Navy Arrest 7 Suspected Stowaways In Lagos

Some Of The Suspected Stowaways Being Led Away
By The Navy Yesterday After Their Arrest

The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT said in Lagos that it had arrested seven suspects for stowing away in a foreign vessel bound for Spain.
The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command (WNC), Apapa, Rear Admiral Jonathan Ango, told newsmen in Lagos that the NNS Ikot-Abasi arrested the suspects.
He said, ``Preliminary investigations revealed that the arrested persons boarded the vessel while it was discharging its products and their intention was to follow the vessel to Holland.
``On completion of its operations, MT ELECTRA BARI with IMO number 941682 left for Lome, Togo.
``It was while in Togo, it discovered some strange people on board and established communication with NNS Ship Ikot -Abasi.
``They now effected the arrest of seven stowaways.

AS NIMASA’s ULTIMATUM AGAINST PARTY EXPIRES:

Opposition APC Raises Fresh Allegations, Tells NIMASA To Account for U$800m, N50bn CVFF Proceeds
Even as the 72-hour ultimatum that the party was given has expired, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has raised fresh allegations against the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) over proceeds from the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF).
In what appear like taking the fight further to NIMASA‘s doorstep, the APC has asked the agency to “tell Nigerians what happened to the $800 million and N50 billion of the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) which the agency was in control of until recently when the “Fund” became unaccounted for. “

FG Admits Loss Of N1 Billion Daily to Rice Importation

…Promises To End  Rice Importation Soon

Even though it admits that a whopping N1Billion is lost daily to importation of rice, the Federal Government has also assured that the end is near for importation of the staple food item into Nigeria.
Special Adviser to the President on the New Partnership for Africa's Development, NEPAD and African Peer Review Mechanism, APRM, Mrs. Fidelia Akuabata Njeze, admitted the loss at a recent one day  stakeholders forum on the establishment of the Nigeria/ECOWAS rice sector policy and regulation advocacy platform held in Abuja.

WILAT Commends Ports & Cargo Limited For Efficiency

Members of the Women in Logistics and Transport (WILAT) have commended the management of Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited for its efficient management of the Terminal ‘C’ of the Tin Can Island Ports, Apapa.While leading members on a working visit to the terminal, the association’s chairperson; Hajia Aisha Ali-Ibrahim affirmed that the concessionaire has shown professionalism, innovation and commitment in the running of the terminal, thereby leading to an improvement in service.“We are delighted that Ports & Cargo Handling Services Limited, a major stakeholder in the maritime industry, has shown a high level of professionalism in the running of the terminal. That’s why we are here to learn more about your operations and further explore areas of mutual cooperation.”

Hate Campaign: NIMASA Gives 72 Hours Ultimatum To APC Over Allegation

Following allegations that the agency is responsible for financing campaigns of hate against presidential candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari and his family, the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has given a 72 hour ultimatum to the party to retract the statement or face litigation.

Director General of the agency, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi issued the ultimatum on Sunday during a press conference in Lagos.

AUTO POLICY: NAC Allays Fear Over APC Election Promises On Imported Fairly-used Vehicles

... Says statement jolted investors, players

The National Automotive Council (NAC) acknowledged last week that the recent statement in which the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) said it will tinker with the controversial auto policy jolted many stakeholders in nation’s automobile industry.
In a direct reaction to the statement that was made by the vice presidential candidate of the APC at a political event in Akure, Ondo state that the party will reduce duty on imported vehicles, if voted into power, the director general of NAC, Aminu Jalal confirmed that the agency had received several calls from existing and potential investors who expressed worry about the likelihood of a policy somersault if the opposition party wins.
The Vice Presidential candidate of the APC; Prof. Yemi Osinbajo had told a meeting that, tariffs on imported vehicles would be reduced if the party is voted into power in the coming elections.
While addressing a town hall meeting of political stakeholders in Ondo State, Osinbajo had said: “We do not agree that there should be high tariffs on imported cars whether new or old ones because Nigeria is not producing cars for now.

Shippers’ Council Files N150billion Application Against Terminal Operators For Disobeying Court Ruling On Illegal Charges

The Nigerian Shippers’‎ Council has filed an application before Justice Ibrahim Buba of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi Lagos, asking him to compel terminal operators to comply with his earlier ruling in December 2014 that the concessionaires should stop collection of all illegal charges from port users.
‎The Shippers’Council through its legal team asked the Judge to compel the terminal operators to obey the directive pending the determination of the application for stay of execution earlier filed by the terminal operators.
The Council has equally requested that the court direct the terminal operators to refund the sum of N150billion that has been collected illegally, since December last year in disobedience to the court ruling.

Cabotage: NISA Strikes 2000 Vessel Deal With Greek, Turkey Ship Owners

Minister of Transport: Idris Umar
and  President of NISA: Capt Niyi Labinjo
 

In a bid to ensure that indigenous ship owners take full advantage of the Cabotage Act, the Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA) says it is entering into partnership with Greece and Turkey in other to bring in more ships for Nigerian shipowners to benefit from.

