A shipping operator and former president of Nigerian Trawler Owners’ Association; Mrs Margaret Onyema-Orakwusi, has urged the Federal Government to provide conducive environment to enable indigenous shipping companies to pay the Sea Protection Levy.
Onyema-Orakwusi, who is also a member of Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN), said on Monday that ship owners were operating in a very expensive environment.
She said that, already, operators were contending with high cost of funds and high cost of fuel.
A shipping operator and former president of Nigerian Trawler Owners’ Association; Mrs Margaret Onyema-Orakwusi, has urged the Federal Government to provide conducive environment to enable indigenous shipping companies to pay the Sea Protection Levy.
Onyema-Orakwusi, who is also a member of Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN), said on Monday that ship owners were operating in a very expensive environment.
She said that, already, operators were contending with high cost of funds and high cost of fuel.
“For any additional levy, of course, you will expect operators to say no to that.
“We are appealing to the government to provide more security measures to assist the operators to pay the levy, “ Onyema-Orakwusi.
She said that the operators were finding it difficult to pay the levy, adding that the industry was being crippled and needed to be revived.
Onyema-Orakwusi said that confrontation would not yield the desired result.
“We all should sit together, reason and come to a solution.
`We want adequate security measures and we also want a lot of things done in the maritime industry.
“We want government to know that we are operating in a difficult terrain, “ Onyema-Orakwusi said.
The controversial levy was recently introduced by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) on April 30, 2013, when it also called for the collaboration of shipping companies in enforcing the Marine Environment Regulations 2012.
The Director-General of the agency, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, had said at that time that the enforcement would reduce pollution of the marine environment.
Justifying the levy he had said, “we are living witnesses to the degradation of our land and the destruction of the ecosystem with the attendant economic implication which oil pollution has caused this nation.“This is to enhance sustainable development of the maritime environment management system by putting in place a self-funding mechanism that preserves and protects it against such occurrences.
The Federal Government Official Gazette No 158 Marine Environment Management Regulation 2012 empowers NIMASA to impose levies on all commercial vessels of 100 gross tonnages and above.
But Mrs Onyema-Orakwusi appealed to the government to assist maritime operators by granting rebates to enable them to thrive on export business and meet up to international standard of shipping.
She said that maximum security measures would enable every operator in the industry to flourish.
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