The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has noted that Nigeria is way overdue for an active national fleet that would properly position it in the comity of maritime nations.
Dr. Dakuku declared the Agency’s readiness to support the Committee, saying:
The national fleet implementation is long overdue and so NIMASA will work assiduously with the committee to ensure that the national fleet is restored to its past glory so that our nation can be reckoned with in the comity of maritime nations
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
The Director-General also stated that NIMASA had taken a lot of steps to develop the maritime sector and increase indigenous participation. He the detailed the measures to include repositioning of the Nigerian Ship Registry; securing a special tax regime, in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Nigeria Customs Service; and changing of trade terms from Free on Board (FOB) to Cost Insurance and Freight (CIF).
What is more, others are engaging the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in negotiation for one digit interest rate for Shipowners to assist in the acquisition of maritime assets; cooperating with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, and supporting the Nigerian Navy in capacity building.
The national fleet implementation aims to create employment and wealth opportunities in Nigeria. The focus lab will also help Nigerians to understand the maritime sector and bring more actors together to solve and understand issues better.
