Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency
Encyclopedia
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), formerly the National Maritime Authority (NMA) is responsible for regulations related to Nigeria
n shipping, maritime labor and coastal waters. The agency also undertakes inspections and provides search and rescue services.
The governing board includes representatives of the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Transport and the Navy.
The NMA also was given responsibility for monitoring marine pollution and spillage in Nigerian waters.
The oil platforms off the Niger Delta
are vulnerable, and the decree recognized the role of maritime cargo carriage in defense.
(UNCTAD). This meant that 40 of cargo should be allocated to ships from the importer, 40% to ships from the exporter and 20% subject to open competition, which may include ships from other countries. For non-conference and bulk cargoes it went further, sharing on a 50-50 basis, with the NMA having authority to allocate all export cargoes.
Despite this ruling, in practice the oil extraction companies supplied their own tankers to transport most of the crude to their refineries abroad.
However, members of the American-West African Shipping Conference said they had been arbitrarily denied shipments by the NMA, an issue raised several times by the United States government.
In 1988 the NMA announced that it would be setting up freight booking offices in Liverpool, London, Hamburg, Paris, Tokyo, New York and Brazil. Dr. Bassey U. Ekong, Director General of the NMA, said the centers would record all in-bound Nigerian cargos and would ensure "full implementations of UNCTAD's 40-40-20 principle". In the end, none of the offices opened.
. The NMA had plans to extend this status to more domestic companies so as to reduce control of trade by foreign-owned lines.
For reasons of national pride, the NMA did not encourage domestic shipping lines to engage in feeder services, bringing goods to a distribution point for direct onward shipping, preferring direct-line services. An NMA official said in 1989 "the development of feeder services is not at the moment consonant with the region's maratime development". According to UNCTAD, the lines would have been best suited to feeder services, and ignoring this approach may have led to their demise.
Dependence on foreign shippers, who were carrying over 80% of cargo by 1992, made the country vulnerable. When the NMA attempted to impose a dock charge of $0.25 per metric tonne of crude oil loaded in Nigerian ports and oil terminals, the shipping companies threatened to go elsewhere, saying the charge would make Nigerian oil uncompetitive. The NMA had no choice but to suspend the fee.
The NMA charges on shipping lines that called into Nigerian ports were increased in 2003, with a surcharge being added to taxes on all Nigerian freights. In December 2004, based on recommendations from the World Bank
, the government announced that all NMA charges would be scrapped as of January 2005. There were delays in implementing the change.
In the 1980s and 1990s the National Maritime Authority administered the Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund, giving loans that were intended to encourage ownership of ships by Nigerians. Some loans were used for that purpose, while much of the money was diverted to other uses by politicians, friends of the military junta and "briefcase ship owners".
The fund was suspended in the late 1990s, but most of the money was never recovered.
In 2003, Nigeria provided just $25 million for shipping development, a very small amount given the size of the country.
Writing in 2004, Ayodeji Olukoju said "In effect, both the indigenous entrepreneurs and the National Maritime Authority merely play the role of rent collectors. The latter's earnings (in hard currency) rather than serve in any meaningful way to develop the industry have simply made it a veritable honey-pot plundered by successive governments and their agents".
Under the act establishing NIMASA, 5% of annual income would support the Maritime Academy of Nigeria
(MAN) and 35% of income would be used to develop maritime infrastructure.
The agency provided funding to MAN for a jetty and boat project.
In December 2009 the agency said it was setting up a fund which would cover 40% of the cost of a nautical education, with the student being responsible for the remainder.
In June 2010 it was confirmed that NIMASA was encouraging Nigerians to enter the maritime industry.
The agency was enforcing the directive that all ship operators engaged in the cabotage
trade, whether Nigerian or foreign-owned, must have Nigerian cadets on board so they could gain sea-time experience. However, there was still a severe shortage of trained sailors.
As of 2011 the agency was still spending large amounts on training Nigerians in India, Glasgow and Egypt because MAN lacked the capability to provide complete training. A government plan to open new training institutes was under criticism, since they seemed likely to be operated no more effectively than MAN.
In May 2011 NIMASA was mediating between the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, who were seeking improved wages and terms of service.
