NIMASA to seek help of IMO, UN to reduce war risk insurance premiums on vessels calling Nigerian waters
... CVFF is with FG, has not been touched - NIMASA DG, Mobereola claims
Segun Oladipupo
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administrator and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola on Monday said that the agency would involve the United Nations and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to approach Insurance companies to reduce war risk premiums on the vessels coming into the country.
He stated this at an interactive session with maritime journalists in Lagos on Monday.
Describing the insurance companies as a cartel that would not want to stop the premiums on the vessels, he maintained that nigeria alone could not do it except with the help of IMO and the UN.
Recall that in December, 2021, Nigeria was the only country in Africa to pass the anti piracy law even as there has been a steady decline in the rate of piracy and sea robbery on Nigerian waters
He said, “One of the points I raised at the Chartham House is how do we reduce the war risk premium and in all honesty, Nigeria alone cannot do it.
“We need International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to be with us because it is a cartel on its own. They are making so much money and would rather keep it as it is even if we have zero privacy, no sea robbery for the next ten years.
“If we don’t force the issue they will continue to charge us but in order to force the issue, we want our international partners to meet these insurance companies and tell them that in the past three years, there has not been piracy, sea robbery and therefore these war risk premiums must come down.
“And if it comes down, it reduces the freight cost for our import and export. We have engaged them, we are taking them to the United Nations and the UN will support us and we would be able to take it to the insurance who would have no choice but to reduce it. They know there is no piracy but they are just benefitting from it
Speaking on the enigmatic Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund (CVFF), Mobereola who was a former boss of a Lagos State agency, LAMATA maintained that the fund is intact abd that the agency is fine-tuning a new process through which the fund would be disbursed for efficient use
“The CVFF as at today, is with the federal government and it is for the use of ship owners, it has not been touched, it is not a revenue, it is a contribution towards the development of the Nigerian shipping industry and ship owners.
“That is recognised and that is what it is going to be used for as long as we come back with the fine-tuned guidelines on how to use it which we have been working on with my Executive Directors day in day out.
“We are also exploring other avenues to ensure that this CVFF is not just CVFF but enlarged in such a way that we can even leverage on it
“All of the plans we are looking into and it shall be to the benefit of the country,” he submitted.
The original plan for the modular floating dock was not the right olan
We are going to put the modular floating dock to a very good use that once it is deployed, it will be beneficial to the economy, seafarers and to NIMASA itself
We know what floating dock is and we have to place it where it is appropriate. We have gone round even to Continental Ship Yard but it is not going to be where it is now forever
We are going to automate and one thing we will take away is ship automation. That must happen and it will happen.
