Antipiracy War: Nigeria Secures Premier Conviction under SPOMO ACT

Antipiracy War: Nigeria Secures Premier Conviction under SPOMO ACT

The Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has convicted three persons accused of involvement in the hijack of an Equatorial Guinean flagged vessel named, MV ELOBEY VI, off Equatorial Guinea's coast on March 21.

DR. BASHIR JAMOH

DG. NIMASA

Delivering judgement, Justice Mohammed Sani summarily convicted Binaebi Johnson, Daniel Lemmar and Ghane Gordon on Counts 1 and 2 and they were ordered to pay a fine of N20 million each under the new Antipiracy Act 2019.

The Nigerian Navy had arrested nine persons, namely, Binaebi Johnson, Daniel Lemmar, Ghane Gordon, Hassan Hakeem, Gregory Smith, Ofem Uket, John Mark, Chidi Amadi and Eze Amadi, who were suspected to be members of the kidnapping syndicate. They were said to have demanded a $2 million ransom out of which $200,000 was eventually paid.

During the proceedings in the court on August 10, Binaebi Johnson, Daniel Lemmar and Ghane Gordon pleaded guilty to counts 1 and 2 and not guilty to counts 3 – 5 while the remaining 6 accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, described the conviction as a signal that Nigeria is in the right path in the war against piracy and other crimes on the nation’s waterways.

Jamoh said NIMASA as an interested party will continue to work closely with other agencies of government, the international community, and other stakeholders to achieve improved security in the Gulf of Guinea.

The Director-General stated, “This will serve as a deterrent to other criminal elements who are still engaged in the nefarious activities on our waterways. On our part as an agency, we will not relent on our efforts to ensure a safe and secure maritime domain in line with our mandate.

“The Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Crimes (SPOMO) Act 2019 has come to stay and it is victory for Nigeria as a whole as we are determined more than ever before to take our rightful place in the comity of maritime nations.”

The prosecution counsel, Labaran Magaji, who spoke to newsmen outside the court, said the judgement was a landmark victory for the antipiracy law. “They were charged under Section 16 (4) of the antipiracy law and once the charge was read to them, they pleaded guilty and the prosecution actually applied to the court to summarily convict them to pay a fine of N20 million each and only three of the defendants were actually sentenced,” Magaji said.

The conviction is the first since the signing into law of the SPOMO Act in June last year by President Muhammadu Buhari.

 

 

MARITME: NIGERIAN SEAPORTS SET TO COMMENCE 24 HOURS OPERATION

MARITME: NIGERIAN SEAPORTS SET TO COMMENCE 24 HOURS OPERATION

·        As Heads of Maritime Agencies Agree To Implement Intermodal Transport For Port Efficiency 

Heads of maritime agencies in Nigeria have agreed to work on modalities for a quick commencement of 24 hours operation at the ports. Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, disclosed this on Tuesday in Lagos while briefing the media after the second edition of the monthly meeting of heads of maritime parastatals, held at the NIMASA headquarters. 

LR: Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers Council, Bar. Hassan Bello, Managing Director, Nigerian Inland Water Ways, Bar. George Moghalu, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, and the Registrar of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria Barr. Sam Nwakohu during the meeting of Heads of Maritime Parastatals held at NIMASA Headquarters in Lagos, on Tuesday

Jamoh said the meeting discussed issues bordering on maritime safety and security, port efficiency, intermodal transportation, as well as synergy among agencies in the sector. He said the forum of CEOs of the agencies had given the maritime industry a platform to grow and contribute more to Nigeria's economic development.

According to him, “This meeting is the second in the series and it has started yielding positive fruits. For instance, the issue of berthing the NIMASA floating dock, which has lingered for a couple of years, has been resolved through this meeting and very soon it would be deployed for use. ” 

The NIMASA DG stated that the heads of agencies agreed to play their respective roles to facilitate the operation of 24 hours hours a day, seven days a week port services. He said this would help to decongest the ports and tremendously impact on the Ease of Doing Business initiative of the Federal Government. 

Jamoh said the meeting constituted a committee to produce a work plan for the 24-hour port system, and agreed to carry communities around the port environments along in order to ensure safe operations within the port vicinities and beyond. 

