STAKEHOLDERS EULOGISE MV OSAYAME AT ONE

Top players in the Nigerian maritime, oil and gas sectors converged on Port Harcourt, Rivers state last Friday to celebrate one year of successful operations of MV Osayame; an indigenous oil service boat owned by Starzs Investment Company Limited.
Kick- starting the flood gate of encomiums, General Manager, National Petroleum Investments Management Services (NAPIMS), Mr Morrison Fiddi described the successful completion of one year operation of supply ship MV Osayame with zero down time and zero loss time injury (LTI) as a testimony that Nigeria-owned businesses can deliver if given the opportunity.
Morrison, who spoke at the anniversary celebrations which held at the expansive Starzs Shipyard in Port Harcourt through an official of NAPIMS, Engr Lamim Ibrahim, described the feat achieved by the purpose-built vessel as a rare feat in the oil and gas industry worldwide, stressing that the vessel owner, Starzs Investments Co Ltd, has shown that “by this singular act of investing in vessels, it will prove to the international oil companies that Nigerians have all it takes to participate in the various activities in the oil and gas industry”.
According to him, NAPIMS is ready and willing to support any indigenous company
that demonstrates commitment to invest in growing local content in the maritime industry.
Speaking earlier, the Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and
Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr Ernest Nwapa applauded Total Exploration and
Production Company for giving Starzs Investments the opportunity to prove their
capacity to deliver long before the Cabotage regime was signed into law.
Nwapa, who was represented by Engr Taiwo Elegba said Total Exploration and
Production “demonstrated courageous commitment to the pursuit of national
aspirations”, noting that the development was a fulfillment for NCDMD’s quest
for transformation of the oil and gas industry in order to create job opportunities for Nigerians.
He however expressed regrets that some oil companies operating in Nigeria still
look for unacceptable reasons to import certain goods and services from abroad.

“Every day, the board is inundated with excuses to allow them import goods and
services from abroad. The board will continue to drive collaborative efforts to
demonstrate that we must bring Nigerian jobs back home. We cannot employ our
youths by exporting our jobs to other economies. We cannot attract investments
to build facilities to grow national productivity if we do not patronize local
yards and insist on domiciling work. We must insist on indigenous ownership of
our floating assets to ensure that on a sustainable basis, there is sufficient capacity to guarantee our sovereign interests as an independent nation”.
Speaking in similar vein, the Director General, NIMASA, Mr Patrick Akpobolokemi, commended the chief executive of Starzs Investments, Mr Greg Ogbeifun for creating employment opportunities for Nigerians, urging other maritime players to take a cue from Starzs by exploiting the vast potentials in Nigeria’s maritime industry.

Expressing satisfaction with the relationship between Total E&P and Starzs
Investments, the Deputy Managing Director, Port Harcourt District of Total, Mr
Denis Berthelot assured that the contract with Starzs Investments will be extended and expanded following satisfactory performance of MV Osayame in offering high level technical and logistics support to Total Exploration and Production off-shore.
The high-point of the ceremony was the presentation of different categories of
gifts to the crew of MV Osayame by the chairman of Starzs Investments Co Ltd, Mr Greg Ogbeifun in appreciation of their commitment.
The 22 crew members received gifts ranging from home theater systems, refrigerators, deep freezers, LCD TVs. The Captain, Charles Orighoye and the Chief Engineer, Francis Oboh each received keys to brand new cars to their amazement.