Nigerian maritime industry:Ramoni seeks committee investigation on local content, petroleum downstream
By Ihegazie Hope Chidinma
Nigerian Content (NOGICD) Act 2010 was enacted to promote value addition to the National Economy by stimulating growth and industrial development in the oil and gas sector of the economy.
Section 105 of the NOGICD Act grants power of enforcement to both Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board NCDMB and Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety NIMASA as matters pertaining to Nigerian Content Development in the Coastal and Inland shipping sector of the Maritime Industry.
Senator Mustapha Olalekan Ramoni of Ogun East disclosed this on Wednesday in a motion that stressed the urgent need to investigate the breach of Nigerian laws by foreign vessels in coastal shipping of petroleum products in downstream sector of the Nigerian Maritime Industry.
Ramoni noted that the capital freight spent by NNPC through Direct Sale of Crude Oil and Direct Purchase of Petroleum Product DSDP is approximately 60million US dollars monthly to about 720million US dollars annually.
He also noted that the value of DSDP for 2019/2020 contract period is at the range of 9billion US dollars out of which foreign ship-owners amount for 100percent of freight spent associated with this downstream activity most of which is repatriated overseas to the detriment of the Nigerian economy.
He worried that the influx of the foreign vessels into Nigerian downstream sector is alarming against the coastal and inland shipping (Cabotage) Act 2003 which clearly restricts vessels engaged in domestic coastal trade, such that only wholly-owned, manned and registered Nigerian vessels can engage in the domestic coastal carriage of petroleum products within the coastal territorial and inland waterways.
Ramoni however urged the committee on local content and petroleum downstream to carry out an investigation with a view to unraveling the influx of foreign vessels in the coastal region and the level of patronage of Nigerian shipping companies.
