Since we broke the story on January 11, 2010 (the very day that it was to start), a lot has been said about the controversial Cargo Tracking Note. In all of the arguments, NPA chose not to go public; preferring, rather to engage stakeholders in consultations. And the result has been outstanding. From a total opposition, the story has gradually changed to almost total acceptance. And the man whose responsibility it is to ensure that the CTN kicks off is the managing director of NPA, Malam Abdusallam Mohammed. Recently, he broke his silence in a chat with a select group of journalists. Shipping Position Weekly was there and we bring you NPA’s positions on CTN and other industry –related issues. This is the first part of a lengthy interaction which is as illuminating as expected of Malam Abdusallam.
How did the controversy over CTN start?
I think the controversy relating to the introduction of the Cargo Tracking Note is unnecessary; the objective of government through the Federal Executive Council in approving the proposal of the Nigerian Ports Authority for the introduction of the cargo tracking system in Nigeria is a sincere one. You may want to ask me: why cargo tracking note and what is the objective. To be able to understand the reasons for its introduction we need to go back to the September 11 incident in the United States of America; immediately after the incidence there was another concern in the maritime community about the potential threat of terrorism in the maritime industry. Looking at what happened in the aviation sector, the feeling is that there is a potential that terrorists may think of similar attacks to ships, port facilities and related infrastructures. Based on that, the international community came up with what is called International Ships and Ports facilities Security (ISPS) Code. Essentially it is the initiative of the international maritime community to undertake certain measures to reduce the potential of terrorism – related incidences in the maritime sector. When that was done, there were specific requirements of what are needed in line with the ISPS code by ships’ agents and operators, port facility operators and other related agencies in the ports. Many nations thought of what they can do to improve on the requirement provided by the ISPS code. You might possibly be conversant with the United States initiative of container security initiative, what some people call the 48- hour law. Many nations felt that in addition to the requirements of the ISPS code, you need to take measures to obtain advance information relating to cargoes destined to your country because in addition to the proactive measures that were provided by the ISPS code you also need to know the shipment that is coming into your country, the vessels, and the personnel in some instances. The reason essentially is that we need to track adequate information relating to cargo movement and ship movement into your country well in advance, which will enable you to be ready; especially if you have certain suspicions relating to the cargo owner, the cargo and the ship that is coming in. The initiative undertaken for example by the United States needs prior information about containers that are destined for the United States before they are loaded into the country, the United states will afterwards access the information relating to that container and authorize or give counter directives in respect of the loading of that particular container for shipment to the United States. So, the Cargo Tracking Note was adopted by so many countries a system to track the movement of cargo so as to guarantee the integrity of the logistics chain in the maritime industry. Another additional issue that arose post-ISPS Code is the need to also get the resources that are necessary to finance security-related requirements as regards the implementation of the ISPS code and related matters. Many countries in Europe adopted the Cargo Tracking Note system as part of their initiative, many of our neighbours have been implementing it, Benin Republic, Angola, Central African Republic, Cote d’ Ivoire and so many other African nations have adopted the CTN. So, to me it will enhance the security of the maritime industry and that is why I say the controversy is unnecessary.
What is it with the organised private sector?
What we have done is to give assurances to the members of the public; especially the organized private sector. We took note of the opinions of the members of the public and essentially the different opinions. So many of the opinions that where expressed are positive and in support of the CTN, but there are also contrary opinions, so we decided to start a stakeholders’ interaction, we held a meeting with Shipping Association of Nigeria (SAN), thereafter we had another meeting with Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) jointly with NACCIMA. We also held meetings with the clearing groups. In addition to that, we also felt that we needed to gain the confidence of the different operators in the industry, so we constituted a committee made up of MAN, NACCIMA, and Shipping Association of Nigeria and the Nigerian Ports Authority. The mandate we gave the committee is to jointly work together and access the guidelines in terms of the processes and also to access the pricing structure and come up with guidelines and pricing structure that does not add up to bureaucracy in Nigerian ports. The committee has just concluded its assignment and I have looked at the work of the committee, I have asked members of the committee to meet once again to harmonise positions in some little areas of differences which I must say are not fundamental differences. So that’s what we have done in that direction. What I will like to assure you is that the Cargo Tracking Note is in the best interest of the country, it will assist in enhancing security measures in the maritime industry.
Who pays for the CTN and how is it paid?
The shipper makes payment for the CTN, it is the shipper that must pay it and what normally happens is that there are simple processes in terms of what you need to do. They have agents all over the world; you submit information relating to the cargo shipment, based on that information, it will be accessed and based on it you will be given a CTN tracking number that will be on your Bill of Laden.
Why the choice of a foreign firm to handle it?
Why not a foreign firm? I have answered that question over and over again. At this age, we should not be limiting the capacity of the activities in our nation; I will give you an example. Coincidentally, there was a journalist that was here yesterday, he asked me a similar question. On the board of the port of Houston (which is one of the major ports in the world), there is a Nigerian, he is an important member of the business community in Houston, he is an active player in the oil industry of the United States, he is a Nigerian and a member of the board of one of the major ports in the world, his name is Mr. Lawal. How many Nigerians do we have around the world engaged in one business activity or the other, we say the world is a global village, isn’t it? We will like to go and do businesses in some other nations of the world and we will like when we go there to have the protection, the freedom and the right to do business in a friendly environment. Can we say that the company in question does not have the expertise? If the company does not have the expertise, let us hear that the company does not have it. Are there Nigerian companies that have the expertise and that have indicated interest, but were denied the opportunity? Looking specifically at the maritime industry, how many foreign companies do we have in this sector? What I will ask is what is wrong with that? How many Nigerians do we have operating in the sub-region, many of our banks are going international, are we not happy about it? We have many indigenous terminal operators, won’t we also like our terminal operators to also be international like AP Moller, we can only achieve that when we open our doors.
