Six years ago, the Federal Government the Ministry of Transportation initiated a new process of introducing a National Flag Carrier after the liquidation and collapse of the Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL) in September 1995, the Maritime Industry is waiting endlessly. The   planned resuscitation of the national fleet by the administration of the former President Muhammadu Buhari, to restore the Nation’s Maritime Industry to days where Nigeria operated Ocean going vessels and lifted most of its cargoes, thereby, retaining its freight rates in Country.

The NNSL in its glory days, improved the country’s balance of payments position by enhancing the earnings and conservation of foreign exchange. But, since NNSL was liquidated in September 1995 and its assets assumed by the National Unity Line (NUL), Nigeria lost a whopping $2.2billion yearly.

 Also, Nigerian seafarers that would have been engaged to work on the fleet lost $3000 they would have been earning per month. These and many more are the losses the economy is currently experiencing simply because the nation has no ocean going vessel on the international waters.

The NUL, it was gathered couldn’t go far as well as it had just one ship, MV Abuja and in August 2005, the government put the NUL up for sale. The company now had no vessels, but owned a shipping license. However, after 2005 when government put NUL for sale, all efforts to resuscitate the National shipping line by creating National Carrier have failed till date.

First attempt was made in July 2010 when the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) had completed arrangements to establish a new national shipping line for Nigeria failed.

Also, a fresh attempt was made to re-launch and sell the NUL in 2011 failed before that of  the former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, also failed.

At the last attempt, the former minister constituted a committee to screen indigenous shipping operators interested in acquiring part of the 60 percent holding for Nigerians in the proposed national fleet.

Amaechi’s plan for the new national carrier was anchored on the private sector, whereby, 60 per cent will be owned by indigenous private investors while foreign investors are expected to hold 40 percent stake.

The minister had assured stakeholders of government political will at ensuring that the new National Carrier project gets cargo to lift.

However, despite this assurance, uncertainty still becloud the resuscitation despite the constitution of an implementation committee, which was headed by the then Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).

It was gathered that the resuscitation suffered set back due to the withdrawal of would-be investors due to government unfavorable policies and archaic fiscal laws.

For instance, one of the investors, a Singaporean shipping firm, PIL shipping Line withdrew from the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) it signed with the Nigerian government on the formation of the shipping line due to Nigeria’s archaic fiscal rules that impose a 14 percent tax on new ships acquired by Nigerians and lack of Nigeria willingness to reform the tax informed the decision of the shipping company to withdraw from the MoU.

Explaining why the Singaporean shipping firm pulled out, the former President, Ship-owners Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Engr. Greg Ogbeifun, frowned at the current Nigerian fiscal policy which stipulates that a vessel owner bringing his ship into the country should first of all pay a duty charge of 14 percent out of the total cost of the vessel to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), a practice, he noted, was not obtainable in other developed countries.

He, however, called for overhaul of the nation’s fiscal law saying, “The PIL pulled out because the Nigerian Fiscal Policy does not make an establishment where fleet of that nature will be competitive in global trade,” Ogbeifun stated.

“The fiscal policies are tax laws, tonnage tax laws, and other laws that affect international shipping and we had to, as a body, appoint a company as consultant to do an international study of what other countries and rulers create. What did they do to be able to establish fleets that are trading globally? That study revealed that most of those countries first of all, declared zero duty.

“If you are a citizen, you acquire a vessel and you are bringing that vessel into the country, your duty is zero; but in this country, the duty payable on an average for bringing in a vessel is about 14 percent of the value of that vessel.  

So, if you take a vessel of $80 million, a crude oil tanker, you pay $80 million and then you have to pay another 14 percent of the value to be able to import it into your own country because you are flying your flag.

“You are going to be competing with the current foreign countries who are carrying your cargo and who didn’t have to pay such duty in their country. Their commercial terms for carrying the cargo will be cheaper than yours.  So, you cannot be competitive internationally. That is just an example of why PIL said in their writing that Nigeria must review the fiscal policy if they must continue in that relationship,” Ogbeifun stated.

“The authorities must create a more enabling environment that would not only ensure a level playing field, but also place Nigeria’s indigenous operators in the shipping sector in a position to compete with their foreign counterparts unhindered,” Ogbeifun concluded.

Also speaking, the board chairman, Nigeria Ship-owners Association (NISA), Chief Issac Jolapamo, said personal interest by the former minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, killed the dream of setting up a national fleet.

According to him, for Nigeria to have a functional national fleet, the government shouldn’t interfere but put the resources of operators in practice together by giving them cargoes to lift, then the fleet will be floated.

“I was one of the members of the committee for the national fleet but I think personal interest didn’t allow it to work. The interest of the minister and some of his cohort in that committee. But having said that, to benefit from having a National fleet is to pull the resources of those in the trade together and compel them to work together to come up with something that is worthwhile and off course the government must be willing to take off their hands and legs.

“I will give you an example, the shipping fleet in Nigeria wouldn’t have been so badly depleted if the money that was meant to repair the vessels that are still trading and needed to be upgraded was attended to rather than diverting the money to buy floating dock.

“And nothing has come out of the floating dock. We have depleted our tonnage in the country for decisions people take. If the government will take its hands and legs off and say let’s do it the right way.”

Giving an instance, he said the Cabotage act failed because government allowed introduction of waivers to Foreigners operating in the nation’s coastal water.

“When Cabotage was to start, all the Foreigners’ that have entrenched themselves in the system in the past 40 to 50 years came to our association wanting partnership but our people took the rug off our feet by introducing waiver, those who gave waiver are not hiding their face to see the damage to be the industry and country.”

Continuing, he said, “If we have cargo to move and the government asks us to put our acts together by saying this is the cargo you will move this year, look for how to move it when you start talking that we have ship-owners without ship then you are running the country down. We have the cargo all we have to do is to call people and let them have cargo to work with, then the ship will come and the expertise will come.”

“If government remove their hand, there is team work, cargo will look for ships, and they will put their acts together. The government should give it back to people in practice and give them what to work it and what am talking about is the cargoes which we have million tonnes of it in dry, wet, gas, bulk etc. 

“If we continue saying indigenous ship-owners cannot do it, we will remain where we are. We use to be leading other Africa countries in maritime practice but we are no more because we keep stagnating ourselves. If they want it done, they should put the resources of people in practice together and they will see that it will work,” he advised.