In the last few weeks, there have been issues over the security, economic and environmental challenges posed to Lagos and its environs over abandoned vessels and ship wrecks on the coastline and the water front. In this report, maritime correspondent OLUWAKEMI DAUDA looks at the steps to be taken by the Federal and Lagos State governments to address these matters to prevent ocean surge and ensure safety of lives and properties.
Apparently dissatisfied with the degradation and the rate at which the Lagos coastline was being washed away when he visited the Lekki Beach in Lagos last year, President Goodluck Jonathan ordered that all the wrecks and derelict vessels on the coastal waters and those buried underneath be cleared. But almost nine months after this directive, little has been done. But the instruction was simple: “Clear the shipwrecks and save Lagos from ocean surge.”
Though, a tender was turned in for the job by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), but the contract has not been awarded because of government bureaucracy.
Speaking with The Nation in his office recently, the Director-General of the agency, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi said bureaucracy is one of the greatest challenges facing the agency.
A shipwreck is what remains of a ship that has either wrecked, sunk or beached. Causes of shipwrecks include bad weather, poor design, fire, improperly stowed cargo, navigation and other human errors leading to collision with another ship, the shoreline or an iceberg. The United Nations (UN) estimates that there are more than three million shipwrecks on the ocean floor globally. Nigeria and Lagos State in particular is one of the major cities that ship wrecks are lying under its bed.
But millions of lives, properties and means of livelihood continue to be threatened and put at risk when it can be prevented since the government must stop giving room for procrastination.
Agencies’ overlapping functions
Past government’s efforts aimed at addressing the issue and solving the problem have been feeble because of the overlapping functions by the Federal Government agencies involved in the removal of wrecks. For instance, there was a disagreement between the management of the three key parastatals in the Federal Ministry of Transport –NIMASA, Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the National Inland Waterways Authority on how to address the issue.
About two years ago, the Federal Government through the Ministry of Transport had promised Nigerians that the issue would soon be resolved and a joint committee was thereafter set up to identify the owners of all abandoned ships and wrecks. The former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, inaugurated the Committee on Wrecks Removal from Nigerian Waterways and Channels. The committee had Mr Bola Olowo-sejeje as secretary and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigerian Navy, Lagos State government, Federal Ministry of Justice, NPA, NIMASA, Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria (ISAN) as members.
The committee was to audit the wrecks and abandoned vessels on territorial waters and make the necessary arrangement for their removal and disposal. The committee, which had four weeks to complete its assignment, was also required to organise the disposal of all residual metals in a transparent manner, as well as advise the Federal Government on ways to minimise the littering of the waterways with wrecks, derelicts, and abandoned vessels. Areas of jurisdiction were clearly defined as a way of fast-tracking the evacuation.
But the establishment of the committee did not really provide the much needed relief to Lagosians as the Ilado/Ilashe communities in Ojo area of the state protested against the non-removal of the wrecked ships that were washed ashore in their areas since 2009. The Managing Director of NPA, Omar Suleiman said the authority had made significant progress in removing most of the wrecks on the Lagos channels that were assigned to it under the arrangement. According to him, 99 percent of the job has been done by NPA. He listed the evacuation of a big vessel from the Commodore Pool channel as one of NPA’s major achievements. The vessels had been buried in the sea bed for years and was a barrier to navigation, preventing bigger ships from entering the Tin-Can Port.
What the law says
Akpobolokemi told The Nation that the agency is ready to partner with Lagos State. He said since removal of wrecks is not an easy task, a public notice has to be issued by NIMASA before wrecks can be removed.
“We were specific with some abandoned ships because the law requires us to come up with a marine notice. While we have the rights to remove wrecks, the law says we have to give seven days marine notice. When the owners don’t come to claim ownership, then you can go ahead to remove them.
“Ordinarily, the owners should be held responsible for these wrecks but the same Nigerian factor that has allowed these things to accumulate for so many years is still there. And to solve this problem within one or two years is a very big task,’’ he said.
The Nairobi Convention rests the onus of removing wrecks on the ship owner but the obligation has been neglected, forcing the government to use some of its resources for evacuating the wreaks.
Consequently, stakeholders said it would not be appropriate to blame NIMASA as certain processes are expected to be followed just like in any other country. For example, the Nigerian Environmental Impact Assessment Decree of 1992, and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency Decree of 1992 were amended in 1999 to take care of some of these challenges.
These laws and decrees created agencies such as the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and NIMASA. Besides, the Nigerian Navy is expected to play a complementary role to ensure there is maritime safety and security.　 There should be collaborative effort among these bodies to ensure proactive measures are taken to stem the cycle of criminalities on the Lagos waterways.
The Managing Director, Shore investment Services, Mr Dayo Balogun, decried the inability to take proactive measures in dealing with the evacuation of wrecks. He said there was nothing bad if the Lagos State government can deal with the issue to save lives, properties, the environment and the eco-system.
“It is unfortunate we don’t adopt a preventive approach to issues in our country.　 If nothing is done on time by the Lagos State government, there could be telling consequences on the population and the environment. Governor Fashola should not wait until Lagos is washed off due to tidal pressures, especially now that no Federal Government agency has been able to give us the number of wrecked ships and abandoned vessels on the coastline and the Lagos water,’’ Balogun said.
Abandoned vessels
In Lagos State, over 150 metres of the coastline has been eroded in the last three years as a result of the impact of abandoned vessels and wrecked ships. Investigation conducted by The Nation revealed that there over are 100 abandoned vessels and ship wrecks on the Lagos water front and the coastline.
