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Boat operators under the auspices of the Association of Tourist Boat Operators and Water Transporters of Nigeria have appealed to the National Inland Waterways Authority to prioritise the provision of more safety equipment.

ATBOWATON stressed that adequate life jackets are critical to protecting both passengers and crew.

In a recent statement, the group said this during a courtesy visit by its leadership to the NIWA Abuja Area/Liaison Office.

According to the statement, the visit was to congratulate the Acting Managing Director of NIWA, Umar Girei, and the Area Manager, Abuja Area/Liaison Office, Mrs Aisha Eri, on their recent appointments.

Speaking during the event, the National President of ATBOWATON, Gani Balogun, commended NIWA for its consistent support to operators nationwide.

He particularly acknowledged NIWA’s deliberate focus on the safety of Nigeria’s waterways, with notable impact in the South-West region.

Balogun, however, drew attention to one of the most pressing challenges facing boat operators: “The acute shortage of life jackets.”

He appealed to NIWA to “prioritise the provision of more safety equipment, adequate life jackets are critical to protecting both passengers and crew.”

Balogun further noted that improving the navigability of the nation’s inland waterways would significantly ease pressure on Nigeria’s roads.

According to him, a functional water transport system offers commuters and cargo operators a safer and more efficient alternative to road travel.

In his response, the Acting Managing Director of NIWA, Umar Girei, thanked the union for the visit and assured members that NIWA had already commenced work on many of the concerns raised, noting that interventions were underway well before the delegation’s visit.

Also speaking, the Area Manager, NIWA Abuja Area/Liaison Office, Mrs Aisha Eri, described the visit as a welcome development.

She urged ATBOWATON members to bring their wealth of experience to bear in the FCT, expressing optimism that their expertise would help strengthen water transportation in the region.

Stakeholders have lamented that overregulation and regulatory overlap are affecting operations in the nation’s maritime industry.

The concerns were raised last week at a shipping and maritime webinar themed, ‘Nigeria’s Maritime Compliance Landscape: Balancing Local Requirements and Global Competitiveness.’

Speaking during the webinar organised by Dentons ACAS-Law, a Nigerian commercial law firm, the President of the Shipowners Association of Nigeria, Sunny Ejah, explained that the nation’s maritime sector operates as one of the most regulated sectors of the economy.

Ejah said the problem is not regulation itself but ensuring it drives greater compliance and enhances competitiveness.

According to him, while this is a global business, it has to be carried out safely. “Therefore, regulation itself is not a challenge; the real issue is ensuring that regulation promotes more compliance and competitiveness.”

“As president of SOAN, we have had interactions with stakeholders where these challenges come to bear. I will start with the first one, which is the regulatory overlap; you have a situation where various agencies often exercise oversight functions on the same issue. A typical issue is where you have this government agency coming up with this agenda and the other agency is also handling the same,” Ejah said.

He also highlighted the issue of multiple documentation required to execute an operation, “and these things come at a cost; they are not free. So, at the end of the day, what we have often advocated has always been for greater coordination among these regulators and all that. I have asked if all these agencies can come together as one.”

He mentioned the inability to predict the regulatory processes as another major challenge facing the sector.

“The other challenge has to do with how to predict all these processes; where you can’t predict them it is a huge challenge. At the end of the day, if we are not able to predict the outcome in terms of regulation in Nigeria, it will affect us. Of course, if I am looking forward to partnering with an investor, some of them are looking for certain guiding licences and approvals and all that, and when they are not predictable, it becomes difficult to plan,” he said.

“Another issue is that of international best practices as well. I know as a country we have made commendable progress in implementing some of the international maritime conventions, but then there is a need for us to continually review our local regulations to ensure that as we are playing in this industry, facilitating global trade, we are also encouraging investment and strengthening indigenous capacity while we remain fully aligned with global standards,” Ejah added.

The shipowner emphasised that compliance and competitiveness should not be viewed as opposing factors.

Ejah stated that there should be a close working relationship between industries and regulators, saying, “There has to be this handshake between the two, both the regulators and industries.”

Also speaking, the General Counsel at Oriental Energy, Daniel Sesogbon, maintained that regulatory overlap is not peculiar to the maritime sector.

“Overlapping regulations in the maritime sector are something that is not just in the maritime sector. In the oil and gas sector, we have many levels of regulation; we are possibly overregulated as well. We have a certain number of regulators within the system,” he said.

