VZCZCXRO2605
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #0384/01 2701431
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261431Z SEP 08
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0195
INFO RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 9847
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH AFB UK
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
RHMCSUU/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEWMFD/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LAGOS 000384 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS USAID FOR NFREEMAN, GBERTOLIN, GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ 
STATE PASS EXIM FOR JRICHTER 
STATE PASS OPIC FOR ZHAN, MSTUCKART, JEDWARDS 
STATE PASS TDA FOR LFITTS, PMARIN 
STATE PASS USTR FOR USTR AGAMA 
DOC FOR 3317/ITA/OA/KBURRESS 
DOC FOR 3310/USFC/OIO/ANESA/DHARRIS 
DOE for GPERSON, CHAYLOCK 
TREASURY FOR DFIELDS, AIERONIMO, RHALL, DPETERS 
TRANSPORTATION FOR KSAMPLE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EWWT EFIS PGOV IZ NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: MARITIME AND SAFETY AGENCY SEEKS TECHNICAL 
ASSISTANCE TO ADDRESS PIRACY, POLLUTION 
 
Sensitive but unclassified-handle accordingly. 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Director General of Nigerian Maritime 
Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), in a July 18 meeting with 
EconOff, requested technical assistance in the areas of personnel 
training and capacity building.  In response to a 2008 International 
Maritime Bureau (IMB) report that ranked Nigeria as the number one 
hotspot for piracy, NIMASA has drawn up a roadmap to address 
maritime security along Nigeria's coastline.  Pollution control and 
the promotion of the indigenous shipping industry constitute two 
priority areas for NIMASA. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) EconOff met with the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Ade 
Dosunmu, who said Nigeria accounts for over 60 percent of the total 
seaborne traffic in volume and value in West Africa.  NIMASA, 
created in 2006 through the merger of the National Maritime 
Authority and Joint Maritime Labor Industrial Council, serves as the 
apex regulatory and promotional body for Nigeria's maritime 
industry. NIMASA's primary functions include regulatory, capacity 
building, promotional, safety and security, and cabotage. On May 27, 
under the designation of the International Maritime Organization, 
NIMASA commissioned the Regional Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre 
(MRCC), a sub-regional search and rescue center covering nine West 
African countries. 
 
Piracy Report Casts Nigeria in Bad Light 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) In May, news media reported that Nigeria had been ranked by 
the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), an arm of the International 
Chamber of Commerce (ICC), as the number one piracy hotspot in the 
world. Piracy in Nigeria is directed against oil company supply 
vessels and fishing trawlers. (Note: Interlocutors stressed to 
EconOff that not all waterborne criminal activities qualify as 
piracy under the parameters set by the International Maritime 
Organization (IMO), an agency of the United Nations tasked with 
shipping safety and environmental issues.  The IMO follows the 
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea which declares 
piracy to be commercially motivated and directed on the high sea. 
The IMB uses a more inclusive definition of piracy that makes no 
distinction between the motivation and location of the waterborne 
attacks.  Under the IMO's stricter definition of piracy, therefore, 
Nigeria is not the number one hotspot. End Note) The Nigerian Navy 
reportedly is not equipped with the right equipment, weapons, and 
vessels to control and react to piracy incidents.  NIMASA and the 
Nigerian Navy hosted an international conference, "Piracy and Armed 
Robbery at Sea: Capacity Building for Effective Maritime Security," 
in late April 2008. 
 
Piracy Threatens Shipping Business Prospects 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) Nigeria's piracy problem poses tremendous commercial costs 
as well as safety and security concerns.  International shipping 
operators told EconOff in previous meetings that the increasing rate 
of piracy and waterborne criminal activities on Nigeria's coastal 
water has resulted in escalating costs given higher insurance 
premiums, compensation packets for expatriate employees, and cost 
for self-help measures to ensure security.  Douglas Berkheiser of 
Maersk Nigeria Limited said, given the huge cost piracy imposes on 
their operation, the company might have to reconsider taking on 
future contracts if the situation goes unaddressed. 
 
Personnel Training, Capacity Building 
Needed to Improve Maritime Security 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) Dr. Ade Dosunmu, Director General of NIMASA, told EconOff on 
July 18, technical training for security personnel is an area in 
 
LAGOS 00000384  002 OF 002 
 
 
need of assistance.  He hopes to have NIMASA personnel attend 
training courses in the U.S. and to participate in site visits or 
exchange programs with its USG counterparts such as the U.S. Coast 
Guard.  Currently NIMASA is collaborating with the Nigerian Navy 
under a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to address maritime 
security issues.  NIMASA is considering the implementation of a 
government-funded ship monitoring network under which vessels 
install tracking devices.  Despite these advances, Dosunmu said 
NIMASA needs more security equipments, vessels, and security 
platforms to carry out its safety and security regulatory function. 
The enactment of a Maritime Security Act is also necessary, Dosunmu 
contended, to define piracy and criminal activities at sea and to 
set up a legal framework for punishment. 
 
Ship Waste Dumping: An Environmental Concern 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) Waste dumping, oily water, and bilge from vessels pose huge 
environment concern all over Nigeria, Dosunmu shared.  While some 
companies are already providing reception facilities to receive and 
process wastes, there is a need to provide more at ports and 
terminals.  Dosunmu said NIMASA has received letters of interest 
from companies wanting to construct offshore reception facilities. 
To counter the problem of waste and raise the profile of the issue, 
NIMASA plans to turn a small unit devoted to environmental issues 
into a full-fledged department in two months.  Dosunmu hopes to 
learn best practices from U.S. agencies dealing with maritime 
pollution control. 
 
NIMASA Funds New Ships for Indigenes 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (U) Dosunmu said the lack of capital constitutes the biggest 
hurdle to developing an internationally competitive, indigenous 
shipping industry.  Shipping operators do not have the capital to 
repair and maintain their old vessels or to acquire new ones.  High 
interest rates prohibit borrowing from the banks, he added.  NIMASA 
has created an intervention fund, with 25 percent of its total 
revenue, to provide financing at single digit interest rates to 
indigenous shipping operators to acquire new vessels.  A second 
financing scheme focuses on providing fund for ship repair and 
maintenance.  NIMASA is currently processing applications and will 
make the first grant within a few months time. 
 
¶8. (U) Comment: Clearly Dr. Dosunmu would welcome collaboration with 
the United States, in particular the U.S. Coast Guard and Department 
of Transportation, in addressing any or all of the issues. A project 
focusing on the management of ship waste dumping would contribute to 
the overall environmental protection effort in Nigeria. End Comment. 
 
 
¶9. (U) This cable has been cleared with Embassy Abuja 
 
BLAIR