The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has placed a $2,000 registration fee on indigenous shipowners, raising concerns among maritime stakeholders.
The former Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Temisan Omatseye, while speaking in Lagos recently at the 2024 Stakeholders Engagement, bemoaned the two license payments that indigenous shipowners imposed by the NMDPR, according to The Punch.
Omatseye said “NMDPRA is insisting on one licence where each shipowner pays $2,000 to register and now they are asking for another N2m. There are two licences now, which they call coastal licenses. They have now even issued a regulation in line with the Petroleum Industry Act, which gave them that power.
“And they don’t have any powers at all because all powers are related, these are international provisions.”
He called on the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy to ensure that NIMASA could carry out its constitutional tasks.
‘Even any cable laid on the seabed belongs to NIMASA; any pipeline laid on the seabed belongs to NMASA. So, all they are asking for is that the ministry needs to step up, take back its responsibility, and give it back to NIMASA. Let us sit down with NMASA and manage our industry,” he said.
Meanwhile, shipowner and the President of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, Aminu Umar, supporting the view of the former DG of NIMASA stated that there was a need to solve the issue of numerous clearance faced by ship owners.
Umar said “What he was trying to say is that shipowners are facing multiple agencies; they need to get clearance from multiple agencies in order to operate. The NMDPRA is asking shipowners to come for the same clearance that has already been done by NIMASA. So, what Omtaseye was saying that day was why shipowners should go for another clearance to be cleared again, and that clearance comes with a cost.
“So, there are multiple agencies and you don’t see that in any other sector. I don’t think any organisation comes to say the airline must also come and get clearance if they want to operate. They should harmonise, NIMASA should reach out to NMDPRA so that they can work together and ensure that once NIMASA clears, it means the ship is good to go, NMDPRA should take the clearance done by NIMASA and the only one.”
In his remarks, the South West Regional Coordinator of NMDPRA, Mr Ayo Cardoso noted that the agency charged $1,200 for a coastal vessel licence.
“The Coastal Vessel License is $1,200, processing fees and application fees are N100,000. First Schedule Section H.3. Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Operation Regulations 2023,” Cardoso explained.
