• Applicants Fight for $100Million
• Request Hit $1Billion Mark
Even as indigenous shipowners eagerly await disbursement of the much-expected Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), the four banks that had earlier been designated as primary lending institutions (PLIs) for the exercise are now in receipt of a total of 92 applications from prospective lenders.
These revelations came even as it was confirmed that four banks namely: Skye, Equitorial Trust, Diamond, and Fidelity have finally scaled the hurdles and have been appointed as the lending institutions for CVFF.
Each of Diamond, Skye and Equitorial Banks now have 23 applicants, while 22 shipowners have applied for CVFF through Fidelity Bank, even though altogether, the four banks have only about $100Million to give out as loans as against the whopping $1Billion request that have so far been received from the indigenous shipping companies.
Shipping Position Weekly confirmed also that the $100Million would be pulled together by the trio of: NIMASA, the banks and the benefiting shipping companies in the ratio of 50 per cent, 35 per cent and 15 per cent respectively.
Confirming the development, director general, NIMASA, Mr Temisan Omatseye stated last week that the level of funding that is available to indigenous shipowners is a hindrance to fleet expansion and capacity development. He added that paucity of funds has made shipping business a difficult venture in Nigeria, even as he explained that NIMASA has therefore encouraged access to offshore facilities.
“We have accessed $200Million and it is available to Nigerian shipowners right now, but you know that as a government agency we can not go ahead and support this kind of thing without the approval of the necessary authourities, we are in the process of securing the approval”, he pointed out even as eh quickly added that NIMASA is not guaranteeing the loan and that it is only a pool of fund which will be added to the maritime infrastructural fund.
He also pointed out that the CVFF must not be mistaken for the various offshore facilities and while the CVFF is local initiative for capacity development; the offshore facilities are being worked out to facilitate entry of Nigerian seafarers into the international league.
“Even with all the seafarers training programmes that we have, if we don’t have international flag vessels, the cadets can not obtain their certificate of competency which can only come if you are on board ships that fly international flags”.
According to him, the plan is to place cadets from the Maritime Academy of Nigeria on board these vessels just like the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) is doing right now.
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