Maritime crimes cost Nigeria N329.5bn — Commodore Effedua
By Seun Ibiyemi
Despite the decrease in level of pirate activities on the Gulf of Guinea, GoG, where Nigeria belongs, the activities of these sea robbers have cost Nigeria whooping sum of over N329billion as of 2016.
Speaking at the ongoing Chartered Institute of Transport Administratn of Nigeria, CIOTA, Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron, Akwa-Ibom holding at the Shehu Yara Dua Center, in Abuja, Commodore Emmanuel Effedua said that while Nigeria paid so much to criminal activities of pirates on the GoG, paid a paltry sum of 4.5million dollar.
Effedua also said that the failure of security agencies to share real time intelligence is a major source of drawback in the fight against maritime crime, adding that the economic cost of maritime affects Nigeria more than other countries in the Gulf of Guinea.
He, however, opined that with the establishment of the Integrated Security and waterways protection infrastructure otherwise known as the Deep Blue project, it is hoped that the excesses of these criminal element on the nation’s coastal and territorial waters will be curtailed.
He stated, “A safe marine environment prepares the oceans for a secured atmosphere for maritime trade. Criminal elements have been reported to use wrecks as safe haven to launch surprise attacks on merchant vessels.”
He also called on the leadership of the CIOTA to brace to the duty of drawing the attention of relevant authorities to the need to entrench global best practices in the implementation of the maritime safety laws.
“Maritime in the Gulf of Guinea region comes at a very high cost of N329billion about N793.7million when compared to Asia, which was estimated at N1.8billion in 2016.
“This year’s summit provides the opportunity to amplify the message concerning the need for the regulatory authorities to strengthen the regulatory powers of the Port State Control, PSC Inspection as the last line of protective layer against sun-standard shipping in our waters.
“It is rather disheartening that the regulatory framework to assure the safety of operations on our internal waters is still evolving as evident from incessant reports of boat mishaps in the inland waterways in recent time.”
