Ship Owners Fault  NIMASA’s Contract  Award To Foreigners

Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) has decried the continuous award of  shipping contracts to foreign vessel owners  by Nigerian Maritime Adminstration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for shipping of petroleum products.
The group said the neglect and disregard by NIMASA to the indigenous shippers negates the Cabotage laws of the land.
SOAN said the act is a clear contravention of the Cabotage and Local Content Acts, accusing the Agency of granting the waivers to foreign flagged vessels.
A protest letter to this effect,  signed by SOAN President, Mkgeorge Onyung was copied to the Group Managing Director of (NNPC), Mele Kyari and Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Simbi Wabote respectively.
The Association accused the Managing Director of NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh of granting waivers to foreign flag vessels operated by Messrs Unibros/Orion Marine to participate in the domestic shipping of petroleum products which is the sole preserve of Nigerians.
The group called on NIMASA to exercise its mandate to stop any illegality and ensure that vessel owners pay relevant Customs import duties on the vessels, “with evidence provided, before adopting the Nigerian flag, just like the Nigerian owned and flagged vessels operated by Nigerians.”
They noted that it will amount to an act of economic sabotage if foreign flagged vessels are allowed to operate in the nation’s waters in disregard to extant laws and regulations.
The letter further commended NNPC for giving Nigerian shipping companies the commercial opportunity to supply coastal vessels to NNPC/Marine Logistics for shipping petroleum products with Nigerian flagged coastal tankers.