Cabotage, simply refers to the transit of a vessel along the coast of a nation for the purpose of trade from one port to another within the territorial boundary of such nation. Implementation and enforcement of the provision of this Act have been the bane of the Nigeria’s Maritime Administration and discussions over the period of its introduction and existence in the country.
As they say, change is inevitable, as all other things in life, the Nigerian Maritime sector is a growing and developing sector, with promising opportunities. And administrators who must plot the affairs and future of this important sector are presented with these challenges and must find and adopt strategies that are promising because change is constant and occurring at an accelerating rate in all sectors, all over the world. We must all place our hands on deck to make this wonderful and rich sector open up opportunities for our people while creating more wealth for the nation.
It takes one with a great insight to identify and manage these seeming opportunities and harness them for the benefit of the people. That is why I revere the man at the helms of affairs at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, who has seen these opportunities and has made the required changes for the overall benefit of Nigerians and its government.
Therefore, moving along the change trend in the country and the Maritime sector of the world economies, the leadership of NIMASA, has done the unprecedented by issuing a Marine Notice to temporarily suspend the nation’s Cabotage Act provision on manning in the overall interest of the nation, in line with the Nigeria’s Local content enabling legislations and the vision that drove the introduction of the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP).
Within the context of the Cabotage Acts is the framework, otherwise known as the four pillars, which are that: Cabotage vessels must be wholly-owned by Nigerians; they must be registered in Nigeria; must be crewed by Nigerians; and must be built in Nigerian. These were the lofty ideals which the concept of waivers was introduced. It was to cater for the maritime capacity deficiencies in Nigeria, but with Nigerian Seafarers enjoying the first right of refusal.
Waivers grants thus became the ideal practice by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to voluntarily and intentionally relinquish or abandon the legal advantages, claims, requirements or rights over foreign vessels carrying out Cabotage businesses within the Nigeria’s territorial waters.
However, the regime had a caveat that demanded the engagements of Nigerian Seafarers in all associated pillars of Cabotage with the aim of aiding the growth of the nation’s maritime capacity, through placement of qualified Nigerian Seafarers in the mandatary sea-time training with Cabotage vessels.
It was the hope that the Nigerian Seafarers, upon engagement in the Sea-time training with Cabotage vessels, would be grounded with the necessary maritime skills needed to bridge the gap of maritime capacity deficiencies within one year of their internship, thus take over manning of such vessels. This was rarely achieved prior to the advent of Dr. Dakuku Peterside.
Dr. Dakuku Peterside, on arrival as the Director General of NIMASA, thus inherited a number of initiatives, programmes and policies geared toward ensuring the growth and development of the sector through optimal harnessing of the nation’s richly endowed maritime resources. One of such inheritance was the Cabotage waiver regime.
Though waivers regime had its benefits, but the fact remained that Nigeria and Nigerians were short-changed by foreigners who became the dominant force in the lucrative maritime space of Nigeria, particularly in the area of manning. This saw a large numbers of beneficiaries of the NIMASA NSDP and other self-sponsored maritime studies graduates struggling to have the mandatory sea-time trainings to qualify them as maritime professionals comparable with their international counterparts.
However, the leadership of NIMASA under Dr. Dakuku Peterside is changing the known narrative. It is engaging in formulation of a number of policies with associated strategies for implementation, one of which is the recently announced “NIMASA Cabotage Compliance Strategy (NCCS)” which is aimed at encouraging indigenous participation in shipping, particularly with regard to manning, which is the core of Cabotage waivers. It is instructive to reiterate that NCCS is not targeted at driving away foreigners, but to encourage full participation of Nigerians in the manning element of Cabotage pillars. It takes a man with a heart of flesh to feel the pains of seafarers and the unemployment level in Nigeria to take such a bold decision. To me, this is one of the best decisions in appointments, the APC led government had made.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics, “Youth Unemployment Rate in Nigeria increased to 25.20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 25 percent in the third quarter of 2016. Youth Unemployment Rate in Nigeria averaged 19.20 percent from 2014 until 2016, reaching an all-time high of 25.20 percent in the fourth quarter of 2016 and a record low of 11.70 percent in the fourth quarter of 2014”. The periods of these statistics fall within the Cabotage waiver regime, which means that contributions of the maritime sector also impacted unemployment in the country.
It can also be recalled that Nigeria is largely an import dependent country, and this means that many ships will berth at the sea ports on a daily basis. It won’t be out of point for one to imagine the number of missed opportunities for young seafarers who are supposed to man these ships, earn an income and contribute to the growth of the domestic economy. This will cause a ripple effect in the economy in general by the import of foreign exchange which will in turn impact on the economy positively.
Therefore, NIMASA’s policy to temporarily suspend Cabotage waivers is purely in the national interest, as we hope and believe for a huge multiplier effect. With this strategic posture, the scourge of unemployment would be drastically reduced because the jobs which were hitherto done by foreigners would be taken by Nigerians, hence complement the Federal Government employment generation stride.
It is the believe that with NCCS, along other government directives and programmes like the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), Nigeria would see a number of interventions, such as port reforms, development of the inland water transportation and encouragement of indigenous involvement in maritime business, which would in turn create jobs and reduce unemployment in Nigeria.
As an Agency of Government charged with the responsibility of ensuring effective regulation of the Nigerian maritime space, it is expedient that this policy be put in place to better position Nigeria and the Agency in particular to achieve its vision and mission to enhance maritime capacity in line with the best global practices towards Nigeria's economic development.
Manning is a core element or pillar of the Cabotage Act because every other pillar revolves around human resources. Without human input, building, flagging and ownership would be impossible, and so sound policies on manning are needed for the nation’s maritime breakthrough.
This may seem to be a herculean move, but from all indications, NIMASA, under the leadership of Dr. Dakuku Peterside, is committed and ready to ensure full enforcement of this new policy, notwithstanding the potential pressure and resistance the International Oil companies (IOCs), who were the major beneficiaries of the waiver regime, are likely to put.
The readiness of the Agency to ensure a holistic implementation of NCCS is evident in the intervention vessels which NIMASA is prepared to commission as part of the measures put in place not only to fight piracy and other maritime crimes, but also to complement the implementation efforts of the new waiver regime and resistance management.
It would be recalled that NIMASA recently issued a marine notice of temporary suspension of the issuance of waivers on manning requirement under Cabotage Act and mandated all Cabotage Officers to ensure strict compliance with the new directive. The aim of the NIMASA’s new waiver regime is to ensure a full takeover of the manning aspect of Cabotage vessels operating within the maritime territorial limit of Nigeria, by qualified Nigerians who are currently not being given opportunities by foreigners.
This is a step in the direction and marks a watershed in the history of the Agency. As Nigerians await the benefits of this new regime, NIMASA is poised to transform and position the nation’s maritime sector to be a major maritime contributor in the world’s maritime community.
Interesting
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