NIMASA renews efforts to deploy N50b floating dock

The Managing Director, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dayo Mobereola has assured that the agency is currently working on putting the N50 billion modular floating dock to very good use.

The floating dock, which has the capacity to handle about 10,000 Metric Tons vessels, has been idle since its delivery to the agency in July 2018.

Mobereola, who spoke during in a chart with the media in Lagos, said the management team visited the site of the floating dock last Thursday at the Continental Shipyard, Apapa, as part of the efforts to put the facility into good use.

He said: “The initial plan for the floating dock was not the right one. We are going to put the Modular Floating Dock to very good use so that once it’s in operation; it will benefit the economy, seafarers, and NIMASA itself. We need to place the modular floating dock in an appropriate location. It is just a matter of time; we will soon get that done.”

On the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF), Mobereola said the fund is with the Federal Government and it’s intact.

The fund was established in 2003 to support indigenous shipowners in acquisition of vessels and grow local capacity within the sector. However, the CVFF has remained a bone of contention with various administrations, as the fund is yet to be disbursed by the Federal Government, about 21 years after.

He said his administration is working relentlessly to ensure that the fund is disbursed soon, and in the right manner.