#Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund

[goldmynetv]

Reps okay $700m fund disbursement to maritime operators

The House of Representatives Committee on Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring has approved that the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency can continue the disbursement of $700m from the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund. The House had on May 2, 2023, asked the NIMASA to stop its plan to disburse the sum from the Fund. Members of the House had resolved to direct the Committee on…

[afriupdatenews]

Buhari withdraws approval for release of $209m, N32b ship finance fund

Buhari withdraws approval for release of $209m, N32b ship finance fund

(Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP) • NIMASA to halt registration of single hull ships in Dec 2021 President Muhammadu Buhari has withdrawn his earlier approval that over $209 million and N32 billion be released to Nigerian investors in the maritime industry under the Cabotage Vessel Finance Fund (CVFF) scheme. Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, who disclosed this at the weekend during…

[jiokcareers]

BUSINESS NEWS: FG’s ship financing fund rises by 79%, hits N145bn

BUSINESS NEWS: FG’s ship financing fund rises by 79%, hits N145bn

Publish date: 2022-07-02 23:06:03 | Author: Anozie Egole | Source: punchng.com The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund has risen from $195m to $350m in 2022, representing 79.4 per cent increase. The Minister of State for Transportation, Gbemisola Saraki, dropped this hint over the weekend during a ministerial briefing with maritime journalists in Lagos after a week-long inspection tour of the Lagos…

[newshubnaija]

Shipowners, Ex-NIMASA DG Demand Probe Of $195m Fund

Shipowners, Ex-NIMASA DG Demand Probe Of $195m Fund

A former Director-General of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Temisan Omatseye and Ship Owners Association of Nigeria have called for a probe of the $195m Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund. The CVFF was inserted in the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act of 2003, (Cabotage Act 2003) to provide indigenous ship operators with funds for vessel acquisition. Funds for vessel…

[streetreporters]

Cabotage Fund: NIMASA Shortlists 11 Coys, 4 Banks to Benefit

Cabotage Fund: NIMASA Shortlists 11 Coys, 4 Banks to Benefit

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA), has disclosed that it had so far shortlisted 11 companies to benefit from the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). Dr Bashir Jamoh, Director- General, NIMASA, made this known in a statement made available to newsmen on Saturday, in Lagos. He noted that following the agency’s advertisement for banks to express interest in the…

[aniekanekah]

Expert warns against CVFF disbursement by Muyiwa Lucas Ahead of the planned disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to indigenous ship owners in the first quarter of 2020, a marine stakeholder, Emmanuel Ilori, an engineer, has advised the Federal Government not to disburse the Fund as being mooted.

[ikennaluke]

Disbursement of CVFF fund not possible

Disbursement of CVFF fund not possible

THERE are indications that    the planned disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, may not be possible any time soon following fears of the actual value in the fund. This is despite the recent announcement by the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, that the Fund will be disbursed early this year.

The post Disbursement of CVFF fund not possible appeared first on Vanguard…

[akeodi]

Ship Owners To Benefit From $200 million CVFF, Says Amaechi

Ship Owners To Benefit From $200 million CVFF, Says Amaechi

… As Dakuku Chairs Committee

Minister of Transportation , Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi has said that the two hundred million dollars Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) which was initially used to build faculties of maritime in different Nigerian Universities will now be applied to Ship owners directly.

Amaechi, at a briefing with newsmen in Lagos, Thursday , shortly after a meeting…

[seanews11]

Nigeria: Ship Owners to Engage Govt On Disbursement of Carbotage Fund

Nigeria: Ship Owners to Engage Govt On Disbursement of Carbotage Fund

The newly-elected President of Shipowners’ Association of Nigeria (SOAN), Dr, Mkgeorge Onyung, has promised to ensure the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessels Finance Fund (CVFF) to maritime operators.

Speaking after his election in Lagos on Tuesday, Onyung said that the association would engage the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the Federal Ministry of…

[kdonaldresources]

N904bn funding gap threatens vessels acquisition by Nigerian shipowners

Vincent Toritseju 12 February 2019, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The Nigerian shipowners will need an additional N904 billion to the N36 billion accrued in the Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund (CVFF) to acquire vessels needed for the maritime industry in the next four years, a report has shown. This was even as the Director General of the … More » http://dlvr.it/QykdM0 KDonaldResources

[stowvat]

N904bn funding gap threatens vessels acquisition by Nigerian shipowners

Vincent Toritseju 12 February 2019, Sweetcrude, Lagos — The Nigerian shipowners will need an additional N904 billion to the N36 billion accrued in the Cabotage Vessels Financing Fund (CVFF) to acquire vessels needed for the maritime industry in the next four years, a report has shown. This was even as the Director General of the … More » More »

[musicalng-blog]

CVFF has accrued $100m, not $100bn — DG NIMASA

By Godfrey Bivbere

LAGOS—DIRECTOR-GENERAL of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr Dakuku Peterside, has said that the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF, has slightly over-shot the $100 million instead of the $100 billion currently being speculated.

