RE-EVALUATING LOCAL CONTENT AND WAIVER PRINCIPLES IN THE NIGERIAN CABOTAGE REGIME: A COMPREHENSIVE ANALYSIS

Abstract

The principal aim of the CABOTAGE Act as deduced from the long title to the Act is the promotion and development of indigenous tonnage, invariably the entrenchment of local content policy. Other objectives of the cabotage policy such as the establishment of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, as well as the restriction of foreign vessels in cabotage trade are geared towards the realisation of that core aim. Furthermore, the literal interpretation of section 3 of the Cabotage Act means no more than a total domestication of cabotage trade in the hands of the citizenry in aspects of full beneficial ownership of vessels, manning responsibilities, build procurement, as well as flag registration to be domiciled in Nigeria. However, the influence of the localisation requirement has been greatly undermined by the waiver provision. This paper examines the impact of the waiver provision on the local content policy initiative and found that it faces some inherent constraints. It therefore makes a number of recommendations and contributions to the existing calls for an amendment to consider a right of first refusal in favour of domestic shipping interests and the optimal development of the indigenous Nigerian Maritime University for the training of Nigerian seafarers.