Effective January 2015, foreign vessels purchased outside the country without local content input from local ship builders would be barred from operating in Nigeria’s territorial waters, Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development Monitoring Board (NCDMB), Engr. Ernest Nwapa, has said.
The new policy, according to Nwapa, is aimed at developing local capacity in line with the local content initiative of the Federal Government.
Nwapa stated this at the $900 million Loadout celebration of the Domestic Supply Obligation (DSO) Meren Gas Gathering Compression Platform (GGCP) and Sonam Non-Associated Gas Well-head Platform projects fabricated by Nigerdock at the Snake Island, Lagos at the weekend.
The new policy, according to Nwapa, became necessary because a number of Nigerian companies have developed the capacity to manufacture high quality vessels that meet international standards.
“From January 2015, companies seeking to buy marine vessels that will be used in the Nigerian territorial waters must submit the Nigerian Content plan for the purchase so that we determine which part of the vessels can be manufactured in Nigeria.
“Any company that fails to abide by this new policy would have such vessel barred from operating in the country,” he said.
He called for increased patronage of local companies by the international oil companies in the execution of their major projects, saying that most of them have demonstrated the ability of Nigerians to provide facilities and skilled manpower required for the execution and delivery of major projects in the marine sector.
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