Nigeria Maritime Administration Safety Agency (NIMASA) Director-General (DG) Dr Dakuku Peterside has developed a blueprint that will enable the country make over $400 million yearly from ship chandling.
A senior Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF) official said that Peterside is concerned that foreigners and non-professional chandlers are supplying essential commodities to ships, including Floating Production Storage Offshore Vessels (FPSOVs), oil rigs, platforms, supply boats and liquefied natural gas (LNG) vessels. The illegal practice, he said, had resulted in capital flight.
The official alleged that some of those in the business obtained their licences from the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS). Peterside, the official said, was working on an updated record of authentic professionals in the business. “Lack of regulation of the profession was partly responsible for the criminal activities on the nation’s territorial waters and that is why NIMASA is taking the bold move to end the cycle of criminalities in our waters and seas.”
Former Nigeria Licensed Customs Clearing Agents (ANLCA) President, Prince Olayiwola Shittu, said though the Local Content Act was to address such issues, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board was yet to understand the dynamics of local content in ship chandling. He said the country loses billions of naira yearly due to the low level of activities in the ship chandling sub-sector. He urged NIMASA to co-ordinate the statutes guiding ship chandling to harness it to create jobs for the youth and boost the economy.
Source: The Nation