Communities affected include Marine, Apapa, Liverpool, Tin-Can, Ilado, Ilashe, Mile2, Ojo, Oko Afa, Alpha Beach, Lekki, Eleko, Badagry and several others along the Lekki coast.
Investigation also revealed that the problem is not peculiar to Lagos but has become a common phenomenon anywhere there is a deep sea port such as Warri, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Onne.
Bureaucratic bottlenecks
Despite the fact that abandoned vessels and shipwrecks have become a major eyesore along the coastline and the Lagos water front, efforts aimed at finding a lasting solution to the unpleasant phenomenon are being frustrated by bureaucratic bottlenecks because of the amount involved in removing them.
Sources at the NPA and NIMASA told The Nation that there are over 120 abandoned vessels, derelict ships and wrecks lying on the country’s waters or buried right on the seabed. Other vessels awaiting repairs also litter the Lagos waterways and navigation channels, posing economic, environment and security challenges to the state and the country. The fear expressed by many operators and stakeholders, who spoke with The Nation is that the country is gradually becoming a dumping ground for old vessels. They also said the Federal Government would need about N10.5billion to remove them and clear the waterways.
A senior official of one of the agencies, who craved anonymity, said between N90 million and N100 million is required to remove a wreck because of the exchange rate and that it takes about five months to completely dismantle and remove just one. The official attributed this to why owners abandon their wreck indiscriminately on the Lagos water front. But the menace of shipwrecks and abandoned vessels, he said, has become a matter of great concern to those who know the economic, environmental and security challenges posed to the country and Lagos State in particular.
Vulnerability of Lagos
Lagos is vulnerable because the state from Epe to Badagry is seating on the lagoon.
The former Rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State, Mr Olu Akinsoji, in a paper he presented to a special panel on Shipwrecks and Coastal Erosion with a focus on the Lagos coastal community, at the 2010 Lagos State Summit on Climate Change, said over 77 wrecks littered the Lagos coastline alone.
He described the ugly phenomenon as a reflection of the indiscipline, poor administration and lack of commitment to international obligations.　He admitted that Lagos is particularly vulnerable to shipwrecks and abandoned vessels because the Lagos coastline is situated west of the entrance of the ports.
According to figures provided by Akinsoji then, about 77 ship wrecks were counted above the water in Lagos in 2002; about 12 vessels were in lay by condition as at August 2004; about 132 vessels were awaiting berth on the West Mole of the coast; while 12 vessels were washed ashore by 2010.
“There is a cumulative effect whereby sand accumulation by one ship adds to the other, resulting in the incursion of water as the wrecked ships are very close to each other. The recurring shipwrecks on the Lagos water has resulted in the erosion of choice beach lands, including coastal plants like coconut trees on the beaches. Lagos loses billions of naira to these erosions, accelerated by the shipwrecks and abandoned vessels, as strong waves can remove over one metre of land within 24 hours,” one of the residents, Mr Seyi Agbato said.
Akinsoji also listed consequences of abandoned shipwrecks to include navigational problems between communities and other states; toxic and other dangerous emissions into waterways; erosion, diversion of water flow and community displacement; recession of coastlines; possible loss/submerging of land between the Atlantic Coast and the Lagoon/Creeks; hide-outs and launch platforms for migrants and pirates; as well as diversion of cargo from the country’s waterways.
It has a lot of implications for maritime investment and trade. It hinders free movement of vessels with the potential to cause ship mishap, thus leading to loss of lives, cargoes and multi-billion investments. If continued, it portends unsafe and unsecured maritime routes against the best practice, and the country will definitely so much incur loss in revenue.
Base for pirates, sea robbers
Shipwrecks and abandoned vessels on the nation’s waters provide hideouts for criminals. For instance, abandoned vessels have constituted a base for pirates, sea robbers and miscreants to attack legitimate vessel operators and fishing trawlers. This has threatened vessels, maritime trade and investment worth of several billions of dollars. Fishing trawlers have lost about N25 billion to piracy and sea robberies.
The clog on Nigeria’s maritime routes and waterways is increasing concerns and fears of investment in the maritime sector. Like other maritime actors and stakeholders, the management of Nigerdock Nigeria Plc expressed profound worries about heaps of shipwrecks and abandoned vessels on the maritime routes and waterways because they provide hideouts for pirates and sea robbers.
All vessels plying the nation’s water ways are supposed to be registered with NIMASA so that owners of abandoned and wrecked ships can be contacted in times of need. Investigations however, reveal that most of the vessels neither have legal documents nor are registered with NIMASA hence the reason why the agency cannot trace most of the owners.
There are reports that some vessels come into the waters without the knowledge of NIMASA and the Nigerian Navy. If the allegation is true, it means that such vessel owners do not observe international best practices, and the agencies must find appropriate means of sanctioning them.
The derelict ships that are plying the nation’s waters should not have been registered in the first instance. Most ships that cannot be registered in Ghana or even Togo are brought to the country for registration. According to operators, the nation’s coastal environment has become a dump site for old ships from other parts of the world. They noted that due to lapses in the enforcement of environment protection laws, owners of faulty ships find it convenient to abandon them on Lagos waters. Maritime experts also blamed the government and its agencies for abdicating their responsibilities, saying it is a clear indication that the government is not responsive to the people. They called on Federal and Lagos State governments as well as NIMASA to explore other practical means of responding to timely evacuation of wrecks to avoid erosion on the shorelines,
Experts also called on the Federal Government to adopt a policy framework that will discourage vessel owners from abandoning their ships and claiming insurance, which they (vessel owners) believe is more economical to them.