By Andrew Airahuobhor, Lagos
There is a high expectation that reviewing the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003, in addition to disbursing the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to indigenous shipping companies to acquire vessels will indeed grow indigenous capacity for more jobs.
Engr. Greg Ogbeifun
This is in addition to a strong political will to get the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and oil majors to give affreightment contracts to indigenous operators. These are expected to trigger a multiplier effect of increased vessel fleet and more jobs for Nigerian seafarers who will serve as crew.
“The Cabotage Act has done little to build indigenous capacity in shipping. Our ship owners are largely indebted to banks in a bid to stay in business. This has impacted negatively on the fortunes of seafarers as companies can only engage workers when there are vessels to execute contracts,” Engr. Greg Ogbeifun, president of Shipowners Association of Nigeria (SOAN) said at a forum to mark Day of the Seafarers 2015.
Introduction of the Cabotage Act in 2003 made it mandatory for all ships operating in coastal waters to be crewed 100 percent by Nigerians. It was hoped that this will help to develop maritime human capacity and grow the population of employable seafarers. Instead, the industry has had to rely mainly on foreign nationals to man vessels operating in the cabotage regime.
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