MARITIME INDUSTRY

The Maritime Industry and its Impact on the Economy

The Maritime Industry and its Impact on the Economy

Introduction

The value of Connecticut's maritime economy is nearly $7 billion, according to a report titled “Valuing the Coast: Economic Impacts of Connecticut's Maritime Industry,” released this week by the University of Connecticut at Avery Point. Lead author Robert S. Pomeroy is professor in the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources and a Sea Grant college fisheries extension specialist.

Pomeroy says the goal of the study was to document the significance of the maritime industry to Connecticut's economy. Using the latest available data, from 2010, the analysis utilized seven study sectors classified by the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC) as directly related to the state's maritime industry. These were: commercial fishing; seafood product preparation and packaging; ship building and repairing; boat building; transport by water; scenic and sightseeing transportation and support activities for transportation; and amusement and recreational activities (Fouquin 2008, 47-51).

“Although $7 billion is a healthy number,” Pomeroy says, “we believe the total impact of the state's maritime economy is actually even higher because this study only looked at seven sectors of the economy. One important area not included in the report is Connecticut's growing aquaculture industry, which involves farming fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic plants. The DOC classifies aquaculture as being part of the state's agricultural industry, so those numbers are not reflected in our findings.”

The maritime industry is a key sector of the Nigerian economy, considering the country's status as an oil producing and exporting country. Also, as a consumer nation, the country is a large market for foreign goods owing to its population as a developing nation. The maritime industry is a large employer of labour in various cadres and professions that are needed to run the sector. From highly skilled manpower to medium, semi-skilled, low-skilled and unskilled labours, the sector boasts of a wide range of labour. These are some of the reasons why the sector is critical to the nation's economy as a maritime country bordered by the Atlantic Ocean along its south western region. Stakeholders in the industry gathered recently in Lagos to brainstorm on critical issues impeding the development of the sector and also made far-reaching recommendations on how to move it forward (Roe 2013, 49-50).

They were unanimous in their view that the Cabotage Law, a protectionist policy that seeks to encourage local participation in the maritime industry, has been grossly under implemented. Statistics show that the value of freight in and out of Nigeria is worth some $3 billion. General manager, SIFAX Group, Chinelo Chizea observed that the target of the cabotage law "is for Nigerian carriers to have a share of the $3 billion freight in and out of Nigeria and only 20 per cent it is envisaged will stimulate local economy to the tune of about $600 million gross per annum". The implication of this is that indigenous operators are currently operating below this ...