By Steve Agbota [email protected]
As the new Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola settles in, maritime stakeholders have listed the immediate disbursement of the long-awaited $700 million Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and deployment of the NIMASA modular floating dock as low-hanging fruits that will endear him to players in the maritime ecosystem. Others are addressing concerns around ship registration, maritime security and others.
Analysts insist that doing the above remains paramount especially as mixed reactions trailed Mobereola’s appointment, an outsider with near-zero knowledge of the NIMASA’s operations and the maritime world in general.
Stakeholders actually expected a maritime expert who has a broad knowledge and understanding of the sector to head NIMASA and not a greenhorn who will take one or two years to study the industry. Stakeholders believe that this may retard the growth of the agency.
On the controversial CVFF, the issue has lingered for years with the federal government and ship owners locking horns over the disbursement or otherwise of the fund.
While there was very high hope among industry operators that the CVFF, which remained undisbursed for more than a decade, will finally get disbursed following the appointment of a seasoned maritime insider, Dr. Bashir Jamoh as DG of NIMASA in 2020.
Unfortunately, four years down the line, the disbursement of the fund has remained elusive. Stakeholders are keeping their fingers crossed to see if the money will be disbursed under the new DG.
Stakeholders also expect that the N50 billion modular floating dock acquired by NIMASA in 2018 will be finally out into operations under the new DG.
NIMASA acquired the modular dock in a strategic move to cutback billions of revenues lost to ships who, after calling at the nation’s seaports, go to neighbouring ports in West and Central Africa to dry-dock their vessels. So, the acquisition of the facility was seen a masterstroke that was expected to change the face of dry-docking services in West Africa.
According to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), every vessel undergoes dry-docking once every three years in order to retain its safety classification and insurance cover.
On the ship registry, each merchant ship is required by international law to be registered in a registry created by a country and a ship is subject to the laws of that country, which are used also if the ship is involved in a case under admiralty law.
A shipowner may elect to register a ship in a foreign country, which enables it to avoid the regulations of the owners’ country, which may, for example, have stricter safety standards. They may also select a jurisdiction to reduce operating costs, avoiding higher taxes in the owners’ country and bypassing laws that protect the wages and working conditions of mariners.
The Liberian flag is the most sought-after for shipping investors during vessel registration process in West Africa and is the second most popular flag flown by international cargo ships worldwide, generating a huge source of revenue for the country.
The odds stacked against the Nigerian flag remains a huge challenge that has to be surmounted by Mobereola for the next four years, stakeholders insist.
On maritime security, the former NIMASA management, industry watchers note, did so much to ensure safety along the nation’s waters vis-à-vis the Gulf of Guinea through the implementation of assets under the Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure, also known as the Deep Blue Project.
It is expected that whoever pilots the affairs of NIMASA for the next four years should ensure the sustenance of the tranquility and sanity being enjoyed on the nation’s waters. Stakeholders note that the NIMASA DG will be heavily weighed and scrutinised through happenings on the nation’s waters in terms of security. The months of zero attack or spike in attacks on ships will define the future of the Mobereola as DG.
Speaking with Daily Sun, the Advisory Head/CEO, Kamany Marine Services Limited, Charles Okorefe said he expected new DG to drive the process the way it is expected to be driven.
He said NIMASA has a role to play to drive the process of blue economy.
“Don’t forget, they already have what they called the C4i command control and information centre, which is tagged ‘deep blue project.’
“Now, Jamoh happened to start that process under Rotimi Amaechi as a minister of transport. I expect the new DG to take it up from there. And also don’t forget we have new ministry of Marine and Blue Economy. Now what role has NIMASA has to play under that ministry? The role NIMASA has to play is huge as well.
“So the new DG, of course, his background is not in maritime, he will come amd he will learn the terrain whatever that it may, coming to run the office of a DG, once again is like bringing a square peg into round hole. We have been used to that. None the less, we believe that he will come in and continue from where Jamoh stopped looking at the template that has been set by the former DG, then pick it up from there. I want to believe he will pick up the template and achieve what he has been appointed to do,” he explained.
On CVFF and modular floating dock, he said it appears that most DGs shy away from the issue of CVFF and the floating dock but they cannot run way from it.
He added that floating dock is a N50 billion facility wasting away, saying something should be done about it as it is meant to generate money not only for NIMASA but also for the Federal Government.
On CVFF, he said every DG would come in and promise that they will actualise the disbursement of the CVFF but fail to walk their talk.
“So I want to believe that this man will toe a different line and ensure that the CVFF will be disbursed to those who actually need it. That is what I can say about that”.
Meanwhile, a Maritime Lawyer, Barrister Osuala Nwagbara said maritime transport is an arm of transportation, which is about the movement of goods and persons through waters.
“You have equivalent on land, movement of persons and goods through land. You have it for air, you have it for pipeline, and you have it for rail transport. The new DG coming onboard, he has a pedigree in transportation and transport management.
“Don’t forget, the new DG was at one time, CEO of LAMATA. And LAMATA has done beautifully well. So, if he leverages on his experience as a former CEO of LAMATA, I understand he also played in the private sector before his appointment at a very good level, which can be classified as international. For the fact that he has been in a transport sector and made a difference between what we see in Lagos today and other states, I think he can deliver.
“He doesn’t have to be maritime. All he needs to do is incline himself to maritime sector, look at the conventions to see how best they are implemented because every law in the maritime sector is based on conventions except a few that talk about inland transport like Cabotage act as a typical example.
“Most maritime conventions gave birth to local laws whether it is in the realm of management of environment in which marine transport is carried out, the ocean, the sea or you are talking about maritime safety, safety of vessels, goods and persons they are all based on international conventions,” he explained.
He said that the new DG must incline himself to conventions to drive the maritime sector.
A ship owner and member Nigeria Indigenous Shipowners Association (NISA); Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin said: “We have different expectations overtime and what did we get above all that? Nothing serious. Until we have an expert in maritime activities coming to that place or someone who has operated in maritime business and understand the difficulties of the industry, you know we will just continue to go in circle.
“This one is going to get there now and you start telling him story, story for a year or two years. Two years down the line, we still be where we were. So I really don’t understand what the thinking of the people that appointed the man. I really don’t understand the agenda of the government in terms of what they want to achieve and things like that. It may be very difficult for us to actually pass a comment expect we have a few of that they are thinking before the man was appointed,” he said.
He said that it there something that the government want or looking at achieving? He asked are they actually focused on what NIMASA set out to do?
“I won’t say may be the guy does not have the experience. We may look at it he has experience in transport and environmental sciences and things like that. Maybe that is what government now wants to focus on. I really don’t know but really I don’t know what to say because it will be too quick for anyone to judge this guy until maybe you sit with him and understand what he intends to achieve,” he added.
He said he hope the new DG will have the knowledge and understanding of the sector in his plans, saying if not the sector will be back to where it started from again.