NIMASA Releases Score-card, As FG Grants Zero Duty On New Vessels
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L-R: Mr Shehu Ahmed, Executive Director, Operations, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, Director General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and Right Hon. Victor Ochei at the maiden media parley in 2022
Zero duty has been approved for brand new imported vessels into the country as a means of boosting indigenous shipping through fiscal incentives by the federal government of Nigeria.
The Director-General, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Dr. Bashir Jamoh, made the announcement in a chat with maritime journalists.
He said under NIMASA’s shipping promotion program, monetary and fiscal incentives were requested from the federal government to provide incentives for shippers and the government acceded in different measures.
Dr Bashir Jamoh said for the very first time government offered generous incentives to shipping companies by granting from zero duty on brand new vessels and vessels aged 1-2years had approved a minimal customs duty rate of 1% to 2% and the incentives graduated in descending order against the age of the vessel.”
The DG also revealed that the monetary aspect of the incentive sought for the shipping companies was still in the works between NIMASA and the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
He further explained the rationale for the zero duty that the new policy will encourage the acquisition of new vessels by indigenous ship owners and ensure that the nation no longer has rickety and rusty buckets on its territorial waters which often caused accidents and sooner than later abandoned and dumped as wrecks.
The helmsman at the nation’s maritime industry regulatory agency further highlighted the performance of NIMASA in the preceding year in spite of the debilitating effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world economy of which Nigeria was not left out.
2021 KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS
Improved contribution of N37 billion to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) of the Federal Government as against N31 billion in 2020.
In the preceding year 2021, a total of 1,164 vessels were inspected and surveyed under the Flag State Control (FSC) and Port State Control (PSC) as against 786 in 2020.
On the PSC and FSC operations, it recorded an increase of 32.4 per cent in the activities in 2021 compared to that of 2020.
Under the FSC, NIMASA inspectors inspected 489 vessels in 2021 as against 276 in 2020 while it boarded 675 ships in line with its PSC functions in 2021 compared to 510 in 2020.
A further breakdown of vessels inspection in 2021 under FSC revealed that 26 vessels inspected in January, in February- 19 vessel, March- 29, April- 24, May- 32, June-75, in July-74, August- 44, September- 34, October- 50, in November- 53 and in December- 49 vessels.
On PSC activities, in 2021, in January-43 vessels inspected, in February- 40, in March- 70, April- 75, May- 61, June- 50, July- 53, August- 60, in September- 68, in Oct- 56, November- 50 and in December- 42 vessels only
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