Kunle Kalejaye 27 May 2016, Sweetcrude, Lagos – The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, has reiterated that only qualified operators in the maritime industry could access the Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund, CVFF.
NIMASA Director General, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, stated this in Abuja.
The CVFF is a product of the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act of 2003 and provides for the disbursement of loans to indigenous operators in the shipping industry to grow their fleet.
The fund is derived from the 2 percent surcharge on all Cabotage contracts which are deducted and warehoused in the CVFF.
Peterside explained that qualified operators would access the fund provided they met the requirements as stipulated in the guidelines.
The NIMASA boss stated that NIMASA plans to safeguard the CVFF from suffering the same fate as the Ship Building and Ship Acquisition Fund, SBSAF.
He vowed that the agency under his leadership would take all necessary precautions to ensure that all national assets under its care, including CVFF, were used for the benefit of all Nigerians.