Sesogbon called for the need for successful shipowners to start handling successful Nigerian offshore projects.

“We need successful Nigerian shipowners to be able to handle successful Nigerian offshore projects. The involvement of the Nigerian Navy, how they interact with commercial operators, is something we need to keep an eye on. To be fair, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency is commercially aware, while the Navy is not commercially aware of the effects of the decisions they take,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Partner and Head of Shipping & Dispute Resolution Practice Group at Dentons ACAS-Law, Chisa Uba, admitted being at an event where someone said that the maritime industry is overregulated and how cumbersome it is for the operators.

According to her, for decades the nation’s maritime industry has been a critical gateway for West African trade; the level of regulations is understandable, stressing that the sector is vast with many different sectors for which the individual laws are tailored.

Uba pointed out that every regulatory oversight and compliance obligation has the potential to affect operations, and perhaps even investors’ confidence, if the effect is negative.

“The main challenges facing stakeholders in the industry are not mainly the number of regulations but achieving an efficient compliance framework while remaining competitive in an increasingly global marketplace. Some of the compliance challenges often reported by stakeholders in the industry include delayed processes, overlapping regulatory functions and uncertainty in regulatory processes. These challenges are not merely compliance issues; they are operational and commercial risks that affect business plans, competitiveness and investments,” Uba said.

She added that the webinar addressed the issues directly by examining the key compliance challenges affecting the Nigerian maritime industry, “the practical implications for operators, and exploring viable practical solutions to promote more efficient complaint procedures.”

The Nigeria Customs Service, Port & Terminal Multiservices Limited Area Command, on Tuesday, held a sensitisation workshop on the deployment of the Electronic Cargo Tracking System at the command’s conference hall.

The Command’s Public Relations Officer, Abdullahi Abubakar, disclosed this in a statement obtained by News Agency of Nigeria

Speaking during the sensitisation programme, the Customs Area Controller in charge of the PTML Command, Nura Miko, a Deputy Controller of Customs, explained that the command has been selected as the second pilot command for the nationwide rollout of the ECTS, “following the successful implementation at Apapa Area Command.”

Miko added that the selection reflects PTML’s strategic importance in national revenue generation and trade facilitation.

“The deployment forms part of the ongoing reform and modernisation agenda of the NCS under the leadership of Comptroller-General of Customs, Adewale Adeniyi, aimed at building a technology-driven, transparent, efficient, and globally competitive 21st Century Customs Service,” Miko stated.

According to him, for years, cargo moving under transire to bonded terminals, between commands, or to Free Trade Zones relied on physical escort by officers.

He highlighted that rising trade volumes have rendered this approach unsustainable, leading to delays, potential vulnerabilities, and significant manpower strain.

Miko stressed that the Electronic Cargo Tracking System will address trade-related challenges and come with multiple benefits.

The CAC emphasised that the cargo tracking system will offer real-time cargo monitoring via GPS from the point of departure to the final destination, providing full visibility and control.

“It will also support the elimination of diversion and leakage, with instant alerts triggered by route deviation, seal tampering, or unauthorised stops,” he added.

Miko pointed out that the system will optimise manpower deployment, freeing officers from escort duties to focus on other core customs functions and enhance revenue assurance through accurate data on cargo movement and full accountability for all movements.

According to him, additional merits of the system include strengthened risk management and compliance, supported by data for intelligence gathering and trader profiling.

On the benefits to stakeholders, Miko said they will also benefit directly through faster clearance and delivery, “with no waiting time for escort teams, which will reduce the cost of doing business due to lower demurrage, fewer delays, and more predictable transit times.”

He stated further that there would be greater transparency and security, as consignments remain tracked and secured throughout their journey under customs control.

“This workshop is therefore convened to engage our stakeholders on the procedures, responsibilities, and expectations under the Electronic Cargo Tracking System regime,” Miko said. “I urge all participants to embrace this change, ask questions, and work with us to ensure a seamless take-off.”

On behalf of the officers and men of the PTML Area Command, he expressed profound appreciation to the Comptroller-General of Customs and the NCS Management Team for their commitment to the digitalisation of Customs processes, as well as to stakeholders for their continued partnership.

Participants at the workshop include customs officers, licensed customs agents, freight forwarding practitioners, terminal operators, and other private sector stakeholders who interface with the NCS.