Nigeria Maritime Online

5th October 2020

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), said foreign vessels operating in Nigerian waters without a valid license would be banned.

This was disclosed by the agency in a statement on Sunday. NIMASA says shipping companies that operate in Nigerian waters without a license, have 3 months to comply with the new regulations.

The agency informed international oil shipping companies operating in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, that the ban will go into effect after 3 months, and the new law also applies to companies with expired licenses.

Vessels that lift Nigerian Crude oil are mostly foreign-owned, and NIMASA is looking to raise revenues through shipping charges from registered shipping companies, in a bid to diversify earnings away from oil.

It was reported in 2019 that a total sum of N16 billion has been remitted into the Consolidated Revenue Fund in 2019 by NIMASA.  The agency said N110.84 billion was the targeted revenue for 2019, out of which N83.49 billion, representing 74% was realized, while N20 billion had been spent out of the N28 billion allocated for the mandatory Maritime Fund.