Operationalization of the existing shipping laws has been identified as the way forwards towards exploring the bountiful potentials inherent in the shipping industry in Nigeria.
Former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime and Administration Safety Agency (NIMASA) Temisan Omatseye made this known in his keynote address on Friday, May 19 2023, during Taiwo Afolabi Annual Maritime Conference organised by the Maritime Forum of the Law Faculty, University of Lagos, in collaboration with SIFAX Group at J.F Ade Ajayi Auditorium, UNILAG.
Omatseye who admitted that Nigeria has the best law when it comes to shipping industry in the world however regretted that failure to tap into this is denying the country several billions of dollars in revenue.
According to him, part of the problem in the industry is allowing foreign ship owners to dictate what is obtainable in the industry has an adverse effect on the economy of the country because those foreign ship owners determines the freight rate, the charge and the vessels to bring goods in or out of the country.
Also Read
“I can categorically tell you that in every 100% of goods leaving and coming into the country Nigerians carry just 2% while 98% is being carried by foreign shipping companies. This has made Nigerian goods uncompetitive in the international market while high freight rate on import has had an inflation effect on the Nigerian economy. It’s like handing over your destiny to be determined by foreigners” he retorted.
The former NIMASA D.G did not also hide his frustration when he looked at the moribund state of the national shipping line, a situation he said called for urgent attention.
He said “Remember what happened in Somalia when international shipping companies increase their rate, Ethiopia, which is a land locked country does not have a seaport just because they are surrounded by land has a shipping line and they have large vessels. Ethiopia chose to maintain the freight rate as at the time, this made many freight forwarders moved in their goods to Ethiopia and by virtue of the fact that the international shipping company started losing income so they were forced to drop the freight rate to the original price. In Nigeria, we do not have that opportunity because we do not nave shipping line.”
The former NIMASA D.G suggested that government should approve more good seaports which is currently ongoing at the moment, “we need to ensure the setting up of a national shipping line which will act as a bedrock of shipping and a stepping stone to bringing back the glorious days of the Nigerian Shipping Line. Also the Nigerian ship owners should be giving the opportunity to register as a national carrier in line with section 35 of the NIMASA Act so as to allow them to take advantage of the federal law that allows them to practice.
Government should also put in place implementable regulations to guide against the shipping operations and also protecting the interest of the Nigerian ship owners because no foreigner can come to Nigeria and claim that he loves Nigeria more than Nigerians. Government should also create a fund for rebuilding of ships and maritime infrastructures, this is what is being done in America where all shipping companies don’t pay tax, but they pay money called maritime fund and you can only drop that money for rebuilding maritime infrastructure but if you want to use the money for something other than this, you will be require to pay full tax as it is required by law on that money.”
Omatseye emphasized that “Government should also encourage the setting up of ship repair and building infrastructure by declaring some places as free trade zone while at the same time create incentives for original equipment manufacturers to set up shop within the shipping free trade zone. We should also work assiduously for the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Company while at the same time provide support for machine tool industries to fabricate spare parts for the shipping industry. In addition, I also believe we should create policies for the training of marshal for the shipping industry who will be making remittances of seamen tax for instance in the Philippines, the remittances of their sea fearers is about 25 billion dollars a year. An ordinary able seaman gets $500 a month an officer gets $15,000 to $20,000 a month” he concluded.
Highlights of the event was panel discussion where stakeholders in the maritime industry took turn to air their views on the topic “The Maritime Roadmap Project-Making Nigeria A Leading Maritime Nation In The World” with notable personalities such as Mrs. Eunice Ezeoke, President, Women International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) Barrister Funmi Folorunso, Secretary General of the African Ship Owners Association, Dr. Emeka Akabogu, a renowned maritime lawyer and Mr Bodunrin Adewole, President Maritime Arbitrator Centre.
Also there was a book launch by the organizer with donations from dignitaries present at the yearly event.
By Ajibola Adedoye