Expert Urges Action On New National Shipping Line

A maritime expert, Capt Adewale Ishola, has urged the Federal Government to speed up action on the establishment of a new national shipping line.

Ishola, a former President of Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM), made the call in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.

He said that action would assist in the training of Nigerian cadets as well as boost manpower in the maritime sector.

Ishola said that the existence of a national carrier would boost the nation’s economy and also create employment opportunities for Nigerians.

He, however, kicked against the ECOWAS Shipping Line initiative, which he said, would pose a burden on the Nigerian economy.

“My fear is that Nigeria will end up funding everything” Ishola said.

It would be recalled that the Federal Government, earlier in 2011, granted approval to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to establish a new national carrier.

This was coming about 16 years after the liquidation of the first national carrier, Bigeriam National Shipping Line (NNSL).

NNSL, successor, the Nigerian Unity Line, also went under and is currently being offered for sale by the Bureau of Public Enterprises.

A former Minister of Transport, Alhaji Yusuf Suleiman, had justified the need for another national carrier when it said it would redress the problem of low indigenous participation in international shipping business.