The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has refuted allegations by a section of the industry players, that it is giving preferential treatment to foreign companies thereby discouraging local investors from developing their capacity.
Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, who refuted the allegations on Tuesday during an investigative hearing by the senate, confirmed that NIMASA does not have the power to approve any form of waivers to industry operators.
He further clarified that the agency’s responsibility was to processs waivers while the approving authourity lies solely with the Minister of Transportation.
The senate committee on Local Content, held the investigative hearing on the “urgent need to ensure strict compliance with statutory regulations and provisions regarding the Nigerian diving sector”.
Chairman of the committee and former Senate Leader, Senator Teslim Folarin, in a ruling after a marathon debate, directed that relevant authorities including NIMASA and the NNPC, to allow local ship owners operate in transportation of petroleum products.
According to him, “It is very important we patronise Indigenous shipping. “The whole essence of this investigative hearing is not to trade blames. We understand that they don’t have enough vessels; they don’t have capacity, and capacity cannot come from heaven. The GMD here has capacity to help build capacity. It is very important that we patronize indigenous shipping companies.”
He expressed worry over the alleged $120million annual loss to overwhelming patronage of foreign firms in the shipment of petroleum products into the country.
The ship owners association of Nigeria had petitioned the senate, asking it to intervene in what the association described as “unfavourable treatment and injustice” towards Indigenous shipping companies, which grants undue advantage to their foreign competitors.
Addressing the senate on grounds of its allegations, the chairman technical committee of the association, Dr. Lucky Akhiwu, also lamented that some of the actions of NIMASA were hindering the growth & development of the industry.
The SOAN, led by its President, Dr. Mkgeorge Onyung, explained that the the provisions of Nigerian coastal and local content laws with regards to the shipping of petroleum products in the downstream sector of the oil industry is being breached in favour of foreign vessels, a situation it stated had encouraged massive capital flight.
“In the 2019/2020 DSDP disposition, contract valued at 9 billion USD was undertaken. Freight expenditure on Import Tankers was approximately 60 million USD monthly or 720 million USD annually. This involved the average monthly importation of 2.4 billion litres (1.8 million metric tons) of gasoline in foreign-owned tankers of 35,000 to 90,000DWT capacity (approximately 40 ship loads monthly).
“Between January and August 2020, 320 foreign tankers arrived Lagos offshore with imported PMS. This 100% foreign-dominated supply chain activity creates no in-country value for the Nigerian maritime industry with no multiplier-effect on other sectors of the economy. Foreign fleet is charteded by NIDAS Marine, NNPC subsidiary, via foreign ship brokers namely Clarksons, E.A. Gibson, Brassington, Braemer and Affinity,” Onyung stressed.
He told the committee that foreign ship owners account for 95% of freight spending associated with this downstream activity which was repatriated overseas as capital flight to the detriment of the local economy.
Lateefah Ibrahim
