Maritime stakeholders seek more shipyards

THE planning committee Chairman of 2015 Nigeria Maritime Expo (NIMAREX), Prince Ayorinde Adedoyin has advised the Federal Government to establish more shipyards as part of measures to tackle unemployment.

According to Adedoyin, the establishment of more shipyards in Nigeria would solve the problem of unemployment because of the large workforce required for operations by shipyards.

He said Nigeria could adopt the Brazilian example, which, according to him, required ships meant for long-term contracts to be built in the country. 

Speaking in Lagos, Adodoyin said: “Let me use Brazil as an example. The law says categorically that any vessel that would do a long-term contract in Brazil must be built in Brazil. See how many shipyards in the world that ran to Brazil to go and set up shipyards. See how many thousands of jobs that they’ve created.”

He added: “Why do we find it very difficult to enforce the law that we have written? If we enforce it, it would be beneficial to us. If there is a shipyard, you will have direct workers. You will have suppliers. You have suppliers to supply. You would have food vendors. See the chain”

Adedoyin explain that shipyards would offer jobs to maintenance engineers, spare-parts dealers and several other industry players.

Emphasising need for the enforcement of the Nigerian Cabotage Law, Adedoyin explained that many trained seafarers were jobless due to lack of vessels in which they could work.

On the plight of Nigerian ship owners, he lamented that the average ship owner in the country had been reduced to begging for jobs that are theirs by right.

He explained that the 2015 edition of  NIMAREX would focus on trade promotion and on issues that would impact on industry operators.

Adedoyin said: “To the best of my knowledge, I think to some certain extent, NIMAREX has been an eye-opener to people in the industry.

“NIMAREX has been able to actually get the government attention to look at the possibilities in the maritime industry and also to educate the public on the possibilities.

“NIMAREX has done very well, but we can’t say is 100 per cent yet and that is why we are looking at other avenues.

“That’s why we are trying to concentrate more on trade than on policies and things like that.

“We are trying to make sure that we refocus on things that will impact on the industry people very well in this 2015 NIMAREX,” he said.

Adedoyin, however, said that issues of finance and proliferation of industry regulators were posing a challenge to the development of the maritime sector.

“The thing about this industry is that when you have so many regulators, is always very difficult to put everybody together or all the organisations together to actually make them understand what the problems are.

“The major problem we have is funding. Even when you tell people to go and get contract, when they get the contract, they will need equipment to do the contract and to get the equipment, you will need money.

“And that is why I said this year, NIMAREX is going to focus more on trade, in the sense that we are looking at the possibility of getting people with funds to meet with people who need the funds.

“We are trying to get people who have equipment to meet with people who need the equipment,” he added