Over 200 vessels plying nation’s waters owned by Nigerians – NIMASA DG

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said over 200 vessels on the cabotage record are owned by indigenous ship owners in the country.

The Director General of the Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who made this known said the number of vessels owned by Nigeriians is a major breakthrough in the agency’s efforts to grow indigenous fleet, especially under the Coastal and Inland Shipping Cabotage Policy.

The DG also disclosed that more than 68 percent of vessels trading within the country’s maritime space are currently Nigerian-flagged.

He revealed that agency is doing a lot in ensuring adequate attention is paid to the essence of the Cabotage, aimed at encouraging indigenous participation and job creation.

According to him, there has been an increase in the number of wholly-owned Nigerian vessels on the nation’s Cabotage register.

“Available statistics for the 2018 half year report showed that 125 vessels were registered, representing a 33 percent increase when compared with the 94 registered in the corresponding period in 2017. Currently, there are more than 200 vessels captured in the Cabotage register,” he said.

He further disclosed that in an attempt to arrest the seeming drift in the implementation of the Cabotage Policy, the current management of the agency came up with a five-year strategic plan, beginning from 2021, to end in phases the granting of Cabotage waivers, which most stakeholders believed was responsible for the poor implementation of the protectionist Cabotage Act 2003 over the years.

“The winding down process is phased to avoid major disruptions to the Cabotage trade in Nigeria. The plan is to achieve the key objectives of the Cabotage Act in terms of in-country construction, ownership, manning, and flagging of ships engaged in coastal trade by 2024.

“The process of bringing the grant of Cabotage waiver to a gradual end has already begun, with the agency launching a renewed effort to implement the provisions of the Cabotage Act. This was following a series of engagements with stakeholders.

“NIMASA has adopted a strategy of encouraging Nigerians to go into joint ventures and joint ownership of vessels with foreign operators on a 60-40 basis, and this has started yielding fruit with about 20 new vessels currently flying the Nigerian flag under this arrangement, as against one in 2018.

“Bareboat charter of vessels has also witnessed an increase, while foreign-owned vessels on Nigeria’s Cabotage register have witnessed a decline.

“As you may all know, the Cabotage Act 2003, which came into force in 2004, is essentially a local capacity-building law. Its central plank is to empower Nigerians for greater participation in maritime trade.

“The law seeks to achieve that goal through four key pillars: ensuring that vessels that operate in our coastal waters within the country’s territory are built in Nigeria, owned by Nigerians, manned by Nigerians, and registered in Nigeria”, the DG said.