Nigeria’s apex maritime regulatory organ, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), has introduced new Marine Environment (Sea Protection) Levy for various types of vessels.
A copy of the directive signed by the NIMASA Director-General, Mr. Ziakede Patrick Akpobolokemi, and dated 8th of June, 2012, imposed the following levies: $ 1.25 per gross tonnage on vessels of 100 to 1000 gross tonnage, $ 1.00 per gross tonnage for ships of 1,001 to 10,000 gross tonnage, $ 0.75 per gross tonnage for ships of 10,001 to 100,000 gross tonnage, and $ 0.50 per tonnage for vessels of 100,001 gross tonnage and above.
For Nigerian-registered ships, the rate of the Marine Environment (Sea Protection) Levy is as follows: N500.00 per gross tonnage for ships of 100 to 1000 gross tonnage, N 350. 00 per gross tonnage for vessels of 1,001 to 10,000 gross tonnage, N300.00 per gross tonnage for vessels of 10,001 to 100,000 gross tonnage and N250. 00 per gross tonnage for ships from 100,00 I gross tonnage and above.
The regulation further stated: “The rate of levy payable by an offshore installation and oil pipeline shall be (a) in ‘the case of an offshore oil installation that is producing. Processing, storing, or transferring oil, including buoys used for the loading and/or receiving of oil, NI5,000,000.00 (fifteen million naira) per annum:
“(b) in the case of an offshore oil installation used or constructed for the purposes of exploring for oil, N 10,000,000.00 (ten million naira) for each oil well drilled by that installation;
“(c) In the case of an oil pipeline, N I, 500.00 per cubic metre of pipeline volume from the high water mark to the termination point offshore.”
The Marine Environment (Sea Protection) Levy affects all commercially-operating vessels of l00 gross tonnage and above in Nigerians waters and on oil installations and pipelines.
The Marine Environment (Sea Protection) Levy is charged against ships and is based on the “potential polluter pays” principle.
The levy applies to vessels which are more than 24 metres in length and have onboard more than 10 tonnes of oil in bulk as fuel or cargo.
