The Nigerian Indigenous Ship Owners Association (NISA) has called on the various ship owners associations to come under one umbrella and speak with one voice.
The factional chairman of NISA, Umar Aminu, who gave this charge in a chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos on Tuesday, also said that proliferation of associations in the sector does not affect their businesses.
Aminu however reiterated that coming under one umbrella will give them a more formidable voice, adding that it will enable them tackle issues in the sector as one body.
Lamenting, he said; "To be honest, as a ship owner and a member of an association in shipping, I wish and my opinion has been that all of us can come and form one association, it will give us more formidable voice, it will make us to speak with one voice and solve an issue together with one voice"
"But form the perspective of business and indigenous shipping, I don't think having more associations affects the business directly", he argued.
Explaining further, he said that speaking under different associations in the sector does not portray a good image for the associations.
"If we don't have a formidable voice, each person will speak for himself and deal with issues individually and won't be well organized in that manner"
Aminu added that even though they have different associations in the sector, ship owners still meet when issues concerning the sector arise.
“The associations have been meeting, we have been able to talk and align ourselves together"
"So I don't think that differences in the association is a major problem even though it is not good to have so many associations in the sector", he told our correspondent.
Reacting to the additional charge by CGM CMA shipping line on cargoes coming to some Nigerian ports, he said that already vessels coming to Apapa are incurring a lot of charges.
He added that the new charges won't be good to shippers.
"On the additional shipping charge by a shipping line, I don't know what they mean by Peak Service Charge. But what I am sure is that vessels for Apapa or that come to discharge in Lagos are incurring a lot of costs. So I don't know what this new cost is all about, any additional charge is not good for the industry and the Nigerian shipper.
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