The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has disclosed that the negative tag on the country’s maritime waters by an international insurance cartel is responsible for the high insurance premiums charged on Nigerian-bound cargoes.
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency boss, Dr. Dayo Mobereola who made the disclosure added that the cartel has continued to maintain the negative security perception purposely to milk the country despite the near zero piracy activities on Nigerian coastal and international waters.
Speaking at his maiden media interactive session with maritime journalists in Lagos, the NIMASA DG affirmed that efforts to engage international support to stop the activities of the cartel are top on his agenda.
Dr. Mobereola disclosed that “One of the points I raised during my visit to Chatham House recently is how the war risk insurance placed on Nigerian-bound cargoes can be reduced. It is a cartel that is behind the war risk insurance premium. They are making so much money from it and will rather keep it as it is than remove it.
“Even if Nigeria maintains zero piracy on her waters for the next ten years, if we don’t force the issues they will continue to charge us. They won’t remove the war risk insurance because they are making so much money from it.”
According to him, it will be a herculean task for Nigeria to challenge the international insurers without the support of global maritime bodies such as the International Maritime Organizations (IMO) and the United Nations (UN).
“In all honesty, Nigeria alone cannot do it. We need the international maritime organisations to be with us to meet these insurance companies” he told journalists.
