At the 3rd Annual MARAN Maritime Conference Held in lagos Chairman of the occasion and Chairman of Starzs Investments Company Limited, Engineer Greg Ogbeifun, urged stakeholders to move beyond rhetoric and establish a workable platform for Nigeria’s active participation in the carriage of its import and export goods.
Engr Greg Ogbeifun Chairman Startz Investment Limited
Ogbeifun, who recently retired from active service but was drawn back by the creation of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, stressed that the conference must not be reduced to a “mere talkshop.” He challenged participants to ensure measurable milestones are achieved by the time MARAN reconvenes in 2026, particularly in addressing the persistent war risk insurance burden on Nigeria’s maritime sector.
He appealed for the collective expertise of industry professionals to drive tangible progress, even if only five to ten percent of set objectives are realized within the next year.
Also speaking, former Director-General of NIMASA, Captain Temisan Omatseye, decried the disparity in war risk premiums imposed on Nigeria-bound vessels. According to him, the Joint War Risk Committee in London charges 0.25 percent for vessels crossing five degrees east of Lagos, with rates rising to 0.65 percent for areas such as Delta, Port Harcourt, and Bakassi far higher than the 0.25 percent charged in Pakistan, despite its higher security risks.
Omatseye attributed this to Nigeria “losing its eyes on the ball” and warned that as the country emerges as a key petroleum exporter, with the Dangote and BUA refineries now operational and other modular refineries coming onstream, resolving the war risk surcharge is critical to safeguarding Nigeria’s competitiveness in global trade.
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