NIMASA was involved in the debate over a proposal to create a Maritime Security Agency (MASECA) as a successor to the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS). The objective was to provide greater protection for merchant vessels
against rising levels of piracy. However, NIMASA and the United Nations
were concerned that MASECA could be in conflict with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
, which does not allow merchant ships to be armed.
The MASECA act also seemed to be in conflict with the act establishing NIMASA.
In June 2011 the agency promoted over 60% of its staff, including 135 junior staff who were promoted to the next grade levels, and 536 senior staff.
Also in June 2011, it was announced that NIMASA would be acting as the approving authority and guarantor for beneficiaries of a new Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund, this time administered by banks, replacing the former Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund.
Director General Alhaji Munir Jafar’ was replaced by Buba Galadima
, who was Director General of the NMA from 1996 to 1998.
Galadima was said to have diverted funds from the NMA to the transmutation campaign of General Sani Abacha
.
He was succeeded by John Egesi, a maritime economist.
Egesi, who had been promoted from within the organization, was dismissed after only three months due to internal intrigues.
Dr George Mbanefo Eneh was appointed Director-General of the National Maritime Authority in 1999.
Eneh, a World Bank
transport expert, was followed after a year by Architect Ferdinand Agu.
Agu served for four years, being reappointed for a second term during the tenure of Abiye Sekibo as Transport Minister.
He was dismissed in December 2005.
Agu was replaced by Engineer Festus Ugwu, who was followed by Mrs Mfon Ekong Usoro, a maritime lawyer.
Usoro was succeeded by Dr. Shamsideen Adegboyega Dosunmu, who holds a PhD in public administration, and was appointed in May 2007. Dosunno had been promoted from the job of Executive Director, Administration, Finance and Corporate Services of NIMASA.
He was followed by Temisan Omatseye, a maritime lawyer.
Late in 2010 the Minister of Transport, Yusuf Sulaiman
, conducted an audit into the agency. Charges of misappropriation and corruption were laid against the Director General of the agency, Temisanren Omatseye.
On 24 November 2010 the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
arrested Omatseye.
Mohammed Kabiru Shehu, Director of Procurement and Jarma Bulama, Director of Finance were suspended from office, but were recalled in June 2011.
As of June 2011 the Chairman of the board was Alhaji Adamu Mu'Azu, and the Director General and Chief Executive Officer was Zaikede Patrick Akpobolokemi.
Akpobolokemi had been appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan
on 22 December 2010.
He was a lecturer at Niger Delta University
before being appointed to succeed Omatseye.
Nigeria
Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...
n shipping, maritime labor and coastal waters. The agency also undertakes inspections and provides search and rescue services.
The governing board includes representatives of the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Transport and the Navy.
National Maritime Authority
The National Maritime Authority (NMA), predecessor of NIMASA, was established by the Shipping Policy Decree of 11 May 1987, and was supervised by the Federal Ministry of Transport. Its mandate was to ensure orderly development, protection and manpower training in the shipping industry.The NMA also was given responsibility for monitoring marine pollution and spillage in Nigerian waters.
The oil platforms off the Niger Delta
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta, the delta of the Niger River in Nigeria, is a densely populated region sometimes called the Oil Rivers because it was once a major producer of palm oil...
are vulnerable, and the decree recognized the role of maritime cargo carriage in defense.
Cargo allocation
The decree establishing the NMA applied the 40-40-20 principal defined by the United Nations Conference on Trade and DevelopmentUnited Nations Conference on Trade and Development
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development was established in 1964 as a permanent intergovernmental body. It is the principal organ of the United Nations General Assembly dealing with trade, investment, and development issues....
(UNCTAD). This meant that 40 of cargo should be allocated to ships from the importer, 40% to ships from the exporter and 20% subject to open competition, which may include ships from other countries. For non-conference and bulk cargoes it went further, sharing on a 50-50 basis, with the NMA having authority to allocate all export cargoes.
Despite this ruling, in practice the oil extraction companies supplied their own tankers to transport most of the crude to their refineries abroad.
However, members of the American-West African Shipping Conference said they had been arbitrarily denied shipments by the NMA, an issue raised several times by the United States government.
In 1988 the NMA announced that it would be setting up freight booking offices in Liverpool, London, Hamburg, Paris, Tokyo, New York and Brazil. Dr. Bassey U. Ekong, Director General of the NMA, said the centers would record all in-bound Nigerian cargos and would ensure "full implementations of UNCTAD's 40-40-20 principle". In the end, none of the offices opened.
