By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has taken delivery of brand-new mass transit boats as part of efforts to check opportunities present in the blue economy.
The Director-General of NIMASA, Mr Bashir Jamoh, in his official Twitter handle on Tuesday, said: “We are practising what we preach. Our deliberate policy of NIMASA staff commuting to work by water transport will soon be in effect.”
“The agency’s presence and brand will become ever-dominant in our waters.
“Players, operators and stakeholders will be able to engage with us more directly and with real-time experience and value.
“Glad to announce we have taken delivery of our brand-new mass-transit boats and operations vessels to enable us to fulfil our dual mandates of promoting the Blue Economy and regulating the maritime domain,” he added.
This came after Mr Jamoh announced this at the University of Lagos Institute of Maritime Studies’ maiden Annual Lecture held in Lagos last week.
The lecture, themed From Crude to Blue – Nigeria’s Blue Economy: The Imperative of Maritime Domain Awareness and Good Governance, explored ways the country would tap the many potentials open to it in the Blue Economy.
According to Mr Jamoh, the four newly purchased ferry boats would be arriving in Nigeria before the end of April 2023, and they would be commissioned by the Minister of Transportation, Mr Muazu Jaji Sambo.
Speaking during his lecture, he said, “The agency looked at its sufferings around Apapa axis, we decided to import four ferry vessels for our own staff that is 5-seater.
“These vessels would soon arrive in Nigeria, and before the end of this month, we shall invite the Honorable Minister of Transportation to commission it; for the first time as an agency, we are involved in transportation,” he stated.
Aduragbemi Omiyale 
Modupe Gbadeyanka