Shippers’ query NIMASA’s sources of 5% growth data when they are not empowered
Few days after the Director General of Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has come up with Nigerian maritime industry growth projection of 2.5 per cent to five per cent between now and 2019, leading stakeholders in the sector have started querying the possibility of the growth when indigenous shippers’ that are supposed to drive the growth had been flat-footed due to none disbursement of two major facilities statutorily domiciled in NIMASA.
The two funding windows designed by law to grow indigenous shippers’ capacity include the Maritime Fund (TMF) and the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF).
Whereas investigations show that the facilities vaults’ are currently in excess of over $500m, since the appointment of Dr. Peterside, no disbursement had been done and shippers are closing shops one after the other.
In an interview few months ago, the DG opened up saying he is handicapped to disburse the fund due to issues he failed to explain.
In the last few months, shipping associations had been decrying the delay in the statutry support they are supposed to get form NIMASA, but nothing has came out the entire efforts made by indigenous shippers’.
When asked on why the facilities are yet to be disbursed, the Minister of transportation was quick to argue that the fund may not be existing after all.
The answer further weakened the thrust of shippers who had been expected to lead in the West and Central Africa Trans Atlantic waterway trade.
Several shippers who barred their minds with our correspondent described the forecast as mere jamboree that lacks foundation and international credibility as nothing is happening on the home front as far as indigenous shippers are concerned.
Many of them said unless the forecast is dependent on activities of foreign shippers which is very unfortunate after all, the projected growth will later be a rouse.
Currently, Nigerian shippers’ are nowhere to be found in the West and African waterway trade facilitation as many of them had either closed shops or cannot do much due to none disbursement of the TMF and CVFF domiciled in NIMASA.
According to NIMASA boss, the Nigerian Maritime Industry Forecast for 2018/2019, which was unveiled in Lagos on Tuesday Nigerians should expect total fleet size to grow by 4.08 per cent this year and 4.41 per cent in 2019, even though he failed to give details on how the fleeting will happen.
However, the forecast released by NIMASA also projected that oil tanker fleet size would decrease by 2.23 per cent in the current year and increase by 1.7 per cent in 2019.
It further projected that non-oil tanker fleet size would increase by 8.15 per cent in 2018 and 8.72 per cent in 2019, while the oil rig count should increase by 27.67 per cent in 2018 and zero per cent in 2019.
