Paul Ogbuokiri
11 November 2009
Acquisition of vessels for the prosecution of Nigeria's over $5 billion Cabotage trade has come under serious threat as a brand new tug vessel belonging to a Nigerian shipping company, Starzs Investment limited has reportedly been detained in a South African Shipyard, Damen.
The vessel MV Osayame is registered under the Nigerian flag and is built by the South African Shipyard.
It was disclosed that the vessel and its crew is now stranded in Cape Town South Africa because First Bank of Nigeria Plc, the financiers of the vessel's acquisition reneged in paying the last installment of the total sum after it had paid five installments of the over $11.6 million (about N2.0 million) tug vessel
The 3211 ASD tug vessel had earlier been scheduled for official commissioning in Onne, Rivers State, on October 30, 2009.
The ceremony was said to have hurriedly been called off by Starzs Investment when the vessel failed to arrive Nigeria from South Africa on the scheduled date.
Chairman of Starzs Investments, Engineer Greg Ogbeifun, is said to have held series of meetings with officials of the bank to resolve the deadlock to no avail; prompting him to send a Save-Our-Soul letter to the National Assembly, titled: SOS - Ni geria Retistered Vessel MV Osayeme and crew stranded in Cape Town, South Africa. The letter with reference number SICL/HCOMT/NA/09/10/001 dated October 29, 2009 was addressed to both the Chairperson, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, Senator Gbemi Saraki; and her counterpart in the House of Representatives chamber, Mr. Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.
The letter reads in parts:"You would recall from our invitation to you earlier that this vessel was to be commissioned on October 30, 2009 in Onne, Rivers State. This is not to be because First Bank of Nigeria which was financing the construction of the vessel suddenly stopped the financing after paying five installments to the Shipbuilding Company Damen, citing the recent Central Bank of Nigeria actions as their reason. Nevertheless, in view of our good relationship with Damen Shipyard they went ahead and concluded construction and actually delivered the vessel to us in Cape Town on October 9, 2009 in a colourful ceremony attended by top NNPC, NCD, Total representatives from Nigeria, Holland, France and the Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa who was represented by his Defense Attache.
Ogbeifun disclosed that the vessel meant to service a five-year contract the company have with Total, which should have commenced on November 1, 2009. Damen Shipyard, after the delivery ceremony decided they will not let the vessel sail until they receive their outstanding payments.
He said the total outstanding payment due to Damen was €2,665,250 (about N500 million) and an additional $1,373,142 (about N200 million) to cater for the exportation from South Africa to Nigeria, insurances and other miscellaneous costs.
Ogbeifun, who pleaded passionately for the lawmakers' intervention in ensuring prompt settlement of the outstanding sums to the South African shipyard, said that his company is a 100 per cent Nigerian company with full indigenous ownership, while all the crew members are also Nigerians in compliance with the Coastal and Inland Shipping Act of 2003.
Meanwhile, First Bank, which is touted as Nigeria's biggest bank, last Tuesday revealed that, as at last September, it had non-performing loans of about N75 billion.
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