Foreign shippers
In 1988 the NMA granted six Nigerian shipping lines "national carrier" status, including the state-owned Nigerian National Shipping LineNigerian National Shipping Line
The Nigerian National Shipping Line was established by the Nigerian government in 1959.Despite heavy investment and subsidies, the state-owned company was unable to compete with European lines....
. The NMA had plans to extend this status to more domestic companies so as to reduce control of trade by foreign-owned lines.
For reasons of national pride, the NMA did not encourage domestic shipping lines to engage in feeder services, bringing goods to a distribution point for direct onward shipping, preferring direct-line services. An NMA official said in 1989 "the development of feeder services is not at the moment consonant with the region's maratime development". According to UNCTAD, the lines would have been best suited to feeder services, and ignoring this approach may have led to their demise.
Dependence on foreign shippers, who were carrying over 80% of cargo by 1992, made the country vulnerable. When the NMA attempted to impose a dock charge of $0.25 per metric tonne of crude oil loaded in Nigerian ports and oil terminals, the shipping companies threatened to go elsewhere, saying the charge would make Nigerian oil uncompetitive. The NMA had no choice but to suspend the fee.
The NMA charges on shipping lines that called into Nigerian ports were increased in 2003, with a surcharge being added to taxes on all Nigerian freights. In December 2004, based on recommendations from the World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, the government announced that all NMA charges would be scrapped as of January 2005. There were delays in implementing the change.
Corruption
During the period between 1987 and 1992 the NMA staff included some professionals, mainly transport economists. However, most employees had no experience in the shipping industry but were hired due to their connections. As a result, the NMA was ineffective at best. At a 1991 seminar the NMA was said to be inefficient and corrupt. One particularly harsh characterization was that the NMA was "a dead dog, but a dangerous one, because it sucks blood by collecting money in hard currency for services not rendered".In the 1980s and 1990s the National Maritime Authority administered the Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund, giving loans that were intended to encourage ownership of ships by Nigerians. Some loans were used for that purpose, while much of the money was diverted to other uses by politicians, friends of the military junta and "briefcase ship owners".
The fund was suspended in the late 1990s, but most of the money was never recovered.
In 2003, Nigeria provided just $25 million for shipping development, a very small amount given the size of the country.
Writing in 2004, Ayodeji Olukoju said "In effect, both the indigenous entrepreneurs and the National Maritime Authority merely play the role of rent collectors. The latter's earnings (in hard currency) rather than serve in any meaningful way to develop the industry have simply made it a veritable honey-pot plundered by successive governments and their agents".
NIMASA Activities
NIMASA was created on 1 August 2006 when the National Maritime Authority was merged with the Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council. Both were formerly parastatals of the Federal Ministry of Transport.Under the act establishing NIMASA, 5% of annual income would support the Maritime Academy of Nigeria
Maritime Academy of Nigeria
The Maritime Academy of Nigeria is a federally-owned educational institute in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria.Originally called the Nautical College of Nigeria, it was established in 1979 to educate and train shipboard officers, ratings and shore-based management personnel...
(MAN) and 35% of income would be used to develop maritime infrastructure.
The agency provided funding to MAN for a jetty and boat project.
In December 2009 the agency said it was setting up a fund which would cover 40% of the cost of a nautical education, with the student being responsible for the remainder.
In June 2010 it was confirmed that NIMASA was encouraging Nigerians to enter the maritime industry.
The agency was enforcing the directive that all ship operators engaged in the cabotage
Cabotage
Cabotage is the transport of goods or passengers between two points in the same country by a vessel or an aircraft registered in another country. Originally starting with shipping, cabotage now also covers aviation, railways and road transport...
trade, whether Nigerian or foreign-owned, must have Nigerian cadets on board so they could gain sea-time experience. However, there was still a severe shortage of trained sailors.
As of 2011 the agency was still spending large amounts on training Nigerians in India, Glasgow and Egypt because MAN lacked the capability to provide complete training. A government plan to open new training institutes was under criticism, since they seemed likely to be operated no more effectively than MAN.
