The Incidence of Wreck Removal: The Nigerian Perspective
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Transcript of The Incidence of Wreck Removal: The Nigerian Perspective
DEFINITION- A shipwreck is defined as a sunken or stranded ship, or any part thereof, including anything that is on board such a ship which is stranded, sunken or in danger at sea and lost at sea from a ship…
Section 360 (1) of the Merchant Shipping Act 2007 (MSA)
FACTS
Nigeria is an independent North Atlantic coastal country with anumber of littoral states along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean. Locatedon the west coast of Africa, Nigeria is within the tropics. It liesbetween 4 degrees north of the Equator on its southern parts and 14degrees on its northern part in tropical West Africa.
Nigeria covers a total of 923,768 square kilometers with a land area of910 square kilometers. She has coastline of 853 kilometers and inlandwaterways totaling 8,575 kilometers consisting largely of Rivers Nigerand Benue as well as other smaller rivers and creeks.
Some of the key maritime claims of Nigeria include; continental shelfof 200 meters to the depth of exploitation, a territorial water of 12nautical miles from the shoreline and an Exclusive Economic Zone(EEZ) of 200 nautical miles from her territorial water. This, alongsidewith Nigeria’s stretch of coastline indicates clearly, the vast maritimeenvironment that extends the Nigerian hinterland
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FACTS-CONTINUED
Nigeria is strategically located along one of the mostimportant and resource endowed coastal regions - the Gulfof Guinea
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It has vast open
sea of 853km
coastline and a
total EEZ
measuring 84,000
square kilometres
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Nigerian Maritime Territory
Arrows indicating numerous Water Channels
MV RIVER GURARA- FEB 26,1989- Sank
MV RIVER MAJIDUN- APRIL 3, 1994- Grounded
16 UNMANNED VESSELS– FEB 14, 2010- BEACHED & WASHED ASHORE
MT RAY 2- FEB 2011- Capsized
S/N ACCIDENT DATE VESSEL NAME VESSEL TYPE LOCATION INCIDENT TYPE REMARKS
1 20/01/2014 Desh Vailbhav Motor TankerOff Bonga Terimanl ( Lat. 05deg.
45.00N, Long. 04deg. 40.62E)Suicide
23/01/2014 NIL Speed Boat Naval Ordinace Depot Water way 3 Fatalities
2 29/01/2014 Maria E/MV. Governor Motor Tanker/Tug Index Petrolube Jetty Apapa Property Damage
3 8/3/2014 MDPL Asha Deep PSV Enroute Onne Piracy/ Property Damage
24/04/2014 Ballistic Boat (Global West) Speed Boat Approach to Apapa Sea School Property Loss
4 29/04/2014 SP Brussels Motor TankerOff Shore Delta State (Lat. 4deg
56.00N, Long. 004deg. 49.00E)3 Fatalities
5 19/05/2014 RCCG Fibre boat Passenger Boat Melkwen Bridge Lagos Island 1 Fatality
6 19/05/2014 PSV Derby/Sirus B (Survey Boat) PSV/Survey Boat Kris Oil Jetty. Kirikiri Property Damage
7 31/05/2014 MT Voyager Motor Tanker Lagos Anchorage Property Damage/ Aground.
INCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT DATABASE
Merchant Shipping Act 2007- Section 360-385 and Section 401 of the MSA 2007
Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency Act 2007 (NIMASA)- Section 44 (1)
Nigerian Ports Authority Act CAP N126 LFN 2004
SECTION 362- APPOINTS THE RECEIVER- NIMASA IS THE DESIGNATED RECEIVER OF WRECKS
SECTION 367- REASONABLE DEADLINE FOR SHIPOWNER TO REMOVE WRECK
SECTION 375- HOW TO REPORT A WRECK – WITHIN 48 HOURS –POST NOTICE AT POLICE STATION OR PUBLISH-FOREIGN VESSEL- REPORT TO CONSULATE
SECTION 378- RECEIVER OF WRECK CAN SELL THE WRECK TO DEFRAY EXPENSES
SECTION 381- RECEIVER OF WRECK HOLDS BALANCE FOR 3 YRS
SECTION 385- IF WRECK IS IN POSSESSION OF NON-OWNER-MAGISTRATE GIVES WARRANT FOR SEARCH AND SEIZURE
NIGERIAN MARITIME ADMINISTRATION AND SAFETY AGENCY
The Agency also has the function of providing search and rescue services to control and prevent marine pollution and to receive and remove wrecks. – Sec 22 (1) NIMASA ACT
SECTION 44(1) OF NIMASA ACT
Section 30 of the Act, the Minister may, by order declare any place in Nigeria, any navigable channel leading into that place to be a port and specify the limits of any such place.
