‘Nigeria’s Commercial Shipping Potential, Not Fully Utilised’

A shipping operator,
Alex Egbeka, has said that the huge employment opportunities and the commercial viability that abound in shipping has remained largely under-utilised in Nigeria.
He said that the shipping subsector in Nigeria has the potential of creating employment for young graduates, as well as skilled and untrained youths.
Egbeka, the manager incharge of operations at Hawal Shipping who disclosed this to The Tide in Port Harcourt, posited that the country must begin to consider the need for adequate ship maintenance and repair facilities for it to take advantage of the gains associated with sea transport.
In that regard, he said his shipping line was working to develop a floating dock to take care of the essential services as well as provide employment for Nigerians.
“We are looking at bringing massive floating dock and by the time that dock comes in, life will be a lot easier for Nigerian local ship owners.
“There will be employment for so many young generations because seaway transportation in Nigeria is almost at the point of zero. There is what we call hover transportation which is a kind of sea-bus,” he said.
According to him, the smallest one of that sea bus takes 125 passengers  and the speed is about 45 to 50 kilometrers per hour, and that means a faster movement.