Nigerian ship owners lose billions to foreign underwriter –SOAN

Steve Agbota

Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), has decried the billions of naira lost to foreign insurance firms as charges for protection and indemnity insurance of vessels plying the nation’s waters.

The Association lamented that the multibillion naira was being lost to the foreign insurance company known as “P&I” Insurance in London due to the failure of Nigerian insurance companies to leave up to expectations.

Speaking at the international press conference organised SOAN in Lagos last week, Vice Chairman of the association; Mr. Eno Williams, said that the issue of insurance had always been a headache for ship owners in the country. He added that the Nigerian insurance industry has failed to live up to their expectations while rendering service. For instance, he said, “this ship you are seeing the prototype here got burnt, but as we speak, this month would make it five years the ship (Niger Delta king) had been down. If  it is in London, they will simply just issue a credit note and the job would have been done within six to eight months. But here it is going to  five years now and we are losing multi billion naira to the P&I insurance company in London.”

Also speaking at the event, the President of the association Dr. MkGeorge Onyung, revealed that the association would be organizing an International Shipping Expo with the theme “Ocean Blue Economy and National Development,” come November 2019 in Lagos.

According to him, Nigeria is lagging behind in the comity and country of nations when it comes to ship ownership and maritime business.

He explained: “Basically, this executive thought it wise to put together and organise the first of its kind Lagos international shipping expo. Also, to let the world know that shipping is 90 per cent of global trade.”

“We believe that we are blessed with a vast ocean and we also know that in the world today, the future is the blue economy because the world is created with two variables; ocean and land and man has not conquered land talk alone the ocean.  That is why we the ship owners ventured into this business of utilising the resources of the ocean to create a global economy that we will be able to tap wealth from the ocean.”