As reported earlier this week, NIMASA is calling on the international community to rethink the level of war risk insurance for vessels calling Nigeria. According to the Punch newspaper, the Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has expressed worry over the persisting war-risk insurance on Nigerian bound cargoes, calling for its removal.

Dr. Bashir said – “Since the deployment of the deep blue project assets in February, there has been a steady decline in piracy attacks in the Nigerian waters on a monthly basis. We, therefore, invite the international shipping community to rethink the issue of war risk insurance on cargo bound for our ports. Nigeria has demonstrated enough commitment towards tackling maritime insecurity to avert such premium burden.”

Read the full article here

What is war risk insurance?

It is an insurance policy that provides financial protection to the policyholder against losses from events such as invasions, insurrections, riots, strikes, revolutions, military coups, and terrorism. The premium varies based on the expected stability of the countries to which the vessel will travel.

How does it affect Nigeria’s maritime trade?

Due to the proliferation of piracy, hijacking and invasion affecting cargo coming into Nigerian ports, insurance companies have over time increased the premium being paid by operators in the Nigerian maritime space. The cost of this increasing premium negatively affects the cost of maritime trade in Nigeria.

According to the non-profit Oceans Beyond Piracy’s 2020 report, the total cost of additional war risk area premiums incurred by Nigeria-bound ships transiting the Gulf was $55.5m in 2020 alone.

Thus far, there has been no response from insurers or the international community to this request, but we will follow this story in the coming weeks and months following the official launch of the Deep Blue Project earlier this month (see our coverage here).

At Arete, we offer mitigation services for maritime and offshore clients such as Risk Management Consultants (RMCs) embarked on clients’ vessels and platforms offshore to coordinate Security Patrol Vessel (SPV) activity, undertake incident response & crisis management, train and drill the crews in counter-piracy, as well as provide Security Patrol Vessel (SPV) escorts throughout Nigerian waters.

Email us at info@arete-group.com

Today, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) inaugurates the long-awaited Integrated National Security and Waterways Protection Infrastructure – more commonly known as the Deep Blue project. The project is designed to generate an integrated surveillance and response capability that will bring together coastal surveillance, airborne surveillance, command and control centres, and response vessels. The project will impart a significant uplift to Nigeria’s ability to combat a range of maritime criminal activities including piracy, armed robbery, kidnapping, trafficking of people, smuggling of drugs and other contraband, oil theft, illicit waste dumping, and illegal and unregulated fishing.

This is a positive step for Maritime Security in the region. Mounting pressure from the shipping industry and international maritime organisations have highlighted the parlous state of security in the Gulf of Guinea, as discussed in our most recent #AreteDeepdive. You can read it here

It is anticipated that the Deep Blue Project will be a major elevation in capability and allow Nigeria to mount coordinated interdiction and response operations in support of international shipping and the offshore industry.

However, the Deep Blue Project should not be expected to be a quick fix solution; the security forces will need to adapt their doctrine and make the new operating procedures work effectively and efficiently and this will take time. For the greatest effect, NIMASA may look to integrate the Deep Blue Project into a wider maritime security structure which would ultimately project its advantage beyond its own territorial waters. This however would only be efficient once the capability is fully established and operationally functional from both a physical and doctrinal perspective. #shipping #security #safety #offshore

On May 19, we received reports of robberies around Admiralty Way, Lekki, Lagos State. The reports said there were several persons affected at about 8 pm on May 18, 2021. There have also been growing cases of robberies along Ozumba Mbadiwe, Falomo, and Admiralty way, Lagos.

Due to these reports, we have consulted our in-house security experts and put together tips on how you and your loved ones can stay safe.

Feel free to share with your network. #AreteSOS