Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Bashir Jamoh, has reaffirmed the Agency’s commitment to the establishment of a strong and sustainable national fleet, saying the desire for a Nigerian shipping line is gradually being achieved.
Jamoh stated this in Lagos while receiving members of the National Fleet Implementation Committee who paid him a courtesy visit at the Agency’s headquarters. He told the team led by the committee chairman and Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Barr.
Hassan Bello, that the need for a national carrier cannot be overemphasised owing to the enormous economic benefits it offers.
According to him, “There is no better time to have a national carrier and develop the maritime industry than now, when the world is gradually looking away from fossil fuels, which currently form the mainstay of the Nigerian economy, and President Muhammadu Buhari is trying to diversify the economy from oil.
“Nigeria cannot be caught unawares; we need to look at ways of developing our shipping sector, which, from studies, is capable of earning the country even more than oil annually.”
Jamoh stated that the Nigerian maritime sector had the potential to grow by between three and five per cent annually due to the size of the local market, but regretted that this capacity remained mostly untapped.
In his remarks, Bello said the committee was at a critical stage of the national fleet implementation process, stressing that capital injection is required at this juncture to actualise the project.
Speaking in support of the leading position taken by NIMASA in the push for a wholly Nigerian-owned, manned and operated fleet, Aminu Umar and Isaac Jolapamo, both members of the National Fleet Implementation Committee and also prominent shipowners, commended NIMASA for its active role in the fleet implementation process.