Dakuku Peterside

Peterside who disclosed this in Lagos, said the money was intact, noting that the non-disbursement…

[newspaperupdates]

Minister, shipowners at war over N100bn CVFF disbursement

[ad_1] By Godfrey Bivbere LAGOS—THE Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, and shipowners, under the aegis of Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, SOAN, are at daggers drawn  over the disbursement of the N100 billion Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF. While the minister has refused to disburse the fund, shipowners, on the other hand, have warned that unless the fund was…

[pearlcomng]

Ship owners call on NIMASA to release $100m Cabotage Fund

The President, Nigerian Shipowners Association (NISA), Mr Aminu Umar, has called on the Federal Government to intervene in delayed disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to sustain shipping business.   Umar made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria in Lagos on Sunday.   NAN reports that ship owners have been worried over the non-disbursement of the sum of…

[edisonashley]

A Critique Of The Nigerian Cabotage Act

With a coastline of 852 kilometres bordering the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea and a maritime area of over 46,000 km2, Nigeria is no doubt a maritime destination. The advent of the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage Act)in 2003 and its enactment in 2004; created an expectation among stakeholders that it would herald a new dispensation of indigenous shipping and job opportunities for local ship farers.

Before its enactment, the Nigerian government had made several efforts at securing indigenous participation; The first of which was the adoption and domestication of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development Code (UNCTAD 40:40:20) Policy in her 1987 National Shipping Act (NSA). However, the intense competition from the foreign operators incapacitated many of the new local operators and facilitated the reign of foreign domination. The Cabotage Act was enacted under the President Obasanjo administration to consolidate indigenous ownership.

Under Section 2 of the Cabotage Act 2003, there are copious definitions of Cabotage amongst which is:

“The carriage of goods by vessel, or by vessel and any other mode of transport, from one place in Nigerian waters to any other place in Nigeria or above Nigerian waters, either directly or via a place outside Nigeria or to any other place in Nigeria and includes the carriage of goods concerning the exploration, exploitation or transportation of the mineral or non-living natural resources in or under Nigerian waters.”

These activities are principally reserved for national flag vessels, indigenous vessel owners, and citizen crewmen. Two Cabotage regimes exist depending on the type that best suits a country’s national interest. The first is the Strict Cabotage laws which are obtainable in countries like the United States of America under the JonesAct; which was enacted to promote, protect, and maintain a US domestic merchant marine. The latter is the Relaxed Cabotage Legal Regime which is obtainable in Nigeria as seen under the provisions of the Cabotage Act, 2003. It makes room for foreign participation, in ownership or building of the ships and the nationality of the operators or foreign ships involvement in a nation’s coastal shipping and trade; through waivers.

As a riparian state, with a host of offshore and onshore oil facilities, Nigerian vessels among other implements should be used in the petroleum sector of the country. The viability of a Cabotage Policy is given stimulus by the existing level of demand for services in the petroleum and agricultural sectors, which has created more opportunities for indigenous ship-owners to partake in coastal and inland shipping. As a result of which the development of shipyards and dry dockyards for build and repairs is now imperative in Nigeria.

The Coastal and Inland Waters (Cabotage Act) 2003

According to Dr. Okey Udeh; “We believe that the enactment of Cabotage in Nigeria would lay a solid foundation for the domestic maritime industry and stimulate and contribute significantly to the Nigerian economy…”

The kernel of the Cabotage Act is to restrict the use of foreign vessels in domestic trade to promote the development of indigenous tonnage and to establish a Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and for related matters. It extends to the exploration, exploitation or transportation of the mineral or non-living resources of Nigeria whether in or under Nigerian waters.

However, the minister has the power to grant a waiver to duly-registered vessels; also to grant licenses to foreign vessels for one-year. Under Part V, the vessels eligible for registration under the Act were listed. Under Part VI, the minister is required to create enforcement units within the National Maritime Authority and designate officers therein. Offences and appropriate fines are listed in part VII and tried in the Federal High Court. The Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund was provided for in Part VIII.

