Some maritime experts have called on the Federal Government to urgently take strategic steps toward reviving the country`s shipping industry.
The experts gave the advice in separate interviews in Lagos yesterday to mark the 2016 World Maritime Day. The day is observed globally on September 29 of every year.
The theme of the 2016 edition is “Shipping: Indispensable to the World”
The World Maritime Day is an official United Nations day, and every year it provides an opportunity to focus attention on the importance of shipping and other maritime activities, the said. Each World Maritime Day has its own theme.
According to the IMO, “this year’s theme is chosen to focus on the critical link between shipping and the everyday lives of people all over the planet and to raise awareness of the role of IMO as the global regulatory body for international shipping”.
According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), around 80% of global trade by volume and over 70% of global trade by value are carried by sea and are handled by ports worldwide. These shares are even higher in the case of most developing countries, the IMO said.
“A single ship can carry enough grain to feed nearly four million people for a month; another, enough oil to heat an entire city for a year, and others can carry the same amount of finished goods as nearly 20,000 heavy trucks on the road,” the IMO added.
And to mark the day in Nigeria, a former Sole Administrator, Maritime Academy of Nigeria in Oron, Akwa-Ibom state; Engr Olu Akinsoji, said that there could be no maritime sector without a viable shipping industry.
Akinsoji said Nigeria had not been able to benefit from the opportunities in the sector because there was virtually no shipping in the country.
“September 29th is the International Maritime Day, but Nigeria cannot be said to be participating because we do not have shipping.
“You see, shipping is an integral element of the maritime sector and countries that have good shipping industry are reaping bountifully from that multi-billion dollar sector.
“We need to reposition the sector to promote trade and improve our economy.
Akinsoji, also a former Government Inspector of Ships (GIS), said the re-floating of a national shipping line was strategic to the revival of the shipping industry.
He said that with the government`s plan at having ships carrying national flags, the industry would come back to life as there would be enough ships to drive the local maritime sector.
Akinsoji said that there must be a conscious effort by the government and other stakeholders to address the problem of human capacity to revive the shipping industry.
He said that lack of skilled manpower in the industry had affected shipping activities in the country.
The expert said regulatory agencies like the Nigerian Maritime Administration And Safety Agency (NIMASA) should be strengthened to perform their statutory responsibilities effectively.
He also said increased private –sector participation in shipping would promote competition and help return the industry to life.
Also speaking, a former Director-General of the defunct National Maritime Authority (NMA), Mr John Egesi, said the maritime sector had suffered because of low shipping activities.
He however said lack of cargoes due to low capacity of local manufacturing sector was partly responsible for the near death of the shipping industry.
“We are having issues with the shipping industry because we are not an export-based economy. We need to develop our manufacturing capacity in order to drive a viable maritime sector.
“To me, a national fleet might not solve the problem. Because if we have all the ships and do not have the cargoes, what will the ships carry.
“We should grow our economy first and if we have enough to export, shipping will thrive naturally, “ he said.
Egesi called for partnership with the major private shipping lines to attract the right investments in shipping and grow the maritime sector.
Mr Benson Adegbeyeni, President, Senior Staff Association of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), lamented the exit of foreign shipping lines due to low import activities.
He urged the government to implement the right policies and create the right environment to revive the industry.
In its contribution, the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) urged the Federal Government to expedite action on its plan to float a new national shipping line.
The National Publicity Secretary of NAGAFF, Mr Stanley Ezenga said the lull in shipping activities in the country was a compelling reason for the quick re-floating of national shipping line to drive the industry and restore vibrancy to the maritime sector.
“We are celebrating the World Maritime Day but Nigeria, though, a maritime country, is not an active participant because the shipping industry is in comatose.
“Of course, a new national fleet as planned by government would drive the industry and ensure that the country would take its place in the shipping world.
“Enough of foreign shipping lines taking our crude oil and other cargoes to other countries. We can do it ourselves with a shipping line, whether wholly-owned by government or on private sector partnership arrangement.
“What is important for the government is to expedite action on the plan so that our nationalistic pride in the maritime sector is restored and the economy gets a boost, “he said..
Similarly, a Maritime Security Consultant, Mr Ikechukwu Uche, said that Nigeria still maintained its good name in global maritime circle.
“We are still there as a nation in world maritime but a lot still needs to be put in place to catch-up with other advanced maritime world.
“As a nation, there is need for the establishment of a National Maritime Security Trust Fund to cater for the increasing sea crime,’’ Uche said.
The Managing Director, Kizto Maritime Agency Ltd., Mr Tony Uzum, said that the Nigerian maritime sector was bedevilled with infrastructure decay.
“Most of the equipment used by the operators and agencies are obsolete and the incapacity is robbing on service delivery.
“The maritime world of today is on fast-track with stiff competition from other societies for improved service delivery.
“An improved budgetary allocation to the sector will afford the managers the opportunity to improve on their equipment,’’ Uzum said.
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