NIGERIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Adedoyin Afun and Michael Abiiba, Bloomfield LP
owned vessel in favour of the Nigerian flag reg - istration for the duration of the bareboat charter. Where a foreign-owned and bareboat-chartered vessel is to engage in cabotage operations with - in Nigerian waters, it is required to be registered under the Special Register for Cabotage (Bare - boat-Chartered Vessel). Further to the Coastal and Inland Shipping Cabotage (Bareboat Regis - tration) Regulations 2006, eligibility for the Spe - cial Register for Cabotage (Bareboat-Chartered Vessel) requires (i) the vessel to be bareboat- chartered to Nigerian citizens and to be under the full control and management of Nigerian citizens or a company, wholly and beneficially owned by Nigerian citizens, where all the shares in the company are held by Nigerian citizens, free from any trust or obligation in favour of any person not a citizen of Nigeria, and (ii) the bareboat-charter period must be for at least five years. By virtue of Section 34(1) of the NIMASA Act, small vessels, including fishing vessels, which are wholly or partly owned by Nigerian citizens and foreigners who are resident in Nigeria, are registrable under the Nigerian flag. Whilst the MSA requires the Registrar of Ships to keep a register for ships that are under construc - tion in Nigeria, only a fully constructed vessel can be registered under the Nigerian flag as a Nigerian ship. 1.5 Temporary Registration of Vessels The MSA permits the issuance of Provisional Certificates of Registry for provisional registra - tion of vessels under the Nigerian flag. Thereto, vessels that are (i) located in a foreign country and owned by persons eligible to register a ves - sel under the Nigerian flag, and (ii) to be regis - tered under the Nigerian flag, are issued Provi -
sional Certificates of Registry to sail the vessels to Nigeria. A Provisional Certificate of Registry is valid for six months or until arrival of the vessel at a Nigerian port, whichever is earlier. In other circumstances, Provisional Certificates of Registry are issued to vessels that are within Nigerian waters and owned by persons eligible to register a vessel under the Nigerian flag, but who have yet to fulfil the requirements for per - manent registration and the issuance of a Cer - tificate of Nigerian Registry. Nigerian law does not permit dual registration of vessels and a vessel can only fly the flag of only one country per time. As such, where a vessel is registered under a foreign flag, (i) a deletion certificate, from the foreign flag, is required for temporary or permanent registration under the Nigerian flag, or (ii) a suspension certificate is required, from the foreign flag, for the duration of the bareboat charter, for the registration of a foreign bareboat-chartered vessel under the Nigerian flag. 1.6 Registration of Mortgages Nigerian Mortgages The Registrar of Ships (in the NSRO) is respon - sible for the registration of mortgages on Nige - rian-registered ships. Where the mortgagor is a Nigerian-registered company, the ship mortgage is also required to be registered with the Corpo - rate Affairs Commission (CAC). For the registration of a ship mortgage with the NSRO, the required documents include: • the NSRO’s consent to a mortgage; • a formal letter of application by the ship- owner or their authorised representative – in practice, the mortgagor would have granted a power of attorney to the mortgagee’s solici -
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