Maritime
’80% of local shipping firms have closed shop’
LAGOS – Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Molap Group, Chief Isaac Jolampamo, has said that 80 per cent of indigenous shipping companies in the country have folded up as a result of illegal activities and the domination of the industry by foreigners despite the Cabotage law.
Jolapamo noted that these foreign companies, most of which are operating illegally have gradually succeeded in driving their local counter parts out of business. He explained that all his counterparts in the shipping business have their fleets depleted because they have been deprived of jobs for a long time.
He pointed out that he had six vessels 10 years ago but that the number has since depleted to just one. He said the normal thing is for a vessel to do three or four jobs a month but noted that in the whole of last year, while one of his vessel did just two jobs through out last year, the other did six the same period.
He however cried out to security agencies in the country to save his only remaining vessel which is alleged to be involved in stealing of petroleum products from a stolen ship.
Jolapamo who is also the Chairman of Indigenous Ship owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN), said that a Lagos based firm had approached his company for the chartering of the vessel, and he obliged since he did not suspect any fowl play.
He said that the ship was supposed to sail to the Lagos off-shore where it was to load 15,000 metric tons of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) for discharge at Lome.
According to him, “I managed to speak with the Captain of our vessel, M.V. Mor Prosperity on 21st of January, 2013 through the Turaya phone with the charterers super cargo onboard where the Captain informed me that the vessel did not find the mother vessel at the position given on her voyage instruction but instead of returning to Lagos anchorage, went further at the charterer’s instruction to another location to receive Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK) cargo from a ship he could not tell me the name or International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Number etc, except that the name is written in Arabic before the phone went off at my barrage of questioning.”
Jolapamo further noted that he contacted both the Benin and Togo Republics Maritime Authority’s to help him locate the ship but that it was not until the 24th that one Mr. Jubril Rowaye of Brilla Energy contacted him “saying his DPK cargo onboard his widely reported missing vessel, M.T. Itiri has found its way to my vessel. This prompted our official request to Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Nigeria Navy for assistance to locate our vessel.”
He said it took the combine efforts of both bodies and the Nigeria Airforce for the missing ship to be located back in Lagos where it was abandoned deep off-shore Escravos after extensive wilful damage to it and the equipment in it to make it appear like a pirate attack.
Funds accrued under the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) are intact and currently held with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the Single Treasury Account (TSA).
This assertion was made by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), in a statement in Lagos on Tuesday.
The clarification became necessary to address “a misleading publication alleging that funds have disappeared from the CVFF account”.
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The statement reads, in part, “The report of a missing money is both misleading and false.
“For the record, the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, securely held in the NIMASA account at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), remains intact. There has been no disappearance of funds, and no illegal transactions, as the article suggests. This misinformation is a figment of the authors imagination, aimed at undermining NIMASA’s integrity, and mislead the public about the Agency’s operations.
“The Management of NIMASA will ensure that the CVFF is utilised in line with its statutory purpose. NIMASA Director General, Dr Mobereola has assured stakeholders of the safety of funds under the CVFF.”
The statement cited the DG thus, “Let us be clear that the CVFF account at the Central Bank of Nigeria is safe, intact, and secure. We at NIMASA will continue to manage it with the utmost responsibility, and there are no irregularities or illegal activities surrounding the funds. I urge the public to disregard this false narrative and to continue trusting the Agency’s ability to uphold the integrity of Nigeria’s maritime sector”.
It was gathered that the CVFF is a fund established under section 42 of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 to promote the development of indigenous ship acquisition capacity and to provide credit facilities to local maritime operators.
The NIMASA, assured of its commitment “to transparency, accountability, and the advancement of Nigeria’s maritime sector.”
Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo appears eager to deliver the dividends of democracy to his constituents.
This is discernible from the frenzy of activities being witnessed in his first few days on the job, including dissolution of boards, constitution of investigative panels, flagging off of infrastructure projects, among others.
In the bid to address the perennial road traffic congestion negatively impacting economic and social activities in Benin City, the state capital, Gov Okpebholo on Wednesday flagged off the construction of a flyover bridge.
Biztellers reports that the flyover bridge around the popular Ramat Park in the city centre is the first of such in the history of Edo State.
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The Edo State Government made the disclosure in its verified handle on micro-blogging site, X, on Wednesday.
It wrote, “Traffic decongestion: Gov Okpebholo flags off first flyover in Edo.
“Edo State Governor, Sen. Monday Okpebholo has flagged off the construction of a flyover bridge at Ramat Park, Benin City, the State Capital, as part of immediate efforts to reduce traffic congestion in the city.”
The Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, has called for a comprehensive action in Nigeria’s bid to be elected into Category C of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Council, as he inaugurated an Inter-Ministerial Committee to promote the campaign.
Speaking at the inauguration held at the Boardroom of the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy (FMMBE) in Abuja on Tuesday, Oyetola said the campaign must be all-inclusive, taking into consideration diplomatic and operational strategies in soliciting votes to yield good dividends.
He explained that, having lost out three times between 2011 and 2019 after its successful stints in 1975, 2001, and 2005, Nigeria is due to return to the Council to cement its relevance as a strategic Maritime domain and a strong voice in West Africa.
On his part, the Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said, “The need for Nigeria’s return to Council is imperative given our strategic location and significance as a hub of Maritime activities and as a voice for the sub-region on the IMO Council, where crucial decisions regarding international maritime shipping and trade are made.”
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He added that membership in the Council comes with such benefits as “technical assistance, manpower and institutional development, as well as political influence in the maritime sector of the global economy.”
The inter-ministerial committee for Nigeria’s election to the IMO Executive Council at the 34th Regular Session in 2025 comprises high-level officials led by the Permanent Secretary of the FMMBE, Olufemi Oloruntola.
The committee is tasked with identifying activities and actions that will promote Nigeria’s standing in the IMO community by articulating and showcasing the country’s maritime achievements.
Members of the committee include the Director of Maritime Security and Safety from the FMMBE and the Director-General of the NIMASA, who will serve as alternate chairpersons.
Other members are; the Directors of Legal Services and Maritime Services from the FMMBE, the Director of International Organisations Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), the Managing Director of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority, and the Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron.
Others include the former Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Ade Dosunmu (stakeholder); the representative of the Office of the Honourable Minister of the FMMBE, Dr. Charles Akinola; and the Assistant Director, Maritime Pollution Control at the FMMBE, Mr. Paschal Ogah, who will serve as Secretary to the Committee.
Meanwhile, the Direvtor-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dayo Mobereola, has officially presented the six IMO instruments assented to by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Bola Tinubu, GCFR, to the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
He thanked the Minister for facilitating the signing of the IMO Conventions, noting that, ‘these six conventions have been pending within the Ministry and government for the last 6 to 8 years. With the efforts of the Honourable Minister, they have now been assented to by Mr. President and will be delivered and showcased with the IMO.’
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