Speaking at his Apapa residence on Monday, President of NISA, Capt Dada Labinjo said the association has‎ recognized the need to get ships for its members and it is going into various partnerships to make this a reality.

NIMASA Denies Ejection Of NSDP Cadets From Philippine Universities

NSDP Cadets at the AMET University of Maritime, Chennai in India

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has debunked allegations that the National Seafarers Development Project (NSDP); a project of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) is facing challenges.

The agency was reacting to allegations that the cadets may have been kicked out of their respective foreign schools in Philippines, for non-payment of school fees.

Under the NSDP, the cadets were given scholarships to study naval architecture, marine engineering and nautical sciences at the University of Cebu, Lyceum University.

FRESH CRISIS ROCKS ANLCA



Chairman, BoT, ANLCA; Chief Henry Njoku and
 National President, ANLCA; Prince Olayiwola Shittu

•    Faceless Group Takes On National President
•    Board Chair To President: Respond to allegations or…..
•    President: The board should grow up and live like elders, or…

Three unidentified persons who claim to be ‘concerned members’ of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) have written a letter to the chairman of the board of trustees of the association, alleging fraud and other sundry offences against its national president; Prince Olayiwola Shittu.

Precipitating fresh crisis, the trio who wrote under the name – “anlca concerned members”, had written the petition to the board chairman; Chief Henry Njoku, via e mail dated January 28, 2015.

The electronic mail, a copy of which was sent to Shipping Position Daily and which was titled: “Disturbing findings at ANLCA Headquarters” was signed by the trio of: Idris Abubakar (chairman), Obiora Okoli(Secretary) and Kayode Idowu (PRO), respectively.

Uncertainties Over Auto Policy As NASS Defers Debate Till After Elections

There is palpable fear in the nation’s automobile industry and this has to do with the unlikely passage of the controversial auto policy bill by the National Assembly before May 29, 2015.
Tagged: “Nigerian Automotive Industry Development Plan (Fiscal Incentives, Assurances and Guarantees) Bill”, it is meant to strengthen the Nigerian automotive industry development plan and promote a sustainable and competitive automotive industry. It is an Executive bill.
The bill was presented at the National Assembly in June 2014 and seeks to give teeth to government's auto policy and give legal backing to investments in the production and assembly of cars and tyres in Nigeria as well as legalize provision of tariff incentives and income tax reliefs on all automotives and income tax reliefs on all automobile and automotive components.
Even though it has passed Second Reading at the Senate, it is yet to get the same attention at the House of Representatives.

CRFFN Fixes Governing Council Elections For June

There are clear indications that the much-delayed elections into the governing council of the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria‎ (CRFFN) may now hold by the middle of this year.

Feelers from two of the five registered associations indicate that the CRFFN may have also communicated the decision to them.

The first indication came from one of the registered associations; the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), which yesterday‎ directed its members nationwide to update their records and renew their yearly subscription status with the CRFFN. 

APC Will Slash Tariffs On Imported Cars –Osinbajo

Presidential Candidate of APC; 

General Muhamadu Buhari

Even as Nigerians wait anxiously for the April 2015 commencement date of the full implementation of the new auto policy of the Federal Government, the opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) has assured that, it would reduce tariffs on imported vehicles, if voted into power in the coming elections.

Vice Presidential candidate of the APC; Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, who gave the assurance in Ondo state on Tuesday added that the General Muhammadu Buhari government will slash tariffs on all imported vehicles; new and old.

While addressing a town hall meeting of political stakeholders in Ondo State on Tuesday, Osinbajo said: “We do not agree that there should be high tariffs on imported cars whether new or old ones because Nigeria is not producing cars for now.

Costa Concordia Captain Sentenced to 16 Years In Prison For 2012 Shipwreck

Italian court sentenced the former captain of the Costa Concordia cruise liner to 16 years in prison on Wednesday for his role in the 2012 shipwreck that killed 32 people off the Tuscan holiday island of Giglio.

 Francesco Schettino was commanding the vessel, a floating hotel as long as three football pitches, when it came too close to shore and hit rocks off the island, tearing a hole in its side.

TRAGEDY: Petroleum Tanker, Laden Truck Crush Customs Officer's Driver To Death At Apapa

The PTML command of the Nigeria Customs Service was thrown into mourning yesterday when a petroleum tanker and a container laden truck crushed the driver of a senior customs officer to death in front of MRS Tank Farm at Tin Can Island port in Apapa.

Eye witnesses told Shipping Position Daily that the deceased, who was simply identified as 'Muri'‎ was well known at the PTML command because his boss; who was also identified as Mr. Olagunju, a senior customs officer at the Murtala Mohammed Airport had previously worked at the PTML command.

AMATO Intensifies Pressure On FG To Convert Lilypond Terminal To Truck Park

Even as the Lilypond terminal is currently battling for survival , the Association of Maritime Truck owners (AMATO) has advised the federal government through the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to convert the off-dock terminal to a holding bay for truck.

Speaking with newsmen in Lagos yesterday, Secretary of the maritime truck owners group, Comrade Chiaka Nwaogu said that the original concept of the terminal was to serve as a parking lot for port- bound trucks.

