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GUIDELINES ON IMPLEMENTATION OF
COASTAL AND INLAND SHIPPING
(CABOTAGE) ACT, 2003
Nigeria is blessed with a coastline of about 870km and about 3,000 kilometres of inland waterways. The country's natural resources include pet roleum, natural gas, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, zinc, limestone, lead, and in reserve the country has about 22.5b cubic metres of crude oil, 3.5 trillion cubic metres of gas and 42.7b cubic metres of Bitumen.
The economic value of these resources to the nation in terms of foreign earnings is directly related to the maritime component of the respective industries. Oil and gas sector is the predominant sector in Nigeria.s short sea trade and is estimated to constitute about 95% of coastal and inland shipping while fishing trawlers and break bulk carriers make up the remain 5%. This presents enormous coastal trade opportunities for shipping companies in Nigeria.
The Government mindful of the need to develop indigenous merchant marine fleet has at various times initiated policies and projects to boost indigenous vessel acquisition. Notable in this respect is the acquisition of 24 vessels by the now defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line in the 1970s and the establishment of the Ship Acquisition and Shipbuilding Building Fund under National Shipping Policy Act 1987 Cap 44 LFN 1990. Unfortunately the laudable initiatives aforementioned failed to achieve their objectives. The commercial operations of carriage of goods, services and passengers in the inland and coastal waters of Nigeria are currently almost exclusively dominated by foreign owned and foreign crewed vessels. |
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Nigeria is blessed with a coastline of about 870km and about 3,000 kilometres of inland waterways. The country's natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, tin, columbite, iron ore, coal, zinc, limestone, lead, and in reserve the country has about 22.5b cubic metres of crude oil, 3.5 trillion cubic metres of gas and 42.7b cubic metres of Bitumen. The economic value of these resources to the nation in terms of foreign earnings is directly related to the maritime component of the respective industries. Oil and gas sector is the predominant sector in Nigeria's short sea trade and is estimated to constitute about 95% o
2. THE CABOTAGE REGIME
The objective of the Cabotage Act is primarily to reserve the commercial transportation of goods and services within Nigerian coastal and inland waters to vessels flying the Nigerian flag and owned by persons of Nigerian citizenship.
Cabotage trade under the Act covers:
• carriage by sea of goods and passengers originating from one coastal or inland point which could be ports, terminals, jetties, piers etc, to another point located within Nigeria;
• carriage of goods and passengers by sea in relation to the exploration, exploitation or transportation of mineral and non-natural resources whether offshore or within the inland and coastal waters;
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