The Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has called for a Private Public Partnership (PPP) to enable the agency operate its floating dry dock, which is currently located at the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island.
The Head, Cabotage Services, NIMASA, Mr. Victor Egejuru said this on Tuesday in Lagos at the maiden edition of Nigeria Maritime Finance Fair, organized by the Association of Maritime Journalists of Nigeria (AMJON), with the theme: Banks/private sector participation a as a panacea for dearth of investments in the maritime industry.
He maintained that there is a need for the partnership with private sector for the dock to be properly utilized, even as he added that the agency is weighing other options.
"Yes we have a dry dock, but don't forget that NIMASA is a regulator and there is actually no way we can run a dry dock by ourselves. So there is a possibility of getting into a PPP for the dry dock to be fully utilized"
"At present, various options are being weighed by the agency and at the appropriate time you will get to what decision they have taken", he explained.
Egejuru also said that the agency spends over $28,000 training one seafarer abroad under the National Seafarers Development Programme (NSDP), adding that the agency is doing a lot in the area of seafarers training.
Explaining further, he said that NIMASA is having challenges with the programme, especially for those who are being trained at Philippines.
"Seafaring provision of sea time training is very expensive and NIMASA has done a whole lot in this regard. Provision of seafarer training even for one seafarer is not less than $28,000. And so when people shout that nothing is being done, they don't know the pressure NIMASA is also facing"
"NIMASA took this decision not by force, but the agency took up this programme of NSDP. A lot of Nigerians have been trained under this programme, but for certain reasons, we are having challenges with provision of sea time training, especially those that were trained in Philippines"
Egejuru however said that the agency was not comfortable with the nature if sea time training that is been given to Nigerians in Philippines; he added that, that was why most of the cadets were moved out of Philippines.
"Because of the nature of sea time training they give to Nigerian cadets there, NIMASA said no we need them to be properly trained. So most of them have been moved to other institutions away from Philippines like Arab Academy Egypt, and UK and presently there are other universities coming on board especially those in India, there are three universities in India to also offer sea time training"
According to him, NIMASA is making serious arrangements to pay for more than 300 cadets added to the ones they are already paying for.
Meanwhile in his speech, the president of AMJON, Paul Ogbuokiri charged the federal government to provide a single digit development fund for investors.
He also beckoned on the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to extend its current development finance funding to maritime segment of its local content development mandate.
"It should include investors in ship building and repair yards, investors in ship and investors in other needed local capacities building in the sector"
Ogbuokiri also urged NIMASA to commences the disbursement of the Cabbotage Vessel Financing Fund(CVFF) to qualified and competent investors.
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