NCS urges FG to copy Venezuela on Cabotage, Brazil, Local Content

As the nation’s attemps at promoting greater indigenous capacity in the maritime sector, as well as the oil and gas industry suffer dislocations, the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping (NCS) penultimate Monday urged the Federal Government to emulate the South American countries of Venezuela and Brazil, respectively, in ensuring the success of the Cabotage and the Local Content laws.
Vice-President of the NCS, Mr. Andy Isichie, gave made this call at the opening of a four-day workshop organised by the Chamber in Lagos.
The workshop was titled: Understanding Cabotage and Local Content in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry. “One possible suggestion here would be to look at the Venezuelan example for Cabotage and the Brazilian model for local content,” Isichei said.

The NCS Vice-President said that Venezuela and Brazil had similar developmental history as Nigeria, but the duo had, according to him, taken steps to set their local economies on a more positive direction.
He called for commitment towards learning and having a deeper knowledge of the industry, saying that it would aid Nigeria’s quest to entrench international standards.
“In Brazilian oil and gas, Petrobras, foreign companies are mandated to accommodate locals to understudy and transfer knowledge. This is a model we strongly recommend in Nigeria,” Isichei said.
Also speaking at the workshop, a maritime expert, Dr. Chris Asoluka, said that stakeholders in the maritime sector needed to know the dynamics of shipping and how these dynamics affected them.
Asoluka said that the maritime industry needed to appreciate the importance of the media and cultivate them.