As part of measures to have a world-class ship registry and enhance the ease of doing business in the maritime sector, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has revealed plans to set up an automated ship registration process through online and electronic procedures.
The Director-General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside who made the revelation during an interactive session with ship-owners in Lagos, said Nigeria, with its closed registry, has 2,725 active vessels of various capacities.
With this initiative, NIMASA is working towards restructuring the current state of the maritime sector for the benefit of the industry as well as the country. The agency also just took a step in redesigning and producing new ship registry certificates that would be attractive to shipowners with the aim of maintaining the influence of Nigeria in evolving International Commercial and Registration.
The Maritime boss noted that the Nigerian Ship Registry is rated the second-largest in Africa by tonnage, and 46th in the world, according to the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). The rating prompted the acquisition of software licenses for the automation of the Nigerian Ship Registry, he said, as automation was the only way to boost the worth of the registry and hasten business processes. According to the DG, the principal aim is to “achieve online electronic registration, accept electronic copies of documents and issue electronic certificates.”
Highlighting the UK Ship Register as an example, the NIMASA boss revealed that the agency was considering establishing a second or international register to help grow the Nigerian fleet and enhance the country’s role in international commercial trade. “As you are all well aware, Nigeria operates a closed ship registry. However, most renowned ship registries in the world such as the UK Ship Register, today maintain a second or international register to attract tonnage while using the closed register to develop indigenous capacity and for domestic trade, similar to our cabotage regime,” said Peterside.
In this regard, he added that the ongoing efforts to disburse the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) and NIMASA’s partnership with the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) would also enhance the capacity of a Nigerian ship registry.
The agency’s drive to commence full automation of Nigeria Ship registration processes has received commendations from the ship review committee, as the new development aligns with international best practices. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Ship Registry Committee, Engr. Emmanuel Ilori urged NIMASA to set clear objectives for the administrative process of ship registration and put in place clear and precise changes in flag instructions.
By Ahmed Iyanda
