The Nigerian Maritime and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the apex regulatory maritime agency in the country, has said that it will stick to the decision to stop the use of single hull tankers by December 2020
Bashir Jamoh, director-general of NIMASA, said, “Operators still using this type of tanker should make adequate preparation to comply because there will be no going back on this decision.”
“We have discussed the timeline for discontinuing the use of single hull tankers and were given five years to comply with the ban.”
In 2015, NIMASA revised its timetable to phase out single hull following the decision of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to extend its deadline for ban on single hull tankers for certain categories of tankers not engaged in international trade to 31 December 2020.
Additionally, NIMASA has secured the approval for the disbursement of the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund (CVFF). Jamoh said the fine details of the scheme were being considered before commencement of pay-out.
Responding to the shipowners’ concerns about the CVFF, Jamoh stated that the minister of transportation Chibuike Amaechi has approved the disbursement of the fund, meant to assist operators in the acquisition of maritime assets.
