote Group to address operational concerns of the Dangote Refinery.

The committee has been set up to come up with a workable plan within 14 days.

This is even as the NIMASA Director General, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, pledged the Agency’s commitment to ensuring that the operations of Dangote Ports and refinery are not impeded by different regulatory instruments under the provisions of the Cabotage law.  

Jamoh made the assertions during a courtesy visit by a delegation from Dangote Port Operations, led by the Managing Director Dangote Port Operations, Mr Akin Omole to NIMASA.

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He promised that the Agency will work with Dangote Ports to also ensure the Group does not breach any regulation of the Federal Government as regards Wet Cargo afreightment. 

Both parties agreed to set up a working committee to address the operational concerns at the refinery within 14 days.

“Though the coming on stream of the Dangote Refinery would lead to a drop in NIMASA revenue, because ships importing petroleum products would reduce drastically thus reducing the 3% freight levy collected by the Agency. However, Nigerian economic growth and long term benefit to the Nigerian masses is far better than immediate revenue for NIMASA,” he said.

He said, “We talked about business being done in a way that there is no obstruction, no delay. “In shipping, a day’s delay is a huge cost, we have an average of over $50,000 demurrage on a ship per day, so we want to be sure that these kinds of delay are not experienced.”