Shipwrecks have become a major eyesore along the nation’s coastal waters. Despite the security, economic and environmental challenges posed to the country by the unpleasant phenomenon, efforts aimed at finding a lasting solution to abandoned ships are being
frustrated by bureaucratic bottlenecks, writes Olaolu Olusina
Desmond Majekodunmi is a renowned environmentalist. And he is happy doing what he loves to do best. But the chairman, Public Awareness Committee of the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, is currently not happy with what is happening to the nation’s coastal waters. The menace of shipwrecks has become a matter of great concern to those who know the economic, environmental and security challenges posed to the country by the continued presence of the wrecks in the nation’s waterways.
Majekodunmi is one of those concerned and he is not pretending all is well. “We could have a disaster in our hands in the near future,” he sounded a note of warning while speaking with THISDAY at NCF in Lekki, Lagos, recently.
What is a Shipwreck?
Wikipedia describes a shipwreck as the remains of a ship that has wrecked, either sunk or beached, just as the United Nations estimates that there are more than 3 million shipwrecks on the ocean floor globally. Wikipedia also listed the causes of shipwrecks to include bad weather, fire, poor design, improperly stowed cargo, navigation and other human errors leading to collisions with another ship, the shoreline or an iceberg.
Affected Areas
In Lagos State alone, over 150 metres of the coastline has been eroded in the last two years as a result of the impact of wrecked ships. Communities affected include Oko Afa, Alpha Beach, Lekki, Eleko and several others along the Lekki coast. Derelict ships also litter the Lagos Marina, Badagry Marina and Apapa in Lagos. THISDAY also gathered that the phenomenon is not peculiar to Lagos but has become a common phenomenon anywhere there is a deep sea port.
The sea ports of Warri, Calabar, Port Harcourt, Bonny, Onne and the Niger Delta coastline around Ugborodo are all affected by the menace that has subsisted for over 50 years.
Maritime industry sources said over 100 derelict ships and wrecks are presently lying on the country’s waters or buried right on the seabed. They also estimate that a whopping N4.3 billion would be required to clear them. This newspaper further learnt that about N70 million is required to remove a wreck and it might take about five months to completely dismantle and remove just only one.
This figure and the time required apparently account for why owners of some of these derelict vessels often decide to sink them and disappear instead of incurring the extra financial cost of removing them and also face litigation from government.
Vulnerability of Lagos
A marine engineer and former Government Inspector of Shipping, Mr. Olu Akinsoji, in a paper 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. Akinsoji, who is also a former rector of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, Oron, Akwa Ibom State, noted that Lagos State is particularly vulnerable to shipwrecks because the Lagos coastline is situated west of the entrance of the ports.
According to figures provided by Akinsoji, about 77 ship wrecks were counted above the water in Lagos in 2002; about 12 vessels were in layby condition as at August 2004; about 132 vessels were awaiting berth on the West Mole of the coast; while 12 vessels were washed ashore to the coast by 2010.
He 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.
Inadequate Infrastructure
Stakeholders often wonder whether the country, indeed, has the required capacity to put broken down vessels back into shape, saying this may account for the increasing number of wrecks and derelict vessels on our waters. Akinsoji lamented the dearth of adequate infrastructure to repair broken down vessels on our coastline, describing the case of the 6,000 tonne floating dock owned by the Nigerian Ports Authority which went under last year in Lagos as a national embarrassment.
Though the floating dock had since been refloated, Akinsoji was quoted as saying that “it was disappointing that a dock meant to repair ships and prevent ships from going down had gone down.” When the incident happened in June 2010, NPA had blamed it on “pump and valve malfunctioning”. The recent fatal explosion aboard a vessel, MT Britannia U, on the Lagos Marina, which was attributed to negligence may just be another typical example.
Other vessels awaiting repairs also litter the country’s waterways and navigation channels, posing economic, environment and security challenges to the country. The fear expressed by many is that the country is gradually becoming a dumping ground for old vessels.
