Coming on the heels of a story published in the Monday edition of Shipping Position Daily on the imminent phasing out of single hull tankers by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by 2015, seafarers operating on Nigerian waters have called on government to make use of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to re-fleet the nation’s bottoms.
Coming on the heels of a story published in the Monday edition of Shipping Position Daily on the imminent phasing out of single hull tankers by the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) by 2015, seafarers operating on Nigerian waters have called on government to make use of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) to re-fleet the nation’s bottoms.
The CVFF fund which is domiciled at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has accrued into billions of Naira over the years, a situation that has made seafarers to persistently call on NIMASA to utilize the money for the benefit of indigenous fleet expansion.
Making a renewed call for the Federal Government to investigate the delay in the disbursement if the CVFF, a seafarer and Chairman of boat operators in Apapa, Lagos; Comrade Owolabi Omotayo in a chat with Shipping Position Daily yesterday, called on NIMASA to use the money to empower some indigenous downstream sector players, in order to acquire the double hull tankers and share in the gains of carrying Nigeria's crude.
According to him, since the IMO has released its register on how single hull vessels will be phased out of operations in 2015; the Federal Government should inject the CVFF funds into the sector so as to keep more vessels on the nation’s flag.
He said that more jobs will be created for seafarers if NIMASA releases the money for the purpose it was meant.
"NIMASA should use the CVFF or whatever funds available to revitalize the shipping sector in Nigeria, the funds should not be released to be embezzled, they should acquire vessel and put a template for the ship owners to pay back the money", he stated.
Comrade Owolabi said that by 2015, it is only if Nigerian ship owners have double hull tankers that they will be able to qualify to operate on international waters and thereby create jobs for more seafarers.
He cautioned NIMASA on establishing a national carrier, saying that in order to avoid past mistakes, the idea should be private sector driven.
Investigations by our correspondent had revealed that 90 percent of the petroleum tankers on Nigerian waters are single hull and by next year they will be phased out.
According to the IMO, the new phase-out timetable sets 2015 as the principal cut-off date for all single-hull tankers.
However, the flag state administration; NIMASA may allow for some newer single hull ships registered in the country to continue trading within the country's territorial waters, but such vessels cannot go on international voyages.
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