NIMASA Protests Imposition of War Risk Insurance Premiums on Cargoes

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has again protested the ongoing imposition of war risk insurance premiums on cargoes bound for Nigerian ports, despite the nation’s huge investment in maritime security.

The Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, observed on Thursday when he received a team from the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He implored the international community to halt the continual imposition of war risk insurance premiums on Nigerian-bound cargoes because there has been a drop in piracy issues within the nation’s waters.

Represented by the Executive Director, Finance and Administration, Chudi Offodile, Mobereola stated that there’s no longer any justification for the war risk premium paid by vessels coming to Nigeria, due to the efforts of NIMASA and the federal government at ensuring almost zero incidents of piracy and robbery within the Gulf of Guinea in the past four years.

Mobereola pointed out that since the Deep Blue Project intervention, which was commissioned in 2022, there has been a gradual elimination of piracy and kidnapping in the Gulf of Guinea (GoG).

He said a germane issue is the extent to which the international community has responded to Nigeria’s efforts in combating maritime insecurity and mitigating the harmful effects of piracy and kidnapping in the GoG, lamenting that Nigeria has not seen a commensurate response in terms of reduction in the war risk insurance premium and the cost of freight movement.

Zeroing in on the various collaborations Nigeria has had with various global maritime bodies, he disclosed that NIMASA, on behalf of the country, has had working relationships with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre, among others, adding that it is planning to have exchange programmes with the Danish maritime institution to facilitate knowledge sharing.

Precisely, he said it was in November 2023 that NIMASA had a media training conducted in partnership with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.

The NIMASA DG expressed the hope that the Danish government will look into all the issues that have been raised, while it would respond to show that the world appreciates the efforts that have been made by Nigeria to keep the maritime domain safe.

The leader of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Kristin Skov-Spilling, had earlier explained that the delegation was in NIMASA to listen to Nigeria’s experience on the cooperation with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre.

She acknowledged that Nigeria holds a prominent position in the maritime domain within the GoG and expressed her pride in having an audience with NIMASA.

Skov-Spilling said the Kofi Annan Centre is progressing with its training, but also research and capacity development with a regional perspective, adding that the body’s research can be used by all stakeholders to enhance institutional administrative frameworks that exist, like the Yaounde architecture, etc.