Ime Akpan
The director general, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr Bashir Jamoh, said the coming of stream of the Dangote Refinery would automatically result in a reduction in the agency’s revenue.
Jamoh stated this yesterday when a delegation from Dangote Ports Operations led by its managing director, Mr. Akin Omole, paid a courtesy visit to NIMASA.
He explained that with the full operation of the refinery, the quantum of ships bringing imported petroleum products would decrease thereby affecting the freight levy collected by the agency.
However, he assured that NIMASA would guarantee that the businesses of the Dangote Ports, Refinery are not hindered by the implementation of the regulatory instrument under the provisions of the Cabotage Law.
Jamoh said the agency will work with Dangote Ports to also ensure the Group does not breach any regulation of the federal government with regard to wet cargo affreightment.
“I suggested a joint committee with membership from NIMASA and Dangote to sit down and look at issues objectively.
“Our priority is to ensure regulatory implementation does not impede the operations of Dangote Ports and by extension, Dangote Refinery though the coming on stream of the Dangote Refinery would lead to a drop in NIMASA revenue, because ships importing petroleum products would reduce drastically, thus reducing the three per cent freight levy collected by the Agency.
“However, Nigerian economic growth and long term benefit to the Nigerian masses is far better than immediate revenue for NIMASA,” he said.
In his remarks, Omole said his team will ensure that the refinery is not in breach of the Cabotage Act.
“We talked about business being done in a way that there is no obstruction, no delay.
“In shipping, a day’s delay is a huge cost; we have an average of over $50,000 demurrage on a ship per day, so we want to be sure that these kinds of delay are not experienced.
“All bottlenecks, hindrances that will cause the delay will be addressed jointly and collaboratively with our team and NIMASA team,” he said.
Both parties agreed to set up a working committee to address the operational concerns at the refinery within 14 days.