Inherent Problems with the Nigerian Cabotage Act/Recommendations

The major problem with this Act is that it fails to take cognizance of the capacity building constraints present in the maritime sector, which has created a window for foreign ship-owners to capitalize on the lax conditions for the grant of waivers. Rather it should contain safeguards for local shipping companies and opportunities for technology transfer.

This can be achieved by including cooperation between local shipping lines and foreign counterparts and the consultation of Indigenous Ship-owners Association of Nigeria, as obtainable in Malaysia, as prerequisites for the grant. More so, the waiver should be engendered by the collective interest of Nigerians; decided on a case by case basis.

Better still, there should equally be percentage improvement for joint-venture arrangements. This should be amended to 45% for foreigners and 55% for Nigerian partners. This will encourage partnership between foreign companies and indigenous firms, and it will ultimately improve Cabotage business opportunities for local firms and indigenous ship operators. The efforts of NIMASA towards ending the issuance of waivers are also laudable.

There is equally a need for a major overhaul in the regulatory aspects of the Act; such as the grant of automatic certification to Nigerian-flagged vessels under the Cabotage law regime, offering of the right of first refusal to Nigerian-flagged vessels for both coastal and international trade and sole reliance on a rigorous classification regime by bodies such as the Det Noske Veritas (DNV) for determining the suitability of a vessel rather than the arbitrary 15-year rulesince the age of a vessel is not always the best indicator of its state.

Also, despite the creation of CVVF in the Act, the paucity of funds to bolster efforts of indigenous ship-owners in the sector is another factor. This is owing to the following;

the imposition of a surcharge on indigenous ship-owners which defeats the purpose of the act, thus it should be expurgated and

the unrealistic US$25 million cap placed on the loan figure obtainable by ship-owners taking cognizance of the capital-intensiveness of the sector.

It should be increased to reflect current economic realities. There should equally be provisions of major fiscal incentives to indigenous shipping operators to foster the purchase of fleet. Also, Nigerian shipyards and dockyards should be given tax breaks and duty exemptions on the importation of equipment and spare parts. Government efforts at reviving the Ajaokuta Steel Mill and Aluminum Steel Company in Akwa Ibom, to provide needed raw materials are welcome initiatives in this regard.

More so, owing to the history of poor disbursement of funds and lack of special knowledge of the sector by banks, the Act should state measures for its proper appropriation. There should also be provisions for the establishment of a Maritime Development Bank specializing in ship acquisition, development of dockyards and other maritime projects in Nigeria, and creation of a shipping fund to promote equity participation in local shipping companies; this should be managed exclusively by the bank.

Furthermore, the inability of NIMASA to effectively monitor the operation of foreign ship-owners is traceable to insufficient funding. Hence, there should be an improvement. There should also be the utilization of project finance to promote private investment in infrastructure.

Due to the inextricable relationship between the petroleum industry and the maritime sector, there ought to be synergy between the Cabotage policy and the local content policy in Nigeria. NIMASA and other relevant institutions, like the Nigerian Content Development Board, should work together in the areas of research and development, monitoring of the implementation of policies and encouragement of indigenous participation in the maritime and petroleum sectors. Also, the Cabotage jurisdictions in Nigeria should extend to shipping services to and from oil rigs.

Conclusion

It is noteworthy that a well-implemented cabotage law policy will ultimately enhance national economic development through the contribution of domestic shipping and transportation to national gross domestic product. Also, the attendant availability of cargo and passengers for domestic shipping makes these businesses attractive for credit facilities for fleet and business expansion and attracts more investors into the coastal shipping business. It is expected that these loose-ends in legislation are tied to enhance indigenous ship ownership leading to deep-sea shipping.

Oludayo Olufowobi is a penultimate law student at the University of Lagos. He is currently the deputy editor-in-chief of the Unilag Law Review. He has interests in intersections between Law, Finance and Technology and is passionate about youth participation in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. He can be reached at Oludayo.olufowobi@gmail.com.

The post A Critique Of The Nigerian Cabotage Act appeared first on Lawyard.

A Critique Of The Nigerian Cabotage Act published first on https://immigrationlawyerto.weebly.com/

[aniekanekah]

Expert warns against CVFF disbursement by Muyiwa Lucas Ahead of the planned disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to indigenous ship owners in the first quarter of 2020, a marine stakeholder, Emmanuel Ilori, an engineer, has advised the Federal Government not to disburse the Fund as being mooted.