In May 2011 NIMASA was mediating between the Seaport Terminal Operators Association of Nigeria and the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, who were seeking improved wages and terms of service.
NIMASA was involved in the debate over a proposal to create a Maritime Security Agency (MASECA) as a successor to the Presidential Implementation Committee on Maritime Safety and Security (PICOMSS). The objective was to provide greater protection for merchant vessels
Nigerian Merchant Navy
The Nigerian Merchant Navy consists of ships, their crew and supporting organizations owned by Nigerians and engaged in cabotage and international trade with Nigeria....
against rising levels of piracy. However, NIMASA and the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
were concerned that MASECA could be in conflict with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea
The International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea is an international maritime safety treaty. The SOLAS Convention in its successive forms is generally regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.- History :The first version of the...
, which does not allow merchant ships to be armed.
The MASECA act also seemed to be in conflict with the act establishing NIMASA.
In June 2011 the agency promoted over 60% of its staff, including 135 junior staff who were promoted to the next grade levels, and 536 senior staff.
Also in June 2011, it was announced that NIMASA would be acting as the approving authority and guarantor for beneficiaries of a new Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund, this time administered by banks, replacing the former Ship Acquisition and Ship Building Fund.
Leadership
Dr. Bassey U. Ekong was the Director General in 1988.Director General Alhaji Munir Jafar’ was replaced by Buba Galadima
Buba Galadima
Engineer Buba Galadima is a Nigerian politician who was appointed National Secretary of the Congress for Progressive Change party, formed in the run-up to the 2011 national elections as a platform for former military ruler General Muhammadu Buhari....
, who was Director General of the NMA from 1996 to 1998.
Galadima was said to have diverted funds from the NMA to the transmutation campaign of General Sani Abacha
Sani Abacha
General Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military leader and politician. A Kanuri from Borno by tribe, he was born and brought up in Kano, Nigeria. He was the de facto President of Nigeria from 1993 to 1998....
.
He was succeeded by John Egesi, a maritime economist.
Egesi, who had been promoted from within the organization, was dismissed after only three months due to internal intrigues.
Dr George Mbanefo Eneh was appointed Director-General of the National Maritime Authority in 1999.
Eneh, a World Bank
World Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
transport expert, was followed after a year by Architect Ferdinand Agu.
Agu served for four years, being reappointed for a second term during the tenure of Abiye Sekibo as Transport Minister.
He was dismissed in December 2005.
Agu was replaced by Engineer Festus Ugwu, who was followed by Mrs Mfon Ekong Usoro, a maritime lawyer.
Usoro was succeeded by Dr. Shamsideen Adegboyega Dosunmu, who holds a PhD in public administration, and was appointed in May 2007. Dosunno had been promoted from the job of Executive Director, Administration, Finance and Corporate Services of NIMASA.
He was followed by Temisan Omatseye, a maritime lawyer.
Late in 2010 the Minister of Transport, Yusuf Sulaiman
Yusuf Sulaiman
Alhaji Yusuf Sulaiman was appointed Nigerian Minister of Transport on 6 April 2010, when Acting President Goodluck Jonathan announced his new cabinet.Sulaiman was born in Sokoto on 30 January 1963....
, conducted an audit into the agency. Charges of misappropriation and corruption were laid against the Director General of the agency, Temisanren Omatseye.
On 24 November 2010 the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is a Nigerian law enforcement agency that investigates financial crimes such as advance fee fraud and money laundering...
arrested Omatseye.
Mohammed Kabiru Shehu, Director of Procurement and Jarma Bulama, Director of Finance were suspended from office, but were recalled in June 2011.
As of June 2011 the Chairman of the board was Alhaji Adamu Mu'Azu, and the Director General and Chief Executive Officer was Zaikede Patrick Akpobolokemi.
Akpobolokemi had been appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Jonathan
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan, GCFR, BNER, GCON is the 14th Head of State and current President of Nigeria.He was Governor of Bayelsa State from 9 December 2005 to 28 May 2007, and was sworn in as Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on 29 May 2007. Jonathan is a member of the...
on 22 December 2010.
He was a lecturer at Niger Delta University
Niger Delta University
Niger Delta University is located in Wilberforce Island Bayelsa State in Nigeria.It was established in 2000.It is a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.- External Links :**...
before being appointed to succeed Omatseye.