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Customs Allegedly Abandons Container Inspection Bay

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Officers of Nigeria Cus
toms Service (NCS) operating at the Lagos seaport may have abandoned a N640 million ultramodern container inspection facility, which was meant to speed up the clearing process of imported goods.
Consequently, the management of leading global terminal operator, APM Terminals Apapa Limited, which built and handed over the facility to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), in 2010, is now calling on Customs management to compel its officers to utilise the facility now lying idle at the Apapa port, as it would enhance the inspection of goods at the port.
Managing Director of APM Terminals Apapa Limited, Mr. Dallas Hampton, who gave the charge while interacting with journalists in Lagos recently said the facility was specially built by his company three years ago to provide decent and conducive office accommodation to customs officials and also serve as facility for the physical inspection of containers  related perations at the terminal.
He, however, lamented that despite the huge investment of $4 million (about N640 million) made by his company in building the facility, Customs had refused to use it, rather preferring to use a makeshift open area thus subjecting importers and their agents to the elements of weather.
Hampton said the multi-million-naira Customs building has 14 container examination bays and 235 square metres net office area all built to British standard and fully equipped with modem electronic gadgets and information technology.
He urged the new Customs Area Controller  of the command to utilise the facility to reduce the unnecessary exposure of his men and port users to unfriendly weather conditions.
Hampton also disclosed that due to the unusually high rate of physical examination of containers by NCS operatives, APM Terminals Apapa was constructing a new physical inspection facility, which had necessitated a fresh investment of additional $10 million (about Nl.6 billion).
He said the facility, the first of its kind in the world, would utilise a multi- level racking system operated by yard cranes.
The new revolutionary multi-level racking inspection system is being constructed in China and would be delivered to the terminal before the end of this quarter.
Born out tof the need to cope with the abnormally high rate of physical examination of containers by Customs, the facility is part of Phase 3 of the modemisation and upgrading of APM Terminals Apapa, which includes terminal yard redevelopment and expansion, including new staff amenities and customer service building, acquisition of additional container handling equipment and implementation of new terminal operating systems.
Hampton said that the expansion project will also convert the terminal to full
Rubber- Tyred-Gantry (RTG) operations, and includes purchase of additional container handling equipment, a new customer service building, new employee amenities buildings as well as office for Nigeria Customs, and a new Customs container inspection area.
“The project will also include state of the art terminal control systems including a satellite based container positioning system,” he said.
Hampton also said that his company has more than enough cargo handling  equipment. He said APM Terminals operates with more than 1.5 times the amount of equipment required for a facility the same size elsewhere.
He said no terminal operator in the country can match the expertise and volume of  investment of APM Terminals in Apapa.
He urged importers to embrace honest declaration as a way of reducing the high rate of physical examination of goods at the port, which he said greatly,

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Maritime

Waterways Safety: NIWA Wants Partnership With Govs

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The Managing Director of  National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Mr. Bola Oyebamiji, has called for increased collaboration between the federal agency and state governments to enhance the safety and security of inland waterways transportation.
Speaking at a one-day consultative forum on safety and insecurities on inland waterways, organized by the Nigeria Transportation Commissioners’ Forum in Ilorin, Oyebamiji emphasized the critical role that safety and security play in fostering a thriving water transportation system.
The forum, themed “Prevalent Safety, Security Hazards and Practices in Inland Waterways: Passenger Transport Safety in Ilorin, Kwara State”, sought to address the pressing issues facing the inland waterways sector.
Oyebamiji acknowledged the ongoing efforts by NIWA to improve safety, such as the recent unveiling of the transportation code for public use, the inauguration of several operational assets including survey boats, gunboats, water ambulances, and a passenger ferry.
He also noted that safety campaigns have been launched across all operational bases, targeting local communities in their native languages.
The NIWA boss stated the support from the National Assembly, including the ongoing discussions on establishing coastal guards and the attention safety and security on inland waterways have received from the House Committee on Inland Waterways.
In his closing remarks, Oyebamiji appealed to the Commissioners for Transportation across relevant states to collaborate with NIWA in areas such as training, safety campaigns, infrastructure development, and financial empowerment.

He stressed that while the challenges are significant, they are surmountable through collective action.

