Effective implementation of the nation’s cabotage regulations wields far-reaching positive implications, heralding the creation of millions of job and beefing up revenue for the federal government. SAMSON ECHENIM writes.
With a coastal stretch of 870 kilometers, Nigeria clearly stands out as one of the world’s most advantageous nations, with enormous maritime resources, critical enough to define the country’s pace of development.
Unfortunately, not up to 30 per cent of the country’s maritime resources have been explored, as Nigeria’s indigenous shipping industry remain in its amateur stage, yearning for breathe. Foreign vessels still dominate trading right in the country’s cabotage areas, an abnormal trade condition that smaller countries such as Ghana and Kenya have since conquered.
A legislative attempt to win the cabotage advantage for the indigenous shipping industry yielded the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, otherwise known as the Cabotage Act, 2003, but its implementation by relevant agencies, especially the nation’s apex maritime regulator, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) remain abysmally low.
Largely, the blame is on the law’s four pillars, in which it is stipulated that in addition to being owned by Nigerians, vessels for cabotage trade are to be built in Nigeria by Nigerians and manned by Nigerians. This has been a difficult condition, as the country’s shipbuilding industry is almost absent, with pauperized capacity until recently.
For cabotage enforcement, much of the responsibilities lie with the various operational offices of NIMASA situated in three zones across the country’s coastal stretch.
However, empowering the zonal offices of the NIMASA, which execute more than 70 per cent of cabotage enforcement is proving to be a huge task, as most of the operational units lack the needed equipment, platforms and facilities to attain deeper enforcement of cabotage trade regulations in the country’s waters.
As the head of the Yenegoa office, Mr Dennis Monye, noted during a recent visit of the Director-General of the agency, Dr Dakuku Peterside, the peculiar nature of most of the jetties in some cabotage areas make enforcement difficult without the needed platforms to reach those areas.
“Some jetty operators do stop our enforcement officials from gaining access to their premises, but if we have a small vessel we can maneuver to observe their operations. There are dredgers working midstream and we can’t get to them. We understand that they are not registered. They do illegal dredging,” he said.
Monye, however added that his office had to rely largely on the zone’s silicon valley in Port Harcourt, which is able to capture AIS of vessels that could not be physically reached it is able to generate data on the vessels.
He pleaded with the NIMASA to provide a light patrol vessel for the Yenegoa office to enable it reach some jetties where the officials are being denied access for enforcement. To further improve revenue generation, Monye advised that the agency creates Sea Protection Levy (SPL) from oil pipelines of companies, as well as from oil installation platforms.
There are a number of other issues in caboatge enforcement, including illegal crewing and non-compliance to cabotage regulations in the area of local crewing by vessels. The other issues have to do with difficulty in registering, renewing and obtaining cabotage vessels operational documents from the regulator, as well as certification of ready vessel surveyors.
A manning agent and Managing Director of Oarsmanns Maritime Services, Mr Ugo Nwokolo, said some foreign vessels come into the country’s cabotage area 100 per cent foreign crew feigning lack of knowledge of Nigeria’s cabotage regime.
He said such vessels take advantage of lapses in cabotage enforcement, as no captain can claim not to know of cabotage rules which exist in all countries of the world.
“As we are, we cannot send our (Nigerian) seafarers to Ghana, Angola, or any other African country because we know that they will not be welcomed. There is no room for them, but this is not same for Nigeria. Foreigners are brought into our waters and they are midstream on mother vessels without any enforcement officer getting to them,” Nwokolo said.
General Secretary of the Shipping Trade Group (STG) in Warri, Obioma Ochulor, said there was need to reduce delay and increase cost in obtaining vessel clearance, which requires that the operators must always come to NIMASA’s headquarters in Lagos. Ochulor complained that most times, shipping operators would need to come to Lagos several times, spending money for transport, accommodation and losing man hours just to make payments for vessel documents.
According to the STG scribe, sometimes, vessels are accosted on their way by NIMASA officials who demand for Sea Protection Levy (SPL) from the vessels even when the ship captains are yet to meet with their agents.
Addressing all of the complaints and issues raised by both the agency’s zonal operational offices and the operators can mean, or lead to a more effective enforcement of cabotage regulations.
As noted by the NIMASA DG, “Cabotage Act can become useful through enforcement,” and this can solve up to half of Nigeria’s employment needs, as vessel manning agent Nwokolo confirms that the indigenous shipping industry can employ up to five million people. Indeed, with a vessel taking up to 500 people working onboard at a time, employment creation by the shipping industry is real.
Shipping employs more half of work population of such countries as Philippines and Singapore, which are notable countries with high level of maritime capacity and GDP.
To have foreign vessels comply with cabotage regulations, Nwokolo advised NIMASA to sensitise shipping lines about the country’s cabotage regime and make it in a way that no vessel coming into Nigeria can pretend not to know about her cabotage laws.
However, what is needed more is the capacity to execute the efforcement. As Nwokolo noted, vessel captains always feign lack of knowledge of country’s cabotage regulations when there are no officials on ground to enforce them. So, they could fill up their vessels with foreign labour.
Obviously, NIMASA’s operational zonal offices are in dare need of enforcement platforms and vehicles. Their limitations are also evident in the area of ICT. And as the agency’s current management “is targeting to have a minimum of 90 per cent Nigerian vessels involved in the country’s cabotage trade by 2017,” it is only needful that all platforms and facilities critical for enforcing caboatge by the zonal offices are provided, with the needed training. Acquisition of fast-moving sea-going platforms for its three zonal operations to up enforcement in cabotage trading becomes very urgent.
NIMASA’s zonal offices remain the backbone of the agency’s operations enforcing most of its regulatory functions and generating up to 80 per cent of the agency’s revenues. But most of them complained of inadequate empowerment to work more effectively, with the agencies lacking mobility vessels and vehicles.
Dr Peterside has however given the assurance that his management is working on leasing sea-going platforms from owners for the purpose of ensuring that enforcement of cabotage rules and other regulations in the country’s coast are effectively carried out by the zonal formations.
He said, “Cabotage Act can become useful through enforcement. By next year, we want a minimum of 90 per cent Nigerian vessels involved in our cabotage trade. In the next few weeks, we will provide sea-going platforms for enforcement. By October (this month), we will have platforms for enforcement in all zones. We will lease fast moving vessels from owners and use them ourselves.
“This is not same as the contract past NIMASA management had with Global West Vessels Specialist Limited. On this issue, let me stress again that I have been misinterpreted and misquoted by the media. We are not replicating the Global West model. In the next few months, you (the zones) will be semi autonomous. You will be able to raise debit notes. You will initiate and finalise transactions here (at their various zonal head offices). Zones will control their resources and there will be measures for measurement of performance,” he added.
