Harboursandport.com: Lagos --- Managing Director of Mercury Oil and Gas Marketing Company, Osita
Onumonu, has decried government neglect of the shipping sector resulting in
numerous challenges faced bylocal ship-owners, a situation that has led
to the domination of coastal trade by foreigners.
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| A Navy ship on patrol |
Disclosing this in Lagos, Onumonu said the situation had degenerated
because government had failed to ensure full implementation of the Cabotage
Act which gives the exclusive trading rights in the coastal waters to indigenous ship owners.
The indigenous ship-owner also complained about the seeming
mismanagement of the Cargo Vessel Financing Funds (CVFF) which was meant to
support local operators. He said after over a decade, no indigenous operator
has benefited from the fund which is a contribution by ship-owners from all
jobs embarked upon in the nation’s coastal water.
According to him, "Ship-owners have not been able to access the
CVFF, which is supposed to assist in vessel acquisition. If the funds were
available to the indigenous ship-owners, it would have helped in job creation.
"My application for some of the fund from the authorities failed
because the bank said there was no sufficient fund when I went there,"
Onumonu said.
The ship-owner described the indigenous players in the sector as
'endangered species' due to lack of jobs to run and sustain their business.
"We are an endangered species because even when you have a vessel,
you are not able to get jobs when you do not have someone to influence the
job."
He therefore, called on the government to ensure that the indigenous
ship-owners get fully engaged in the coastal trade to enable them achieve the
goal of shipping development and job creation.
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