The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) has complained that despite the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency’s (NIMASA) investment of over $200 million in the Deep Blue Project to improve security in Nigerian waters and reduce war risk insurance payments, insecurity continues to affect port costs.
The SEREC Head of Research, Forwarder Eugene Nweke in a statement revealed that the ship owners in Nigeria still incur significant costs for security measures despite the reduction in piracy. He said according to recent reports, maritime security operators have increased offshore shipping charges by $1,500 due to rising operational expenses.
Fwdr Nweke explained that there isn’t a specific information on daily costs ranging from $5,000 to $8,000 for hiring security vessels, as taunted, but, the ship owners are in a better position to unravel and report on this base on daily operational experiences.
He noted that another notable concern is the maritime security costs as he recalled that before the Deep Blue Project, ships coming to Lagos ports paid around $2,500 at the Lagos secure anchorage zone. Nweke pointed that although this charge was terminated, insecurity still impacts the cost of doing business at Nigerian ports, with costs being transferred to consumers.
“What is known to SEREC is that, Security Escort Vessels are still in operational. For instance, companies like Castor Vali Services Nigeria provide security escort vessels to support clients operating in Nigerian waters and within the Economic Exclusion Zone.
“If there are such claims by ship owners, that despite piracy reduction, ship owners still pay between $5000 to $8000 daily to hire security vessels, they should come out boldly and speak out.”, he stated .
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