Shipowners and importers are losing millions of dollars annually to the delays and disruption in international trade caused by the long time spent carrying out investigations on drug trafficking and stowaways, according to the Maritime Security Providers Association of Nigeria (MASPAN).
MASPAN says Nigeria does not have adequate legal frameworks to promptly handle cases of drug trafficking and stowaways.
It said a ship can be detained for several weeks or months while the investigation is ongoing to determine the source and suspects in a case of drug found onboard a ship.
Similarly, investigating the country of origin of stowaways could be cumbersome, requiring the detention of an affected vessel for several weeks and leading to a huge loss in time and money.
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These losses incurred by shipowners are passed wholly to the importers, who are users of ship services.
MASPAN said this was partly the reason importers in West African countries, including Nigeria have continued to pay millions of dollars annually as war risk charges even when with no incidents of piracy in the Gulf of Guinea in the last two years.
According to the body, seafarers are always not willing to work in countries without legal clarity as to how to deal with drug and stowaway discoveries on a ship as complications from these cases could mean harsh realities for them.
To address some of these challenges, MASPAN and the Alumni of Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron (AMANO) are bringing shipping industry stakeholders and relevant drug regulatory agencies together to brainstorm on Nigeria’s capacity to handle drug trafficking and stowaway investigations.
“If we have a scenario where drugs have been discovered onboard a ship, the regulatory agency will have to detain the ship for investigations. That process will take a very long time, and the shipowner will be footing the administrative costs. So, ships will always be afraid to do business in countries where they are likely to be detained for too long when this happens,” said Emmanuel Maiguwa, chairman of the summit planning committee.
He said the security body wants to bring the challenges to the knowledge of the industry and find a lasting solution that allows the country to handle these issues within a short timeframe.
The maritime summit on Drug Smuggling and Human Trafficking by Ship will be chaired by Gboyega Oyetola, minister of Marine and Blue Economy.
Maiguwa enjoyed maritime stakeholders interested in attending to contact the summit’s planning committee to register for the event which is scheduled to be held in Lagos on August 22, 2024.
Maiguwa, who doubles as CEO of Bricks Limited, a maritime security firm, said ships can be detained for several months and their crew placed on trial and forced to remain without seeing their families for several years in cases of drug smuggling.
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“In terms of human trafficking, cases of stowaways, especially in Lagos ports, have continued to cause delays to vessels when they are found before vessel departure. This has continued to burden shipowners because of the very complex administrative protocols involved in handling stowaways on ships.
“Considering the disruption this can pose to shipping such as increasing cost, trauma on seafarers, and being counterproductive to a maritime country like Nigeria that is struggling to realise the potential of her blue economy, we have come together to bring stakeholders to discuss these issues to arrive at a solution that serves the industry.
“The goal is to align with critical agencies in making sure that drug and human trafficking in the maritime domain are reduced, if not eradicated, with perpetrators penalised in a way innocent parties are not made to pay the price, and the industry is not deprived of its growth potentials,” he said.
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