He stated, “We are looking at the workability of 24-hour port services to ease the pressure on our ports in terms of congestion. We also agreed to work with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) on how movement of cargoes from the ports can be done by rail to reduce the pressure on our roads. 

“Our focus is also to ensure containers are moved by barges to dry ports outside the port environments. All these would help in the efficiency and effectiveness of our ports. ”

Speaking at the session, Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman, also emphasizes the need for intermodal transport system in and around the port environments. Usman said Nigeria must prioritize intermodal transportation to reap the benefits of shipping and port activities.She said the heads of maritime agencies agreed to work with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) to facilitate movement of cargo from the ports by rail.

Managing Director of National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Dr. George Moghalu, said safety formed a major part of the discussion.  Moghalu said all the maritime agencies had agreed to work together to rid the Nigerian waters of unsafe craft and practices that endanger passengers and other users of the waterways.   

Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers' Council, Mr. Hassan Bello, said the new synergy among the heads of maritime agencies was a significant building block for efficient economic activities within the country's maritime domain. Bello said the ultimate aim was to make Nigeria a maritime hub in Africa through efficient and effective maritime operations and infrastructure.

The monthly meeting, which was the second in the series, was also attended by Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers' Council, Mr. Hassan Bello; Registrar, Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarders in Nigeria (CRFFN), Mr. Sam Nwakohu; and Rector, Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Commodore Duja Emma Effedua (rtd), who joined via zoom.

NIMASA Reiterates December Deadline for Single-hull Tanker Ban

·        Secures approval for CVFF disbursement

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has restated that the country remains steadfast in its decision to stop the use of single-hull tankers by December 31 this year. Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, stated this on Thursday in Lagos during a meeting with the Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN).

Dr. Bashir Jamoh

DG. NIMASA

Jamoh also announced that NIMASA had secured approval for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). He said only the fine details of the scheme were being considered before commencement of pay-out.

The meeting, held virtually, was hosted by the Agency at its headquarters.

Jamoh said, “We are committed to the complete phase-out of single-hull tankers by December 31. Operators still using this type of tanker should make adequate preparation to comply because there will be no going back on this decision.

“We have discussed the timeline for discontinuing the use of single-hull tankers and were given five years to comply with the ban, which is, to all intents and purposes, a generous allowance.” 

The Director-General described shippers as “the beacon and hub of any developing economy,” saying, “The journey to success for the current management of NIMASA depends on the shipowners. We shall continue to pursue our functions of promoting and regulating shipping in collaboration with shipowners and all relevant stakeholders.”

Responding to the shipowners’ concerns about the CVFF, Jamoh stated that the Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, had approved the disbursement of the fund, meant to assist operators in the acquisition of maritime assets.

“Only the details are being discussed with a view to avoiding former mistakes and ensuring effective and efficient utilisation of the fund,” the Director-General stated.

He added, “We have also submitted proposals to the Minister to seek fiscal and monetary incentives for our shipowners.”

Many of the country’s major shipowners participated in the webinar, including the SOAN President, Dr. Mkgeorge Onyung; First Vice President, Mr. Eno Williams; Iro Ogbeifun of Starzs Marine and Engineering Limited; Emeka Ndu of C&I Leasing Plc; Kameel Najjar; and Oviebo Ambros.

NIMASA had in 2015 revised the timetable for the phase-out of single-hull tankers operating in Nigeria. This followed the decision of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to extend its deadline for ban on single-hull tankers for certain categories of tankers not engaged in international trade. NIMASA utilised the IMO extension window to shift the final phase-out date for single-hull oil tankers to December 31, 2020.

IMO’s Revised Regulation of Annex 1 to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL) required flag administrations to phase out Category 2 and 3 single-hull tankers by 2015. But it extended the deadline for some tankers not engaged in international trade owing to the difficulty in achieving wholesale fleet replacement.

 

 

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NIGERIAN MARITIME INDUSTRY

INVESTMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE NIGERIAN MARITIME INDUSTRY

PICTURE CREDIT: SERGIO SOUZA

Over the years, the maritime industry has given especially in the area of marine transportation which has made the movement of cargoes of any size and volume possible. This has positively impacted global trade and global logistics value chain.