Presidential Directive
Industry stakeholders believe that these may have informed the reasons for President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive when he visited the Lekki Beach in Lagos about six months ago. Apparently dissatisfied at what he saw, especially the degradation as well as the rate at which the Lagos coastline was being washed away, he gave orders that all derelict vessels on the nation’s coastal waters and those buried underneath be cleared immediately.
But Nigerians are worried that six months after that presidential directive, very little had been done. “President GoodluckJonathan took time out off his very busy schedule to come to Lekki and see things for himself because he was concerned about the welfare of the people of Lagos. He came to Lekki Beach and gave instructions. The instruction was simple: Clear the shipwrecks and save the Lekki coastline,” Majekodunmi said, asking rhetorically, “So why is the instruction being ignored?”
He however noted that “though a tender was done for the job three months ago by the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, no contract has been awarded,” adding “Yet, people’s lives and property as well as livelihood continue to be under risk and this can be prevented as there is no excuse for procrastination.”
He pointed to the case of a vessel, MT Ray that was washed ashore the Lekki coastline sometime last year but has now been buried under the sea. “This particular vessel was noticed because it got wrecked close to a popular beach and started destroying the property there,” he noted, adding that about 15 others were believed to have been buried under the sea.
Previous Attempts
Previous attempts aimed at addressing the problem have been feeble, as overlapping of functions by government agencies involved slowed down the pace of work. There were also disagreements between the management of the three key parastatals in the Federal Ministry of Transport, namely, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NPA and the National Inland Waterways Authority on how to address the issue .
Also, about a year ago, the federal government through the Ministry of Transport had promised Nigerians that the problem would soon be tackled. A joint committee was thereafter set up and mandated to determine the owners of all abandoned ships and wrecks in the country. Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, inaugurated the Joint Action Committee on Wrecks Removal from Nigerian Waterways and Channels which had Mr. Bola Olowosejeje as secretary and representatives of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Nigerian Navy, Lagos State Government, Federal Ministry of Justice, NIMASA, Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria , and executive director, Marine and Marine, NPA, Ms. AinaEgharevba , as members.
He charged the committee to audit the number of wrecks and abandoned vessels on Nigeria’s 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 Nigerian 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 provided the much needed relief. While NPA said it had made good progress in removing most of the wrecks on the Lagos channels that were assigned to it under the arrangement, it particularly pointed to the evacuation of a big vessel from the Commodore Pool channel as one of its major feats. That vessel had been buried in the seabed for years and had become a barrier to navigation, preventing bigger ships from entering the Tin-Can Port.
Easier Said than Done
Speaking on the growing menace, NIMASA director general Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemialso said some steps had been taken to remove the wrecks. He, however, acknowledged that they were not adequate to address the problem. “Contracts were issued for wrecks’ removal before I assumed duty in December last year. Some of them have been removed by NIMASA and NPA, although that was inadequate and did not sufficiently address the problem,” he told THISDAY in an interview in his office last week.
Akpobolokemi also pointed out that the removal of wrecks is not an easy task and this explains why a public notice was given by NIMASA some time ago. “We were specific with some abandoned ships because the law requires us to come up with a marine notice. Whereas 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 50, 60, 70 years is still there. And to solve this problem within one or two years is a very big task. Wrecks removal, he also said, is an expensive and difficult business, particularly those ones that are embedded inside the waters.
Bureaucratic Bottlenecks
THISDAY ,however, gathered that behind the delay in implementing the presidential order are bureaucratic bottlenecks which characterise most things to do with government, thus causing delays in the decision making process. Similalry, overlapping of functions among the layers of government involved, this reporter gathered, is also another reason.
One question that is however begging for answers borders on which agency actually has the legal right to remove the wrecks. Akpobolokemi seems to have an answer: “From the legal point of view, NIMASA is empowered to remove and receive wrecks.
