Shipping firm seeks lifting of NIMASA’s restriction order
Henry Omunu, Abuja
As the Senate probes the activities of Ocean Marine Solutions Limited, the indigenous company has asked the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami to urgently intervene and stop the Marine Notice number 5 of 2019.
The marine notice is simply a restriction placed by the harbour master informing mariners to navigate freely in the secured anchorage area.
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In protest letter to the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, dated October 30, the indigenous marine company demanded an immediate rescission of the marine notice.
In the seven-page letter signed by its Chairman, Capt. Idahosa Okunbo, OMSL stated that “with the current financial situation of the country, OMS believes everything possible should be done to avoid a situation where government is faced with the burden of another judgment debt running into several billions of naira with interest which may arise from a suit filed by OMS challenging the said Marine Notice.
“Considering the current security challenges in the country, OMS is of the view that government should do everything possible to avoid another war front from our territorial waters similar to Boko Haram situation experienced on land.”
Also, the company gave a breakdown of the likely negative economic effects of the Marine Notice, asserting that “once the Nigerian territorial waters become notorious again, shippers will prefer to call at ports of neighbouring countries.
“Revenues which ordinarily should inure to the federal government through agencies such as NIMASA and NPA would be diverted to these other countries.
“Furthermore, the menace of smuggling through the land borders will drastically increase as goods meant for Nigeria, but offloaded at the ports of other countries would find their way into the country one way or another. The much needed import duties which ordinarily have been levied at the Lagos ports would be lost,” the letter read in part.
The company further disclosed that it signed a 20-year contractual agreement to manage the secured anchorage area.
Meanwhile, last Thursday, the Senate mandated its committees on navy and marine transport to carry out a comprehensive investigation into the matter and report back to it for further legislative action.
The Senate said that it is only NIMASA, the Nigerian Navy and maritime police that have statutory responsibility for providing security in Nigeria’s territorial waters and that the anchorage area where ships anchor prior to berthing at port is the statutory responsibility of the above agencies only.
A company source alleged that a vessel sold by OMSL as scrap for $100, 000 is being used by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) at a cost of $10, 500 daily for its services.
“OMSL is responsible for all logistics for Nigerian Navy men, who operate the vessels and it services all the vessels in its fleet wearing the navy national colours.
“Is this how to compensate OMS after all these years of service without blemishes. That aside, the Senate was too much in a hurry to jump to conclusions without an oversight on the company as it has already taken a position,” the source added.