From statistics carried out by Vessel and co, it can be found that over 90% of world cargo merchandise/trade by volume is carried by seas and from statistics by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), it is observed that over 60% of all maritime activities in west Africa is generated by Nigeria only.

In 2019 report by NIMASA tagged “Nigerian Maritime Industry forecast 2019-2020” described the Nigerian ports as an enabler of economic growth and prosperity and urged Nigerians entrepreneurs to key into the numerous investment opportunities in the Nigerian Maritime Industry.

The investment opportunities includes the following:

1.   SHIP FINANCING:

Shipping is capital intensive because the maritime assets needed are government intervention in this area to provide soft interest long-term loans in the industry.

This also provides an opportunity for the financial sector to key in and provide this finance for prospective investors.

A prospective investor can seek innovative financing modules and other sources of funding away from traditional models

Capital market remains the most important financing option for the enhancement as well as the promotion of shipping business growth and creation of corporate value.

This opportunity for finance house can however be achieved with adequate evaluation and provisioning for risk, appropriate leverage levels and use of financing structures suitable for the Nigerian Maritime Industry.

 

2.   SHIP BUILDING AND REPAIRS

NIMASA has a department solely dedicated to ship building. In 2019-2020 maritime industry forecast as carried out by NIMASA, the maritime industry holds the key to diversifying the economy away from oil and gas, after all there are countries like the Philippines who solely depend on maritime for the bulk of their income.

 

The dependency on maritime in Nigeria calls for more tankers, vessels and the like. The amount currently operating is not enough and more investment is needed.

 

This calls for spirited entrepreneurs to seize the opportunity and invest in ship building and repairs.

 

This sub-sector, remains under-developed and has the potentials of reducing capital flight, because ship owners will not have to repair their ships outside the shores of Nigeria.

 

This is also supported by the cabotage law of Nigeria and there are so many areas entrepreneurs can explore which includes building and repair of barges, merchant ship, dredger, self-propelled barge, floating vessels, lift boat, patrol vessel, jack up barge, crew/supply vessel and many more.

 

Other opportunities that can be explored include human capacity building, technology and funding.

 

With over 3,500 vessels operating in the Nigerian waters, dry-docking remains a critical area of business because many of these boats are dry-docked and repaired outside the shore of Nigeria. This business opportunity must be explored by Nigerian entrepreneurs.

 

3.   MARINE INSURANCE:

The role of insurance in any business cannot be over emphasized because insurance has the ability to mitigate the impact of risks in any business. Insurance also correlate with economic growth because entrepreneurs would be willing to take more risks.

An overview of the insurance business in Nigeria shows that marine insurance is one of the lucrative insurance business in Nigeria, only second to motor insurance.

 

Even at that, the marine insurance business is one of the under-developed and needs more investors as huge opportunities abound in the sector.

 

4.   RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT

In any area of life or business, you can never use up creativity, the more you use, the more you have.

 

This is the reason why research and development is necessary in any human endeavour, even in the maritime industry.

 

New approaches and innovations are taking place globally and this calls for the need for entrepreneurs to seize investment opportunities by setting up training and research centres to scale up activities in the maritime sector.

 

5.   LAW OF SEA EXPERTS

The maritime industry on the existing laws of the land coupled with other maritime laws both locally and internationally.

 

This calls for experts or prospective lawyers to seize the numerous opportunities in the industry. Apart from soliciting, opportunities also abound in providing legal documents.

 

6.   MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT

In the 2019 – 2020 forecast by NIMASA, there are plans by the government to float a National vessels that would compete with other vessels internationally.

To achieve this feat, there needs to be an intensive manpower training because the availability of manpower is crucial to the development of the maritime sector.

If done well, the establishment may begin to see influx from student all around the world.

This will lead to employment generation, sea-time for cadets and competitive cost of doing business. 

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DOING MARITIME TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS IN NIGERIA.

ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT DOING MARITIME TRANSPORTATION BUSINESS IN NIGERIA.

                                                PHOTO CREDIT: FRANK MCKENNA

The Nigerian maritime industry is estimated to worth over 10 billion dollars annually and pose a huge potential and robustness if properly harnessed.

