– Warns against disbursement with jobs for vessels
– As NISA for shipping firm to participate in Cabotage trade
Esther Oritse
Lagos — THE Nigerian Indigenous Ship-owners Association, NISA, has requested for the re-introduction of cargo allocation for local ship owners and operators so that the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, can be sustained for a long time.
President of NISA, Mr. Sola Adewumi warned against disbursing the fund without making jobs available for local shipping companies as this could lead loss of fund which could also lead to a waste of these assets.
Adewumi stated that the issue of Cabotage waiver must be stopped adding that granting waivers after five years of the enactment of the Cabotage Act is against the law.
He explained that the Cabotage Act says that foreign elements doing Cabotage trade in Nigeria must hand over to local shipping firms after years of the law, but the foreigners have refused to let go because there are Nigerian officials that are assisting them to perpetuate their continued stay in the trade.
He also frowned at the carriage of crude oil to Dangote’s Refinery foreign shipping adding that indigenous firms ought to be the ones moving crude to the Refinery.
He said: “Even if the Fund is disbursed and the ship owners buys vessels with the money with jobs, they will not be able to pay back, and these assets will become wasted. So, the issue of waivers must be looked into for the CVFF to be effective.
“NISA in collaboration with some foreigners have formed a shipping company so that Nigerians can be part of its coastal trade. These foreigners have the technical knowhow, the experience and all that it takes to deliver. So, we are working with them to ensure that Nigerians are well integrated into the Cabotage trade.
“Cabotage allocation will help grow local capacity as this will assist in making jobs available for indigenous shipping firms and improve the coastal trade and ultimately grow local economy.
