Business Maritime3 hours ago
THE 150% RAISE: Can NIMASA Break the Foreign Stranglehold on Nigeria’s Waters?
BY IBRAHIM NASIRU During the recent Day of the Seafarer celebrations, a major policy bombshell dropped that sent shockwaves through the maritime industry. The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) announced a massive 150% wage increase for local seafarers. By integrating international maritime standards into local contracts, the government is finally attempting to address a long-standing injustice: the systemic underpayment of the men and women who keep our maritime trade afloat. On paper, it looks like an incredible victory for labour and a massive step forward for the thousands of young cadets who have gone through the Nigerian Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP). But as any seasoned observer of Nigerian policy knows, a wage increase on paper means absolutely nothing if you do not possess a job to earn it. The uncomfortable reality is that a 150% salary boost is completely useless if local shipping companies are priced out of the market, or if foreign vessels continue to dominate our territorial waters. Nigeria passed the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) Act way back in 2003 with a very clear, patriotic objective: domestic coastal trade was supposed to be reserved strictly for Nigerian-owned, Nigerian-built, and Nigerian-crewed vessels. It was designed to build local capacity and ensure that our wealth stayed within our borders. Yet, over two decades later, the spirit of that law is routinely violated every single day. The maritime sector has structural friction that cannot be solved by simply adjusting a salary scale. The biggest culprit here is the infamous cabotage waiver system. For years, international shipping lines have exploited regulatory loopholes to secure endless ministerial waivers. These waivers allow foreign-flagged ships with entirely foreign crews to operate freely in our domestic waters, moving cargo between Lagos, Onne, and Port Harcourt. They claim that local capacity does not exist, using that excuse to completely bypass local seafarers. As...
