NAN-H-53
Ships
By Taiye Edeni
Abuja, Oct. 6, 2016 (NAN) Alhaji Idi Hamissou, the Representative of Niger Shippers Council, has urged African nations that have the capacity to own ships to do so as soon as practicable.
Hamissou, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja, said that such a development would help to resolve the challenges Africans faced using European ships.
According to him, most African shippers encounter problems with European shipping lines in the area of compensation for damaged goods.
He said that if Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon and Ghana that have the resources could own their ships, business would be better for African shippers.
“The only way forward to resolve the carrier system in Africa is that Africa countries should get their own ships; it is the only way we can solve the many problems we are facing .
” I think this is a great moment for developing nations in Africa who have the capacity like Nigeria, Ghana, Cameron and Angola. They should own their own ships so that it will reduce problems for African shippers.
” This is because the carriers today have their ships and we have the goods; they always impose on us so many stiff procedures because we don’t have ships.
“But if at least some countries in Africa have ships, those who don’t have can hire or load their goods into one of the African ships, so that the problem we encounter can be lesser.
“That is the only solution for Africa to develop its shipping system.”
He recalled that Nigeria owned a shipping line which Niger used to transport its goods and did not encounter any problem using the Nigerian carrier.
He said that if Nigeria could revive its shipping line, it would help the economy greatly in revenue generation and enhance international trade.
Hamissou further said that Niger had signed the new Rotterdam Rule but had yet to ratify the convention.
The “Rotterdam Rules” was formally known as the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Carriage of Goods Wholly or Partly by Sea).
The Convention extends and modernizes the existing international rules relating to contract of maritime carriage of goods.
The aim is that the Convention will replace The Hague Rules, The Hague-Visby Rules and the Hamburg Rules and that it will achieve uniformity of law in the field of maritime carriage.
As of October 2015, the Rules are not yet in force as they have been ratified by only three states. (NAN)
TY/DO/NKO
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Edited by David Onilede/Nkechi Okoronkwo
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