The only agency with the rights to remove wrecks outside NIMASA is NPA. But NPA is legally required to remove wrecks within the channels area only as stipulated in both NIMASA and NPA laws. NPA, even after removing the wrecks, ought to revert to NIMASA to receive the wrecks. And they can only remove the ones that are directly blocking the channels of navigation.” Nigerians, however, are wondering what is preventing NIMASA from performing its statutory role, given the director general’s assertion. Akpobolokemi’s answer was simple. “We have gone ahead to advertise, and as
I said previously, the bureaucratic nature of getting things done is hampering the conclusion of the process. However, we are almost on the threshold of history in getting to the end of the matter. We have advertised and a lot of responses have come. We’ll open the bid soon and revert to the ministry for immediate approval for us to remove the wrecks,” he explained.
‘No Cure, No Pay’ Principle
The NIMASA boss also said his agency was trying to ensure accountability in the execution of the job through the introduction of what he described as the ‘no cure, no pay’ system. “As I came in, nobody had introduced the idea of the no cure, no pay solution, such that I realised that it could be used to sabotage the system. For instance, if you give a person the contract to remove a wreck and he or she doesn’t do the job because of the Nigerian factor.
But this time, we decide on the ‘no cure, no pay’ regime, which requires that the wrecks are removed, then we’ll jointly look at it with a consultant that is appointed by the ministry who will make an assessment in line with the current international market rate and pay you what you merit. That process, from NIMASA’s perspective, is almost at the concluding stage,” Akpobolokemi explained.
He also added: “We’ll soon open the bids because we published adverts in line with due process. We’ll soon be through with that and when we finish, we’ll send our recommendation to the ministry because the minister will make his input and revert back to us.”
Stakeholders’ Expect More
Though NIMASA may have made some progress, stakeholders believe that much still needs to be done. “What NIMASA has done in the case of MT Ray, a vessel buried under the waters in the Lafiaji area of Lekki Beach, is just scratching the surface. They just scrapped the top, leaving the bottom to sink inside the water. It was not done professionally as it was akin to giving a pain-relieving drug to cure fever,” said Majekodunmi.
“The government has to call NIMASA to order. Even if NIMASA removes the wrecks today, unless the agency does its job well, others would come tomorrow. This is because the derelict ships that are plying our waters should not have been registered in the first instance. People are now saying that if you have a ship that cannot be registered in Ghana or even Togo, just bring it to Nigeria. And I’m sick and tired of people laughing at my fatherland.”
NIMASA’s Defence
But NIMASA boss, Akpobolokemi, does not agree that his agency is not doing its job well and pointed to the feats being chalked by his agency on a weekly basis, especially since he assumed duty, maintaining that NIMASA is now playing its role as a regulator professionally.
He also gave credit to his predecessors for initiating some laudable projects. “The number of vessels that we have arrested and are ready for prosecution this year alone is much more than all the vessels that have ever been arrested in the shipping industry from the days of the Nigerian Maritime Agency to date,” he told THISDAY.
“We make arrests on a weekly basis for various contraventions and non-compliance. In fact, what had been done in the past can’t match what we have been able to do this year alone.”
According to Akpobolokemi, “This administration has really redirected the agency back to its core mandate as a regulator and it is apparent. Speaking about security, you’ll recall that Lagos waters used to be a no-go area because of the activities of pirates but since I came, our anti-piracy campaign has been able to reduce the trend with minimal resources.
“And what we’ve been able to do here is what we want to replicate in our entire maritime domain. Remember that we have successfully replicated that also on Benin Republic waters. Based on the request of the government there, President Goodluck Jonathan directed NIMASA to extend its successful anti-piracy operations to Benin Republic waters.
“As we speak now, we’ve been there for almost three months, and have succeeded 100 percent, as we’ve reduced piracy attacks from 35 in one to two months to zero.”
Despite his defence of NIMASA’s efforts to rid the country’s coastal waters of ship wrecks, the fact remains that Nigerians will only give it a pass mark when the wrecks are removed and disposed off with minimal impact on the environment. Until that happens, pressure will be brought to bear on the agency to carry out its mandate of cleaning Nigeria’s waters with the urgency it deserves.