What advice do you have for the organized private sector?
We are working with them, I see them as customers, they are major employers in Nigeria, we need them, they are major importers, we have been working with them, even yesterday I was on phone with both MAN and NACCIMA trying to say that, I don’t want us to just work as government agency, I will like to carry everybody along and it is on the basis of the views of that group that I said the committee should meet once again to harmonize positions. What I will just like to say to the organized private sector is that as a nation, we have a common destiny, it is in the interest of the organized private sector to have a superior logistics process, it is in the interest of everybody in Nigeria, we may have differences here and there, it is never a perfect law. When we have a group of persons definitely opinions will differ, but as a nation and as players in this sector, we have a common interest; on their side as organized private sector, we as an agent of government and Nigerian Ports Authority, we will work together and I can assure you that what we are doing is in the best interest of the country. The differences are just little and are not permanent.
When is the scheme likely to take off and when it does, what happens to any shipment without CTN number?
Let me say that the scheme has already taken off; the effective date was the 11th of January, 2010, what we have done essentially is to give a little interest as we are talking to the various parties, we have not suspended the scheme, its still there and we are committed to its full implementation. The issue of whether it has taken off or not, I don’t think it’s even there, what we have done is to say: let’s continue to talk. We will issue public notices in respect of everything that will be required under this scheme and the necessary penalties that may arise in the case of default. I believe that very soon you will begin to see our notices relating to the implementation of the scheme.
Can you estimate the expectation in terms of revenue for NPA?
The initial projection in the first year is about Euro 6million and I believe that this will go a long way in adding value to the Nigerian society. But because we have looked at possible reviews from the rates that were earlier being considered, because of the delays that we also witnessed in terms of full implementation, that figure might not necessarily be achieved for the first year, but with time definitely we will be looking at something of that nature.
We have heard it in some quarters that there is nothing new about CTN because over the years, shipping lines have been collecting it………..
Let me not go into the controversies please, we are all stakeholders; let me not go into the historical part of the issue and let us not also generate the kind of negative actions, lets work as partners and as partners you don’t try to apportion blames, I don’t intend to do that, the position which NPA has taken is that we are committed to the full implementation of the scheme.
There was a case of a shipper who claimed that he paid for inspection under CTN, but the cargo was not inspected
There is a lot of misinformation out there and that is why I said that by next week when we issue clear guidelines of the processes and what they need to do, it will become a lot clearer.
What is your take on the recent storm that washed some ships ashore in Lagos?
There are natural disasters, you can not stop them from happening, all you can do is to be ready for them, but you can not eliminate them. You can see that things are happening all around the world, you saw what happened in Haiti, in Chile and you can possibly remember the Tsunami that took place in the Far East some years back. In one of the pictures of the Tsunami, you will see ships, fishing trawlers destroyed. What nations can best do is to be prepared to limit the effect of such natural occurrences. There are situations whereby we had waves as high as five metres and through that some of the vessels where pushed ashore, the decision that we will make under such situations is search and rescue and we also have the agencies to conduct search and rescue exercises that is what you can do to safe human lives, the next step after that is to look at what you can do to protect your environment to be able to salvage the vessel and the cargo therein, these are the things you can always do. Natural occurrences do happen, unfortunately nature is more powerful than the human mind and all you need is to be ready for eventualities such as that.
How ready is the system for this kind of occurrence to at least be able to contain it when it happens?
There is an international search and rescue centre here in Nigeria which is under NIMASA as the search and rescue agency, but in the issues of search and rescue, you just don’t leave it with one agency, you must utilize all the resources that you can muster. In other nations, you will find out that there are volunteers for this, so what we do in search and rescue in almost all the situations is we work jointly with NIMASA which may not necessarily have all the equipment and NPA may also not necessarily have all the equipment; sometimes the equipment we may need may belong to the private sector, you mobilise all such equipment and you also have search and rescue plan. In the instance that we are talking about, we thank God that no live was lost; there was no injury and no major incident of pollution.
What is the truth about the widely- held belief that there is conflict between NIMASA and NPA on wrecks removal?
I don’t think there is any conflict, I think essentially there are misunderstandings of related laws and I will explain that. The Act establishing the Nigerian Ports Authority has provided for wrecks removal as part of the responsibility of NPA, similarly the Act establishing NIMASA provides wrecks removal responsibilities, so also the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). What we need to understand is the question: are these responsibilities needed by these different organizations? I will say yes because if you take that responsibility away from any of these three organizations, you may impede their abilities to perform some of their responsibilities. What we need to understand is, we have responsibilities for the waterways, we handle vessels coming into our country, if there are wrecks within the channels, we will expose the vessels coming into our waters to danger, so the issue of safety is there, if you take away that responsibility of wrecks removal from NPA even if there are wrecks that are inhibiting safe navigation, the NPA will not be able to do it, so that is the philosophy behind the provision. In the case of NIMASA, they are the safety agency in Nigeria, supposing that there is a major ship- related incidence and NIMASA requires access to the location of that incident and along the way, there is a wreck impeding the ability to get to that location, if NIMASA does not have that power, it cannot be able to exercise that power and that will impede on its functions. This also applies to the National Inland Waterways Authority in its areas of operations. The confusion arises because we fail to relate our functions to the philosophy and principle behind it. I can give you an example relating to another function of the NPA, the Act gives NPA the power to own ships, we may decide to be a shipping line if lets say we wish to interpret that provision. That is not the objective; the objective is to enable us to provide marine services in all ramifications; that is the objective. So I feel in our interpretations of the various provisions of our laws, we should sit back and look at the principle behind it so there will not be any conflict relating to any of these issues.
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