THE Federal Government is set to curb the domination of the nation’s shipping business by foreigners following the failure of the Cabotage regime to achieve its desired result.

To this end, it has granted the Indigenous Shipowners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) Shipping Company a national carrier status, even as operators called for patronage for the new outfit..

Revelation to this effect came at a stakeholders’ meeting held at the instance of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Tuesday, last week, in Lagos.

Speaking at the meeting, Director-General of NIMASA, Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, said that the meeting was organised to harmonise the different views of stakeholders in granting the ISAN Shipping Company a national carrier status so as to have a common voice in the industry.

He said that granting ISAN Shipping Company a national carrier status will enable NIMASA to be able to perform some of its statutory responsibilities effectively and help the agency in presenting a better argument to government.

In his words: “This meeting is to harmonise our views to grant ISAN a national carrier status, because it will make our job simple and minimise the way we are in the press for negative issues. I am in the mood to give ISAN a national carrier status. We are going to give the national carrier to ISAN, but the views should be harmonised.”

“We must put national interest before personal interests. National interest should take precedent over personal view,” Akpobolokemi said.

Also speaking at the meeting, NIMASA’s Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Hon. Ibrahim Zailani, explained that the decision of the agency to support ISAN Shipping Company in getting a national carrier status is as a result of the fact that ISAN has been able to galvanise the sector for the benefit of Nigerians.

Zialani said that NIMASA will pursue the national carrier status for ISAN Shipping Company to a logical conclusion.

It will be recalled that the determination of indigenous ship owners to dominate shipping operations in the country gathered momentum with the floating of a shipping company by ISAN in 2007.

ISAN Chairman, Chief Isaac Jolapamo, disclosed at the 2007 Annual Lecture of the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS) held in Lagos said that the emergent shipping company is called ISAN Shipping Company.

He said the company is made up of one billion shares of one naira per share owned by the 40 members of the association.

Investigations then revealed that N26 million was spent for the registration of the new shipping company, while each member was directed to pay N5 million into the coffers of the association.

The N5million initial payment by each member is part of the N50 million that each of them is expected to cough out to own part of the mega shipping company.

The setting up of the ISAN Shipping Company, according to reliable sources, is to enable local operators acquire new and modern vessels that will meet the standards of major oil companies.

Many indigenous ship owners are losing patronage that should naturally come to them because the oil majors prefer utilising the services of foreign shipping companies despite the provisions of the Cabotage Act which makes coastal trade in Nigeria’s territorial waters the exclusive preserve of local operators.

Nigerian shipping companies have also been unable to participate in the lifting of the country’s crude oil, a situation which is robbing them of huge revenue and employment opportunities for Nigerians.