Nigeria Importers Pay Highest Freight Rate in the World Over False Pirate Report - NIMASA

Abiola Seun

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has raised the alarm that Nigerian importers pay highest freight rate on import in the world due to dangers attached to Nigerian territorial waters.

This according to the director general of NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside was as a result of false reportage about attacks on the nation’s territorial water.

Peterside who disclosed this when members of the Shipping Correspondents Association of Nigeria (SCAN) paid a courtesy visit on the agency over the weekend lamented that Nigeria is slammed war risk surcharge over lumpsom data on maritime crime in the country.

The DG who was represented by the Executive Director, Finance and administration, Bashir Yusuf Jamoh said while attacks in Gulf of Guinea are erroneously considered as attacks on Nigeria territorial waters said sea robberies are mistakenly referred to pirate attacks thereby giving Nigeria false image in the international communities.

“Someone read out a statistical report that about 88 Piracy attacks are being reported but there are misconception because I just finished my PhD and my area of specialisation Is maritime security and what I discovered in the course of my research is that number without time, we lump some data on issues of maritime crime, Nigeria and gulf of Guinea.

“In GoG we have over 120 countries within the GoG and anything can happen within that circle and environment so the international community considered Nigeria as the biggest country around the GoG so we produce the highest number of crime in that region.”

But, Peterside enjoined journalists to correctly educate and inform the public about attacks saying crime that occurred in Benin Republic shouldn’t be referred to crime that occur on Nigeria water.

“It’s your duty as reporter to ensure you reported the issue correctly. A situation where a crime happened in Benin Republic or Togo or any part of Ghana, Cameroon and we lump in on Nigeria because we are part of gulf of Guinea as Nigeria. We will continue to send a very wrong signal to the international communities and as a nation, people will be scared to be around and already we are paying war premium interim of insurance and we stand to be the highest payee of fright all over the world because of the dangers attached to our own territorial waters.”

Comparing freight rate from America to Ghana, Peterside said Nigeria paid highest freight rate despite same distance.

His words, “You check the cost of probably freight from America to Ghana which is almost the same distance to Nigeria with that of US to Nigeria, you will find out that Nigeria pay more than Nigeria and at the end, all of us here pay the premium because it ends on the consumer and when we consumes definitely anything we pay In excess will be distributed among the consumers.

“Accurate reporting must be there if you report accurately, we are projecting Nigeria to a very good platform and if we go to International Maritime Organisation (IMO) that is what they will check. What is the position of Nigeria last year or two years ago after that election then do we see any changes in what they are doing interns of piracy and what they are doing so, when those improvement are not their then definitely we stand a chance to lose the IMO election again and the election is coming up in December and we are in m

March already so we lost about three months now and we have only nine months. These nine months we look at it as if it’s a very long time but we have to start preparing now and we can’t prepare alone but to start from you journalists.”

Furthermore, the NIMASA boss disclosed what the agency is doing to end pirate attacks in nation’s territorial waters saying fast moving platforms were procured to intervene during attacks.

He also stated that the federal government approved the engagement of an Israeli security firm, HLSI to train Nigeria counterparts in combating piracy.

“We have put in a lot of measures. A country like Nigeria where we have lots of financial challenges, what we are supposed to do is technology. We are deploying a lot of technology to make sure that we police our water. You are aware of the issue of HLSI, it’s the most popular security outfit we contracted to come and look at the security domain of our own water. We just concluded training our staff and the joint agencies that should take care of the policies such as Police, DSS, Navy, Army, NIMASA official, Airforce and Civil Defense. The training is going on at the resource centre.”

“The first issues started with PCOMMS and after it failed, we introduced Global West, and they started the policing up till 2015/2016 when they exited and between 2016/2017, we brought in HLSI. The HLSI have maritime domain awareness as well as fast intervention vessels, they are supplying lot of boats to patrol and supplying helicopters as well. We are at stage one of Human capacity development and skill gap of the training.

“But, before HLSI come on fully, we have six fast intervention vessels that go 24 hours every day to monitor and strike hoodlums around our territorial waters.”