NIMASA seeks partnership with private investors for running of floating dock yard.

The Director General of the Agency, Dr. Dakuku Peterside made the disclosure at the maiden edition of Maritime Finance Fair held in Lagos yesterday.

Dakuku said that the Agency was only a regulator hence it needed to enter into Public/Private Partnership for efficient running of the dry dock.

The NIMASA  DG was represented at the event by Victor Egejuru, Head Cabotage Services.

He said, “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”

Egejuru also said that the agency spends over $28, 000 training one seafarer abroad adding that the agency is doing a lot in the area of seafarers training.

Explaining further he said that NIMASA is having some certain challenges with the program especially for those who are being trained at Philippine.

“Seafaring provision of sea time training is very expensive and NIMASA has done a whole lot on this regard. Provision of seafarer training even for one seafare is not less then $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 program of NSDP. A lot of Nigerians have now trained under this program but for certain reasons we are having challenges with provision of sea time training especially those that were trained in 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.

“And arrangement are being made at present to make payments for more than 300 seafarers additional to what we already has before. So efforts are being are made .

“But we cannot spend so much money training people outside the shores of Nigeria just to get the best of international standard and when they come back you reduce them to national standard’ he declared.

On the partnership with BOI ,he said, ‘ you cannot talk about capacity building without fund. The funds  will come from other sources including the Bank of Industry (BOI). What we have done is to meet to agree to now have a formal meeting with the representatives of NIMASA and BOI.

“I also  told you the problem we have with CVFF it is not NIMASA, the agency does not have a problem it is the structure of the CVFF. The Act itself which is now being looked into or reviewed by the national assembly,”, he said.