• Threatens action against foreign operations on Nigeria waters
Following new directives by the Federal Government to the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety (NIMASA) on the implementation of the Cabotage Act, Nigerian Indigenous Ship owners Association (NISA) has told its members that they now have a good opportunity to earn monthly revenue of N4.8Billion from lifting about 1.6Billion litres of petroleum products within the nation’s coastal waters.
At a meeting held in Lagos last weekend by the association; President of NISA, Captain Dada Labinjo said that it’s high time its members fought for their rights, even as he threatened to bar continued foreign participation in Nigeria’s Cabotage.
He also said that members of the association have the wherewithal and human capacity to lift such volume of cargo monthly, stressing that there is need for members to organise themselves properly.
He said henceforth, any ‘mother vessel’ that reject indigenous vessels from loading products will not discharge its contents on any other vessel , charging members to rally round and ensure that the association aims and objectives are achieved by taking advantage of the new matching order by the government
Labinjo said that with the new matching order, members would be able to lift 1.6 billion litres of petroleum products on a monthly basis, adding that members of the association can earn close to N4.8 billion monthly.
He lamented that indigenous operators have watched endlessly as foreigners dominate the Nigeria maritime domain, but stressed the need for members to rally support on how to ban foreign participation.
He noted that between 100 and 150 vessels will be required to meet the demand of the new opportunity of petroleum products lifting, adding that more than 50, 000 jobs will be created for Nigerians in the process.
He urged members to ensure that their vessels are in class, for their dreams to be actualized, even as he assured that: "I want to lead you in this fight, and you must not fall my hand and you know you will not disappoint me, then you must make sure that your ships are in class, and that is the minimum requirement".
"You must also make sure that your ship has insurance, it must have P and I, it must have CLC and also make sure that your ship has competent crew that can man it"
Captain Labinjo said that the new directive from the minister of transport to NIMASA, gives the association the power to fight for their jobs.
"We will not allow foreigners to bring in Cabotage vessels into Nigeria and that is the charge I have for you, from now on we will not allow foreign vessels to do cabotage jobs, I find it very shameful that we cannot get ourselves organised and I have said many times that none of us have any reason to be poor", he told members of the association.
He also said that members of the association have the wherewithal and human capacity to lift such volume of cargo monthly, stressing that there is need for members to organise themselves properly.
"Anybody that rejects our vessels from lifting products will not be allowed to discharge their own cargo as well", he vowed.
He called on members to collate names of their respective ships with all the requirement, saying they might commence loading of commodities soon.http://shippingposition.com.ng/article/cabotage-nisa-offers-members-16billion-litres-n48billion-monthly-income-opportunity
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