NIMASA applauds FUPRE for designing, building speedboat

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) yesterday commended the Federal University of Petroleum Resources Effurun (FUPRE), Delta State for designing and building a 14-seater luxury boat.

NIMASA applauded the Centre for Maritime and Offshore Studies for building the boat in collaboration with the Marine Engineering Department of FUPRE.

The boat, which was test-run at the Tunde Smith Jetty in Warri received accolades from NIMASA officials who were on ground to assess its performance.

Director of the Centre for Marine and Offshore Studies, Dr. Jasper Agbakwuru, said students of the university built the boat from the scratch under his supervision.

He said, “In 2018 three students mooted the idea and designed the boat on their own, so the department decided to work further on it and brought in more students. They stated the project from scratch.

“We developed it and got funds from some sponsors and we decided to go into this. It has been a hectic journey. The students have been very consistent, working day and night to deliver this.”

He added that the boat was designed basically for comfort and that its unique features included comfortable seats, ports for passengers to charge their phones, anti-listing capacity, and safety gadgets, among others.

Vice-Chancellor of FUPRE, Prof. Aki Ibhadodeh, who was at the Jetty to unveil the boat, said his vision was to see the boat being mass-produced for the Nigerian and global markets under the FUPRE brand in the near future.

He disclosed that FUPRE was also developing light weight vehicles and engines, which he hoped would soon go into the market and make life easier for Nigerians.

“I appreciate the students for their commitment and providing the intellectual resources into this project. It is a thing of pride and my vision for this is that in future it will blossom into something bigger.

A representative of NIMASA, Engr. Femowei Abel, appraised the university’s enthusiasm in the planning and developing the boat, noting that the development has the potential of improving the maritime sector.

He urged good-spirited Nigerians and firms to assist FUPRE in funding such projects so as to have enough capacity to mass-produce comfortable and safe speedboats.