THE UNSUNG TALES OF PEACE GATE OIL AND GAS.

The past few months has being really a challenging one for so many maritime companies and ship owners especially in Lagos. It is no doubt that the issues arising might be connected to the sensitisation of the banking sector. Most of them as gathered are all debtors of the banks affected by the reform and so some of them had to close down and begin a general redundancy of staff and personnel without notice leading to wide range of unemployment in the industry. A typical example of such company is a new emerging company in the Nigerian maritime industries, the company is PEACE GATE OIL AND GAS located at No 11a Sapara close Victoria Island in Lagos. The owner of the company is said to have borrowed huge amount of money from the bank to acquire 5 vessels. After the acquisition, the vessels where contracted by shell, addax and chevron oil giants. The oil giants have paid all there agreed contract funds amounting to almost the total money he borrowed from the bank. The owner of peace gate started mis-managing funds by purchasing 6 different exotic cars, purchasing of two luxury yachts, a beach bike, water bike and building of a magnificent beach house at the beach site in Lagos. Every Sunday evening this man sails with the yacht to the beach in company of some so called high class ladies. Soon he becomes an icon in the beach to lookout for every weekend.
Meanwhile, due to mis-managing of the vessels, and lack of expertise in the management the contract was revoke by the oil giants because the can not meet up with the standard of the operations. The most common problem the vessels where facing was provision of food, air conditioning system and other minor supplies. Early this year the vessels where off hired and send back to Lagos anchorage. He started dragging this oil companies to court for bridge of contract and continue spending more money on court for almost six months. The cases are being adjourned every week. The story is now different as so many of his fans in the beach have not set eyes on him for the past 1 month. Is not usual, a speed boat operator said.
The most worrisome issue now is that the company has being sealed off by a bank for failure of the company to service there loans. For the past 1 month the office has being operating through blackberry mobile phones. Every thing now bounces back on the crew on-board and the staff as the have not being paid two months salary, no food, water, and other items to be used on-board. The ship is now deteriorating as cockroaches have taking shelter in the dead ships. The crew have no option than to start using kerosene stove on-board which is not a safe practice. All efforts by crew to contact any of the management officials prove abortive. This is the 3rd month now and nothing has being done. So we call on the concern operative like NIMASA (NIGERIAN MARITIME ADMINISTRATIVE AND SAFETY AGENCY) and other agents of government in charge of shipping to come to the aid of this crew on-board. This is just one out of so Many companies facing the same ordeal. It is common for a one man company who does not employ professionals to run the affairs the company. The MD is a clearing and forwarding agent, the GM is a stock broker, the chief accountant is an ex- banker, the safety office is a retired lecturer. For God sake, how can a marine company operate with this novice’s .no port captains and port engineers that are expertise in the business. So many prprofessionalmploy by the company has resign there appointment because the can not fit into that kind of system.
Some time issues like this happen and we Nigerian sailors keep quite because of fear of intimidationnd job security. For how long can we continue to loose our pride and the honour of our flag state Nigeria? The colours are bright. Let’s hoist the sails and cast off all lines. I call on all seamen in this condition to err out their view and let the world know what is happening in the waters for we are pride of the world.