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Coastal Guard Bill’ll Unlock Marine Blue Economy Potential -FG

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The Federal Government has conveyed its support for the establishment of the National Coast Guard.
The Government also commended the proponents of the bill for having the hindsight to initiate a course of action that, when passed, will be the catalyst needed in unlocking the nation’s maritime potential.
In a statement by the Head of Press, and Public Relations for the ministry,  Muhammad Tahir Zakari, Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, was reported to have made this known at the National Assembly complex at the 1-Day Public Hearing on National Coast Guard Bill (NCG).
The statement stated that the bill when passed, will guarantee maritime safety, sustainable marine resource development and enhance economic growth.
Highlighting the major need for the National Coast Guard, the Minister identified: Maritime safety; Environmental protection through enforcing environmental regulations and conservation of marine ecosystems; and Enforcement of civil maritime laws to uphold laws governing civil maritime activities and enforce fishing regulations while preventing illegal exploitation.
It also include search and rescue to maritime emergencies and also conduct timely search and rescue operations.
He cited a 2009 publication by the African Centre for Strategic Studies, which noted that 15 of the 21 independent maritime nations in sub-Saharan Africa have dedicated coast guards and identify themselves as such.
Despite this, none of these nations have Nigeria’s population or the extent of its inland waterways and coastline.
While acknowledging the significant role of the Nigerian Navy in safeguarding the Nigerian maritime space following the collaborative effort with the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy in the Deep Blue Project, which has shown great results with zero piracy in Nigeria’s territorial water in the last three years.

He, however, stressed the need for the National Coast Guard to complement the efforts of the Nigerian Navy in playing a critical role in preventing accidents, crime, and other threats to maritime activities

“A vast coastline of 850 km, the equivalent of 10,000 km in two ways. It is also a place of rich and diverse economic sources.

“While these opportunities are promising, they also present challenges such as pollution, overfishing, and unsustainable use of marine resources. The proposed National Coast Guard is equipped to tackle these issues”, he stated.

He urged the Senate and the National Assembly to lend their full support to the bill, noting that, “Nigeria Coast Guard will act as a vital complement to the Navy, of fostering a safe and sustainable maritime environment”.

He appealed for the establishment of a flexible, adaptive implementation strategy that would evolve into a midwife for the bill to succeed, while urging those with reservations to see the pressing need of the institution.

Earlier during the hearing, the President of the Nigerian Senate, Godswill Akpabio, commended members of the Committee on Marine and Transport for their unwavering dedication in piloting the initiative and advocating for the establishment of the National Coast Guard Bill.

Akpabio, represented by Sen. Akintunde Yunus, said the essence of the bill was to make critical decisions that will guarantee the safety of the nation’s waterways and protect the marine resources.

He stated that “the establishment of the National Coast Guard is not merely a legislative formality, but a dire necessity”.

Speaking also, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine and Transport, Sen. Sanni Eshinlokun, said the Bill was first read in the Senate on the 3rd of October while the Senate at its plenary deliberated on the General Principles of the Bill.

Senator Eshinlokun said, “The Bill was read for the second time and referred to the Senate Committee on Marine Transport for further legislative action.

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Private Sector Should Drive Blue Economy -Bello

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Former Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Barr. Hassan Bello, has charged the Federal Government not to designate any of its agencies as the lead agency to drive the blue economy if it actually wants Nigeria to make progress in the sector.
Bello, who made this call in his remarks at the 10th anniversary, lecture and awards of the Primetime Reporters in Lagos, midweek, advised the Federal Government to avoid the mistake made during the Cabotage era when it designated an agency as lead agency and the rest was now history.
He said for the sector to succeed, it required everyone’s contribution, urging the Minister to allow the private sector to drive the blue economy.
According to him, “Two things which we must be very careful about is to make.mistake, like we did with cabotage. If we remember carefully, Cabotage was coastal and Inland shipping, but that inland shipping was not emphasized.
“It was just for supply of oil and gas to the mother vessel, we couldn’t trade as we were doing from Asaba to Baro in Niger State, or carry cement or even petroleum products. So, we cannot restrict that to customs.
“Secondly, don’t give the Blue Economy to an agency to say it is the lead agency because everybody must have contributions to the Blue Economy. As we want to do, we have seen agencies struggling to have seminars on Blue Economy, it’s not even a government thing.
“Allow the private sector to take over this blue economy, don’t create fantastic departments and overload into the private sector. This is what is our problem.
“When we had the Cabotage, it was a NIMASA thing and when you talk about Cabotage, no! don’t go there, what is your own with Cabotage? So, Cabotage was colonized, the Blue Economy should not be colonized. We should have the ramification of that Blue Economy to make sure that everything trickles down”.
He however, noted that there had been a lot of progress by the various organs of government even before the designation of the Blue Economy Ministry saying, “Blue Economy has always been there just as we had the red economy, which is characterized by China’s quest for export for state directed economy.
“We even have the grey economy, which is that which is informal. We have the green economy and all shades of economy. So, it’s not new that we have the Blue Economy, what has been the call by stakeholders is for us to have a ministry that will cater for transportation and transportation is a cardinal or even the paramount part of the Blue Economy.
“I know we have sustainable use of ocean resources and many other things, but when you talk about the Blue Economy, the central point is the use of ocean and the inland waterways and other resources for diversification of our economy as the Convener has said”.
“We have to be conscious, concerted and even calculated to make sure that it works for us. It’s not just fancy thing that there’s a ministry for blue economy. There must be active participation of stakeholders and the involvement of the private sector to harness the resources and not anything fancy or pretentious. The government must involve the private sector.

By: Stories by Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos

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