Worried by the poor participation of Nigerian owned vessels in the nation’s shipping business, Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) has requested for right to the carriage of at least 50 percent of the entire government owned cargoes to help boost the participation of indigenous operators in the shipping business.
The ship owners, who on Wednesday night in Lagos, noted that Nigerian ship owners had not benefited from the carriage of all government owned cargoes since the demise of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) in the 90s, listed government owned cargoes as infrastructure development and construction cargo, equipment and machineries, among others.
Greg Ogbeifun, president of SOAN, who made the plea, also called for the review of the 14 percent duties paid on imported vessels, corporation income tax for companies acquiring new vessels and port cost concessions.
Ogbeifun pleaded with the Federal Government to support the Nigerian shipping fleet and to also put an end to the collection of the Sea Protection levy. The SOAN boss further called for the creation of priority berthing for Nigerian registered ships and a review of the extant policy, which stipulated that traders should not earn foreign exchange to pay for product if that cargo was already on Nigerian waters.
He also demanded for the amendment of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act of 2003 and to effectively enforce the Local Content in order to boost indigenous participation in shipping business.
To further develop the maritime sector, he stated the need to carry out extensive review and the domestication of all outstanding international maritime conventions, which Nigeria had acceded to. “Nigeria needs to review the maritime operations coordinating Board Act 74 of 1992 to accommodate all relevant implementing agencies,” he said.
Delivering a goodwill message, Nike Akande, president, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), said the Nigerian economy presented tremendous opportunities to ship owners, especially to the indigenous ones.
Akande pointed out the need to harness the opportunities through the enactment and enforcement of appropriate policies to ensure a more inclusive maritime sector. Stating that 2016 has been challenging for everyone including players in the maritime sector, she however urged the stakeholders to remain optimistic for a brighter future.