“That terminal was designed for truck park, they later converted it to a terminal and it is affecting we the truckers", he said.

He said that since the ports were concessioned in 2006, truck owners have been faced with serious challenges of where to park their trucks.

NIMAREX 2015 Will Hold With Or Without NISA....Planning Committee

Even as crisis is currently rocking the Nigerian Indigenous Shipowners Association (NISA), the vehicle for the annual maritime industry exhibition; the Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), organising secretary for the 2015 edition of the expo; Barrister Osuala Nwagbara has assured that the event would not be adversely affected by the internal crisis rocking NISA.
Nwagbara who is also a maritime lawyer told Shipping Position Daily that the (NIMAREX) will definitely hold in March 2015.
He said in Lagos, that even though the maritime expo is the brainchild of NISA, the event will surely hold with or without the ship owners group.

PIRACY: Presidency Says Lagos Secure Anchorage Area Is Illegal

• Says Engagement of Foreign Security is unacceptable

The Federal Government has declared that the Navy/Private sector elite maritime security arrangement called ‘Secure Anchorage Area’ (SAA) which is located at the approach to Lagos harbours is illegal.
Speaking exclusively against the backdrop of last week’s twin piracy attacks, the Senior Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Maritime; Mr Leke Oyewole acknowledged that there was a proposal for  the SAA, but stated categorically that the arrangement has not been approved by the government.
  Last week, two separate attacks were reported in which a crew member on a Greece tanker was killed, while many were injured. There was also an attack on a craft conveying some employees of Agip Oil. All those on board were abducted.

Nigerian Pirates Kill One Crew In Attack On Greek Tanker

The ill-fated Greece Tanker; Kalamos that was attacked
by pirates on Tuesday at Qua Iboe in Nigeria

Less than 24 hours after reports of attack and abduction by sea pirates on some employees of Agip Oil, another deadly attack has been reported on a Greek tanker Kalamos,
While four employees of the multinational oil company were yet to be found after their abduction along the waterways of southern Ijaw council area in Bayelsa State, reports say one crew member was killed and three were taken as hostages when the Greek tanker was attacked by gunmen last Tuesday at Qua Iboe.
The Maltese-flagged vessel was enroute from China to Nigeria. It was stricken at Qua Iboe, a sea area between Cameroon and Nigeria, while it was waiting to be loaded.

Pirates Abduct Four Agip Staff In Bayelsa

Gunmen suspected to be sea pirates yesterday abducted four employees of Agip Oil along the waterways of southern Ijaw council area in Bayelsa State.
Agip is one of the major multinational oil producing companies engaged in offshore oil operations in the Niger Delta.
The abducted workers were said to be traveling in a speedboat from Amasoma to Ogoimbiri when they were stopped and seized. “Their speedboat was double-crossed by gun-wielding men who shot in the air to frighten them,” a security source disclosed.

CRFFN Vows To Prosecute Defaulters Of Payment Of Subscription Fees

...Insists Council registered only‎1,875 freight forwarders, not 6,000
The Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN) has insisted that it only registered a total of‎ 1,274 Individual Freight Forwarders and 601 Corporate Bodies, bringing the total number to 1,875 and not 6,000 as claimed by the President of Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Prince Olayiwola Shittu.
‎In apparent response to a recent story published by Shipping Position Daily, the CRFFN statement sent to Shipping PositionDaily yesterday by
Head, Corporate Affairs of the Council; Mrs Uromta Chinyere the regulatory body equally vowed that payment of subscription fees by freight forwarding ‎associations to the Council is not negotiable must, and that defaulters would be prosecuted.

ALLEGED FRAUD: Court Says Ex-DG NIMASA; Omatseye Has Case To Answer

Ex-DG NIMASA; Omatseye

…To be docked on February 18

A Federal High Court in Lagos yesterday dismissed the no-case application filed by a former Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Temisan Raymond Omatseye.
 He was charged with  N1.5bn contract fraud.
Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia dismissed Omatseye’s application on the grounds that it was  lacking in merit.
The judge held that the charges against Omatseye were properly drafted according to the law and that it had become necessary for him to canvass argument in defence of himself.
She therefore slated February 18, 2015 for him to proceed into the dock to absolve himself of the allegations.

NIMASA Dares Foreign Ship Owners, Raises Alarm Over Foreign Guards Onboard Vessel

 ...As Navy Engages Foreign Private Security Outfits   
Controversy over provision of security on the nation’s waters reechoed over the weekend, when the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) again outlawed use of foreign armed guards, in contravention of existing partnership between the Nigeria Navy and a foreign consortium.
The NIMASA also raised alarm over influx of  such vessels, even as it has vowed to arrest them.

The agency also appealed to Nigerian shippers to desist from patronising foreign ships that have foreign guards on board, noting that it is a threat to national security.

This threat was given by the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Patrick Akpobolokemi who was represented  at the 1st Shippers Day Celebration by the agency’s Director of Shipping Development ;Captain Warredi Enisuoh, in Lagos last Friday.