By Roland Ekama
The Association of Marine Engineers and Surveyors (AMES) has expressed dissatisfaction at the current state of shipping activities the country, especially the lack of single digit interest loans for operators and the dearth of qualified engineers and master mariners.
The President of AMES, Engr. Israel Obadan, disclosed this at the 16th Marine Technical Summit organized by the Association of Marine Engineers and Surveyors (AMES) in Lagos on Thursday.
Obadan, stated that the association has initiated plans for training arrangements with the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Dangote Refinery for the capacity building of marine engineers, with emphasis on sea time.
While harping on experts inputs to ensure rapid maritime growth, the President stated that the association will continue to speak to the government until the needed changes are effected through capacity building , tax holiday and a conducive playing field for operators.
He lamented that the maritime regulatory agencies have failed to utilize experts in advisory or operational capabilities in furtherance to make significant impacts , which in turn has resulted to no future progression plans .
Obadan also expressed concerns about the decline of marine experts in the industry adding that the shipping sub sector needs new crops of new players to succeed the veterans.
According to him, government has a major role to play in the shipping development in Nigeria noting that provision of the enabling environment is need to encourage indigenous operators.
The event with the theme “Maritime Transport and Blue Economy: Route to Sustainable Success” also featured three other paper presentations by Engr. Emmanuel Ilori, Engr. Sandra Okoli-Ubong and Engr. Akintayo Akinbode.
On his part , Chairman of Starz Marine and Engineering Limited, Engr. Greg Ogbeifun, estimated that Nigeria could attract over $1billion foreign direct investment (FDI) and recoup $9.1billion annual freight earnings with the availability of Nigerian ships participating in global trade.
Amid the huge economic crisis plaguing the nation, Ogbeifun said:”Figuratively, Nigeria will be poised to witness an upturn of $9.1billion freight revenue annually, $5.42billion added to our gross domestic product (GDP) and $1.62billion contribution to corporate income tax if it returns back to global trading,”.
While observing that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) opens a new vista for shipping development, he remarked that availability of Nigerian ships for the regional trade would have led to increased Foreign Direct Investment significantly leading to a 7% increase in Nigerian income from the current path by 2043.
“China is angling to introduce ships that will dominate the carriage of goods under the AfCFTA, while Nigeria is wrongly celebrating the export of goods without participating in the freight carriage.
“At the moment, Nigeria spends about $9.2 billion annually on freight charges paid to foreign shipping companies. These payments constitute a significant outflow of foreign exchange, contributing to the weakening of the naira.
“Establishing a shipping fleet would enable Nigeria to retain a substantial portion of this revenue within the country, strengthening its economy and reducing dependence on foreign currency,” the shipping veteran argued.
He, however, stressed the need for a change in the nation’s trade terms from Cost, Insurance and Freight (CIF) to Free On Board (FOB), especially for crude affreightment
The event was graced by several maritime bigwigs including; the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), Nigeria Shipowners Association (NISA), Chief Isaac Jolapomo; former Minister of Interior and Chairman, Integrated Oil, Capt. Emmanuel Iheanacho; Secretary General, African Shipowners Association, Funmi Folorunso; Convener, Oil Trading Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Week, Dr. Emeka Akabogu; among others
