Shipowners look to Greece, Turkey, America to reclaim N648bn lost in lighterage operations

Nigerian shipowners, under the aegis of Nigeria Shipowners Association (NISA), are in serious talks with shipowners in Greece, Turkey and America on ways to develop the capacity of indigenous shipowners and position them to fully benefit from the nation’s lighterage operations, largely dominated by foreign owned vessels.

The volume of Nigeria’s lighterage operations, which is the shipment of imported petroleum products from the mother vessels that are docked at offshore Lome or Cotonu using small tanker vessels into Nigerian ports, is estimated to stand at the volume of 1.8 billion litres per month.

Speaking with newsmen Tuesday in Lagos, on the steps taken by the new executives of NISA towards ensuring that its members are gainfully employed, Olaniyi Labinjo, president, NISA, who notes that Nigeria loses about N5.4 billion monthly (amounting to N648bn annually) to lighterage operations, said the economy will regain the lost if the members benefit from the planned deal and Nigerians were allowed to take over these jobs.

According to him, NISA has signed a memorandum of understanding with Greek shipowners, which will enable Nigerian shipowners to develop Nigeria’s cabotage trade and create jobs for Nigerians through vessel acquisition.

Nigerian shipowners, he pointed out, are also on the verge of perfecting its partnership deal with Americans to ensure shipowners get their businesses right.