Nairobi International Convention on the Removal of Wrecks 2007- came into force on April 14th 2015
It forms part of a framework of conventions dealing with liability and compensation for maritime casualties including the CLC, IOPC and Bunkers Convention.
NIGERIA IS A PARTY- RATIFED 23RD JULY 2009- NOT YET IN FORCE- MUST BE DOMESTICATED
CERTIFICATE OF INSURANCE ISSUED BY STATE PARTY
ARTICLE 12- SHIPS OF 300 GT MUST HAVE FINANCIAL SECURITY FOR LIABILTY
APPLIES TO ALL SEAGOING VESSELS INCLUDING FIXED OR FLOATING PLATFORMS EXCEPT WHEN SUCH PLATFORMS ARE ENGAGED IN THE EXPLORATION, EXPLOITATION OR PRODUCTION OF SEABED MINERAL RESOURCES.
International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) – domesticated by the MSA 2007
Chapter V- All vessels must be sufficiently & efficiently manned
Nigeria signatory it has been domesticated by the MSA 2007
Determine whether a hazard exists and where it does, the Receiver marks the wreck and informs the Shipowner.
Receiver of Wrecks has the right to take possession of and remove the shipwreck- After Deadline Set
Receiver can sell the wreck and reimburse itself for the expenses incurred. Where the value of the wreck does not cover the expenses, he may recover the balance from the Shipowner.
Shipowner has a right to manage it or dispose the wreck provided it does not become a marine or navigational hazard.
the Shipowner has a right to the balance of the proceeds of the sale
He must ensure that the wreck is removed expeditiously and in a manner consistent with safety and environmental considerations.
Reimburse Receiver of Wreck
NPA
NPA responsible for all wrecks blocking the access channels
NIMASA
Wreck outside the access channels are the responsibility of NIMASA.
Disputes between ship owners and regulators
Dispute over the balance leftover from the proceeds of the sale of the Wreck.
Shipowners may sue to set aside the sale or claim for the proceeds of the sale
Section 374 of the MSA-Report all wrecks to the Receiver of wrecks
Shipowner- give notice stating that he has taken possession of the wreck, describing the marks by which the wreck can be recognized.
Non-shipowner- must take same to the Receiver of wreck.
Receiver of Wreck- within 48 hours of taking over wreck, post at the nearest police station OR publish a description of the wreck and of any marks by which it is distinguished;
Over NGN 100,000- A copy of any description of any wreck will be sent to the secretary of Lloyd’s in London;
Section 379 MSA - The wreck is deemed abandoned when the Shipowner does not come forward to lay a claim on the wreck within one year.
Between 2006 and 2011- 96 shipwrecks have been removed in Nigeria’s territorial waters.
45 wrecks were ear marked for removal in the first phase of the exercise covering Kulak Fisheries area to the Lagos Port Complex by Underwater Engineering Company Nigeria Limited.
4 additional wrecks were identified and accordingly removed.
47 other were removed in other parts of the country’s coastline.
28 wrecks were removed in Port-Harcourt
12 in Calabar
7 in Warri
25Deployment of Wreck Removal Equipment during one
of NIMASA’s wreck removal operationsfie operations
Awarding contracts to private companies to remove the wrecks through the Federal Executive Council
By partially removing the hazardous part of the wreck OR
By removing the full hull structure
Contractor in Lagos- Underwater Engineering Company Nigeria Limited
scrapped and sold at the rate of NGN9,000 (US$45) per tonne to two government approved buyers
AFRICAN STEEL MILLS
FEDERATED STEEL MILLS
NGN3.4 Billion naira
(US$17,000,000)
no cure no pay basis which
continued until 2011
no longer afford to carry on
due to the high cost = Project
Stalled
Some have preservation societies which play a strong role in the removal of the wreck
Some have laws that clearly spell out the rights and responsibilities of each party involved in the removal
USA- United States Abandoned Shipwrecks Act of 1987
UK- the Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 & Merchant Shipping Act of 1979 and the Merchant Shipping (Pollution) Act of 2006
Federal Government Agencies are the only parties that assume responsibilities for the removal of the wrecks
Owners abandon wrecks and seem to be ignorant of the implications of the wrecks on the environment.
Nigeria needs to domesticate and enforce IMO’s Nairobi Convention on wreck removal
Qualifications
The contents herein are meant for the general information of our clients and friends and do not amount to legal advice.
Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun (ACAS-Law) accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage that may arise from
reliance on information contained in this publication.
All enquiries may be made to Funke Agbor at [email protected] or Mojisola Jaiye-Gbenle at mjaiye-gbenle@acas-
law.com.
Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor& Segun by telephone (+234 1 462 2094), fax (+234 01 461 3140)
Copyright© 2013 Adepetun Caxton-Martins Agbor & Segun