By Folashade Alli
Following the disbursement of the much awaited Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF) and the controversies surrounding it the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been advised not to give the funds directly to the beneficiaries.
In a chat with a maritime expert recently, Master Mariner; Captain Adewale Ishola, who called for a tripartite arrangement between NIMASA, the ship building companies, and the benefiting ship owner so as to monitor the funds closely and ensure its used for the acquisition of classical vessels.
According to Capt. Ishola, the CVFF fund must be tied to a ship building company, especially those that has docking facilities so that the money is not released directly to the beneficiaries.
“This is necessary so that we don’t fall into the same trap we had with the Ship Building and Acquisition Fund where people bought rust buckets, some people never even bought ships”
“Let there be a concrete agreement between the ship building facility, the ship owner, and NIMASA husbanding everything, NIMASA will approve what kind of vessel they are going to buy or build, this is part of its function, NIMASA has a role to play, its not just to give them free hand to do what they like with the money” he said
Meanwhile, he noted that for the purchase of classical vessels, the master mariner cleared that “We also have to look at one aspect, what type of vessels do the beneficiaries want, we have to know what they intend to buy, in the oil gas sector they use all kinds of vessels, it doesn’t have to be tankers, it can be supply vessels, it can be crew boats, we don’t know what these six companies have applied for” he pointed out.