About nine years after its enactment and about eight years after its implementation was flagged-off, the House of Representatives has commenced the review of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003, also called Cabotage Act.
The proposed amendments are already being considered by the lower legislative chamber, where the document has gone through the First Reading.
The statutory Second Reading was to have taken place last week, but it was postponed due to what a source explained as unforeseen circumstances.
About nine years after its enactment and about eight years after its implementation was flagged-off, the House of Representatives has commenced the review of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act 2003, also called Cabotage Act.
The proposed amendments are already being considered by the lower legislative chamber, where the document has gone through the First Reading.
The statutory Second Reading was to have taken place last week, but it was postponed due to what a source explained as unforeseen circumstances.
Our correspondent confirmed last week that the proposed amendments have also been gazetted at the lower chamber.
The House of Representatives on-going review also coincides with an advise that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) should seek the recommendations and reports of past committees that have been set up to look into the alleged failure of Cabotage law enforcement in Nigeria. The agency was told to also set up a standing committee with the sole responsibility of implementing the recommendations of these committees.
This direction was given in Lagos last week by Chief Chris Asoluka; a maritime consultant and lawyer who also played a major role in the formulation and subsequent enactment of the law in Nigeria.
At the end of a one day sensitization and consultative forum on the Cabotage Act enforcement in Nigeria, Chief Asoluka who was the chairman of the forum (with consent of eminent stakeholders present) submitted that in order to make the Cabotage law work, NIMASA should revisit the recommendations of past committees and all other programmes that have been organized on it.
One of such reports as pointed out by the stakeholders is the report of the Cabotage implementation committee that was formed in 2007.
Chief Asoluka said that “NIMASA should set up a standing committee to go through past recommendations and present happenings, those that needs legislation should be sent to Abuja, while those that require administrative actions should be attended to”.
But a member of the House committee on marine transport who pleaded anonymity confirmed to Shipping Position Daily that “there are six items that require legislative intervention, out of the 13 or 14 aspects that have been found to be defective or require intervention”.
He identified one of the aspects that require legislative action as the Seafarers Identity Document (SID), adding that the executive is expected to forward the document to the National Assembly.
Out of these, six it’s only about two or three that require direct amendment, he disclosed, even as he added that “for instance, the fishing trawlers owners believe that they should be removed from Cabotage”.
One major aspect is the issue of jurisdiction as it relates to offshore platforms that were not captured by Cabotage Act, whereas in the United States Jones Act which Nigeria copied, operations of offshore platform come under the Jones Act.
Our source disclosed that the lawmakers have sufficient effect to the effect that the Cabotage Act has left out key areas where offshore operations are increasingly going on and where Nigerians have been largely shut out.
According to him, stakeholders have been expressing concern about issues like the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and the waiver clause. These are issues that require administrative attention from the executive, and once that is done, the National Assembly knows what to do.
He also assured that before the final draft is submitted to the House for consideration, it would be subjected to a public hearing, even as he added that the committee on marine transportation has always carried the stakeholders along in all that it does.
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