The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh, has revealed that the newly acquired floating dock by the agency has the potential of generating N1Bn monthly revenue.
Jamoh who made this declaration during a media parley to mark his first 100 days in office said the new floating dock would assist shipowners in terms of repairs.
He said, “NIMASA procured a multibillion floating dock so that it can help the local ship owners repair their ship easily and stop them taking their vessels outside the country to repair.
“This modular floating dock is at the naval dockyard and our intention is to use Public-Private-Partnership arrangement to manage the floating dock.”
According to him, talks had begun between the agency and Nigeria Ports Authority to make sure that floating dock was installed at the continental shipyard.
“We have the agreement of NPA in principle that we are going to move the floating dock into the continental shipyard any moment from now,” he added.
Giving guidelines on how the floating dock would be managed, the NIMASA boss said a technical partner would assist in the management of the facility.
He added that the floating dock would help to generate employment opportunities for students.
This is as the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency have vowed to prosecute some suspected pirates arrested on its waterways.
The Director-General of NIMASA, Bashir Jamoh, made the vow while in an interview with journalists.
He disclosed that 27 pirates had been arrested at the start of the tenure and vowed to prosecute them under the Suppression of Piracy and Other Maritime Offences Act.
Jamoh said, “The Navy and the Police have arrested a total of 27 suspected pirates in the last two months.
READ ALSO: NNPC reconstitutes its Board of Directors
“Our findings have revealed that these criminals work with the cooperation of international allies and that is what makes them sophisticated.
“We ought to bring them down to Lagos any moment from now to file our own case in court.”
He noted that it would send some very good signals to the International Maritime Organisation.
Jamoh expressed his displeasure at the spate of criminality on Nigerian waters and promised to bridge the gap by taking inventory of the needed apparatus to ensure safety on Nigerian waters.