From a glance it could look challenging but its potential should attract any experienced entrepreneur. The various segments potential entrepreneurs can tap into include ship operations, cargo importation and various support services which span the supply chain.

There are two identifiable operations that any entrepreneur can key into and these include;

v There’s an active coastal shipping environment in which imported petroleum products must be trans-shipped daily from mother ships to daughter ships and transported from offshore locations to terminals and jetties in the hinterlands.

 

v There’s a robust fleet of offshore support vessels that operate offshore operations in oil exploration and production.

As the years go by, the Nigerian maritime industry is expending more and more and should attract any seasoned investors. For instance, international oil companies must regularly update their work plans to reflect the vessel employment needs for their operations with date suggesting that there is an annual spend of approximately 3 billion dollars on offshore supply Vessels in Nigeria.

Any potential investor in Nigerian maritime space must conform to a range of regulation often updated by NIMASA.

They must understand the Nigerian cabotage laws and must navigate important compliance issues, which includes the nature of registration and the flag state of operation.

In early 2019 Nigerian Maritime Administration & safety Agency (NIMASA) issued new guidelines on the granting of waiver but this has been abolished by the current administration.

A potential investor must also understand & review fiscal obligations and options available for a smooth vessel importation and best approach to participation.

The would-be investor must consider the appropriate structures of operation, safety and safety issues and a great knowledge of marine environmental management.

Currently, there are no financing option from either the public or the private sector, but the management of NIMASA, headed by Dr. Braimoh Jamoh is putting things in place to make that feasible.

Given the high levels of foreign participation, the reality on ground is not as bad as it seems. However, it is important to seek professional guideline in navigating this environment which NIMASA can gladly provide.

EXPANDING NIGERIA’S MARITIME INDUSTRY

EXPANDING NIGERIA’S MARITIME INDUSTRY

PICTURE CREDIT: CHRIS PAGAN

Nigeria is yet to achieve its full capacity in the maritime sector. There is no doubt that Nigeria is major globally recognized and reputable maritime Nation with over 8000km of navigable inland and coastal channels, including its fresh water lakes, but is still far from achieving it’s potential in boosting the country GDP.

Research has shown that there are many factors inhibiting this potential. For instance, Nigerian seaports are relatively small for modern vessels to load or discharge bulk cargoes and liquefied products compared to modern seaports in developed countries. Secondly, the Nigerian waterways are not deep enough for the navigation of these modern vessels.

The setbacks need urgent attention and must be corrected immediately if we must compete favourably with our counterparts elsewhere, and this has the ability of reducing Nigeria’s level of involvement in international trade and the global economy.

Nigeria needs to copy the strategic efforts of world renowned maritime nation’s like panama, Nicaragua, Norway, the United States and Denmark and create a significant future for effective and efficient global maritime economy. This is achievable and must be pursued.

Nigeria needs to start thinking ahead of its African peers in building a sustainable maritime economy to boost its GDP. Countries like Nicaragua are positioning itself for the future, for instance, a recent proposal highlighted the potential of connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean via the Nicaraguan lake and isthmus of Rivas. This would facilitate the passage of large vessels of over 80,000dwt, speeding transit times and decongesting the Panama Canal, thus bringing much income to the Nicaraguan government. Nigeria strongly needs to be thinking towards that direction.

In so doing, the country’s GDP would benefit enormously if the right things are put in areas for effective maritime competitiveness and significant trade participation larger vessels.

The plans to expand the Nigerian maritime industry should not be limited to deepening the coastal waterways but should be extended to the re-enforcement of human capital within the maritime sector such as management and financial empowerment, digital supply chain proficiency etc.

A recent study by the Nigerian ports Authority (NPA) in 2017 found out that a whooping $7 billion dollars of annual revenue is lost due to inefficiencies and weak infrastructure of Nigerian Seaports, this suggests that more needs to be done in this sector.

In conclusion, in expanding the Nigerian Maritime industry, the government needs to create a more competitive and enabling infrastructure, including digital logistics, inland waterways expansion, foreign direct investment and encouraging more private investors to enter the maritime business.

These definitely would help Nigeria and also boost its economic situation.

