Damen Shipyards delivers NIMASA’S N50 billion floating Dock

FUNSO OLOJO |

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has finally taken delivery of its much- awaited multi-billion dollars floating dock at the Nigerian waters.

The modular floating dockyard measuring 125m by 35m with 3 inbuilt cranes, transformers and a number of ancillary facilities was built by one of the world’s largest ship building firms, Damen of Netherlands and their partners NIRDA.

The delivery of the floating dockyard, reputed to be the fifth biggest in Africa, has obviously become one of the biggest achievements so far of Dakuku-led government agency.

However, officials of NIMASA appear to be keeping sealed lips over the huge shipping infrastructure which cost is put at about N50bn.

Even though, officials of the agency are keeping mum over the incident, they were obviously elated by this landmark achievement which is expected to safe Nigeria scarce foreign exchange which shipowners expend to dry dock their vessels outside the country.

The giant floating dock, whose delivery was done one year behind schedule, is expected to change the narrative in Nigerian shipping industry.

In 2016, Dakuku Peterside, the Director-General of NIMASA and members of the National Assembly Committees oversighting the agency, took a tour of the Damen Shipyard, the company which handled the construction of the floating dockyard in Netherland and Romania.

Members of the National Assembly, some management staff of NIMASA and two classification societies overseeing the modular floating dock in 2016 visited Rotterdam in Netherlands and Galati in Romania to assess the pace and quality of work in line with the contractual agreement.

The arrival of the floating dockyard is expected to boost ship repair capacity and transform Nigeria’s maritime industry, generate wealth and create employment.

The Regional Director for Africa in Damen, Harm Blaauw,said the company is proud to handle this historic project which in his words” is the most modern high tech floating dock globally in recent times with capacity to dry dock several hundreds of vessels per annum”.

Sabi Bar Noy, the Chairman of NIRDA said NIMASA made the right decision by embarking on the floating dock project and that the established positive business case supports the initiative.

NIMASA initiated the project in 2013 but work started in 2014 before it was stagnated. The current leadership of NIMASA revisited the project with renewed vigour given the impact it will have on the industry.