Nigeria to Spend $1.6b on Tugboats, Others

• Nigeria to Spend $1.6b on Tugboats, Others

The maritime industry is projected to spend $1.6 billion on tugboats and other vessels in the next five years.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) Executive Secretary, Simbi Wabote, disclosed this in Lagos. He urged local ship owners to acquire the best vessels that would give them profitability.

According to him, the top five vessels that will be in demand between 2019 and 2023 are tugboats, security patrol vessels, jargon barges and crew boats.

These vessels, he said, should be purchased by indigenous ship owners if they wished to remain in business.

He added that based on data obtained by NCDMB from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) in October, this year, a five-year vessel demand profile for oil and gas operations in the country has been developed.

“These ships account for 66 per cent of marine vessel requirements. Crew boats, security vessels, guiding support vessels account for 49 per cent of vessels that will be in demand over the period of 2019 to 2023.

“Accommodation vessels, supply vessels, anchor handling truck vessels, tug boats and barges will account for 23 per cent of the demand in the oil and gas industry.

According to him, these are ships that should attract the attention of Nigerian ship owners if they want good returns on their investments.