THE CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF THE NIGERIAN MARITIME INDUSTRY

THE CHALLENGES AND PROSPECTS OF THE NIGERIAN MARITIME INDUSTRY

PHOTO CREDIT: ANDY LI

The maritime transportation industry of any country is undeniably an important economic growth of any Nation. In Nigeria, it contributes so much to the GDP. Depending on the management, it’s role can either make or break an economy.

The Nigerian economy is a mixed economy and the maritime industry is a major sector in the economy given the fact that Nigeria is a major producer of Crude Oil and also a major importer of commodities.

Maritime trade in Nigeria has played a major role in deepening the economy in that it contributes about 95% of the vehicular means of Nigeria’s International trade. It allows economies  great scale in areas that have promising comparative advantage with concomitant generation of huge employment opportunities.

On the down side, the maritime sector is capital intensive and requires huge amount of finding. However, the history and growth of many Nations are directly interwoven with the degree of development of the maritime transport industry that can exist or is already existing.

Nigeria has a coastline of 253 km which runs through most southern states and must be harnessed if this country will prosper with its maritime industry.

This article intends to discuss the challenges and prospects of the Nigerian maritime industry. There are certain key qualities and attributes of the maritime sector that forms the scope of this article and they include;

v Maritime transport is an essential derivative demand

v Maritime transport is demand responsive

v Maritime transport is capital intensive

v Maritime industry requires both skilled and unskilled labour

v The global economy influences the maritime sector because it affects the trade patterns of nation.

v Maritime transport is open to technological changes

v To achieve an efficient maritime transportation system, structural support and logistics are very vital.

 

CHALLENGES OF MARITIME INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA

There are many challenges affecting the Nigerian maritime industry and they include;

1.   LEGISLATION AND LEGAL REFORMS:

The committee of Nigerian Maritime lawyer’s association, shipper’s council of Nigeria and the house committee on marine transport should sit together and enact laws that would be favourable to the Nigerian Maritime transport and all stakeholders.

At the moment, the law reform commission is an omnibus commission because if not only deals with maritime sector, but with other sectorial laws like constitutional and criminal laws. These commission needs to be very active in discharging the mandate of the federal government. They need to work very hard in actualizing the many far-reaching policies of the federal government, from revolutionizing transportation, to allying the maritime transport sector to best international standard and to ensuring the implementation of policies.

There is need for policies overhaul in this sector if the government intends to achieve the trillion Naira potential the maritime industry can generate annually.

Of note is the 40:40:20 code enacted by the United Nation’s Code on trade and Development (UNCTAD) in 1987. This code stipulates that 40 percent of the total volume of cargo traffic and revenue should be reserved for indigenous Nigerian carriers, another 40% should be reserved for carriers of cargo originating in destination countries while 20% should be reserved for third party flag carriers.

If this law or code was fully operational in Nigeria, this country would have gone a long way to correct the imbalance in shipping trade..

The Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA) that took over from the Nigerian Maritime Authority (NMA) in 2007 is yet to implement this policy to the extreme but is consciously working towards achieving the goal with its 4 pillars of the cabotage laws. Due to the duplication of functions by various government agencies, the leadership of NIMASA headed b y Dr. Braimoh Jamoh, on 3^rd July, 2020 invited the various agencies and clarified everyone of its role.

 

2.   MARINE ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION

There is agent need to protect marine life because of our dependence on water bodies for survival.

Because of the degradation of the ecosystem due to petroleum production, the government must protect the marine life so as not to endanger the livelihood of the communities spanning the coastal areas.

3.  SAFETY AND SECURITY

No entrepreneur will want to do business in an insecure environment. This is a major challenge in Nigeria waters and must be addressed by the government.

 

4.   HUMAN RESOURCES AND TRAINING

Human resources is one of the most important role in any industry. If Nigeria must grow its maritime industry, there is need to train and re-train manpower so that they can complete favourably with their counterparts anywhere in the world.

 

5.  FINANCE

The maritime industry as earlier stated is capital intensive and needs huge amount of funding. There’s need to create additional sources of finding away from the traditional models already on ground.

 

 

RECOMMENDATIONS

The Nigerian Government should do all in his power in creating an enabling environment for maritime business to thrive and also making accessible loans with low interest rates.

The necessary agencies must ensure a safe and secure environment for all player and the issues of militancy must be resolved.