The International Bargaining Forum (IBF) has removed Nigeria from the list of nations designated as risk maritime corridors. This is just as War Insurance Premium would no longer be paid for ships heading to the country.
The Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Gambo, said that Nigeria has been removed from the list of countries paying War Insurance Premium on ships whose destination is Nigeria by Llyods of London, United Kingdom.
The cargo ships and other vessels plying the Nigerian route or whose destination was Nigeria were made to pay a significantly higher premium on insurance due to heightened security fears and attacks including piracy, a frequent occurrence in the past before the Nigerian Navy checkmated the criminal activities of pirates in the country’s sea lanes and maritime domain.
Admiral Gambo noted that with the removal of the tag, insurance premium to be paid by ships doing business with, or plying Nigerian sea-lanes would become normal insurance paid by other countries, which is less expensive and will enhance shipping/cargo trade.
Also, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has said Nigeria has been removed from the list of countries designated as risk maritime nations by the IBF.
This is a confirmation of the improved global ratings of security in Nigerian maritime domain as a result of sustained collaborative efforts of NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy.
The IBF, which is a body that brings together the International Transport Federation (ITF), and the international maritime employers that make up the Joint Negotiating Group, JNG, listed five designated risk areas and applicable benefits in the event of attacks leading to deaths and disability, mentioning the Gulf of Guinea as second extended war risk zone covering Liberia/Ivory Coast border to 00°N 005°E, to the Angola/ Namibia border.
The Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, while reacting to the IBF report described it as a landmark achievement under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said: “This achievement is a product of a well-structured multimodal policy which has been implemented over the years to fight piracy and other criminalities in Nigerian waters. The legal instrument called Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences (SPOMO) Act signed into law by Buhari in 2019, the full implementation of the Deep Blue Project by NIMASA, expanded assets and capacity of the Nigerian Navy, enhanced cooperation between NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy, and the regional collaborative efforts under the umbrella of SHADE Gulf of Guinea midwifed by NIMASA, are all policies of the current administration and the benefits are gradually coming to fruition. We are focused on ultimately improving and reducing the cost of commercial shipping in Nigeria.”
Notable maritime institutions like the International Maritime Bureau, IMB, and the International Maritime Organisation, IMO, have lauded the reduction in piracy in Nigeria following enhanced patrol and relevant Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) entered by NIMASA with other security agencies.
The 2023 IBF list called for double compensation for seafarers who die or suffer disability on the date of attack on vessels in the Gulf of Guinea.
