Nigeria ministers order $700m ship fund disbursement after 7-month wait
The Nigerian ministry directed the Maritime Administration Agency to accelerate payments for 92 shipowner applications that have been pending since January.
Adegboyega Oyetola, Nigeria's minister of Marine and Blue Economy, has ordered the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to expedite disbursement of the $700 million Cabotage Vessel Financing Fund. This directive came weeks after BusinessDay reported that shipowners remained waiting for their first payout over seven months following an August announcement. The ministry stated on Sunday that NIMASA received 92 applications, with only 20 submitted to its 12 approved Primary Lending Institutions (PLIs). Just one application has been reviewed and returned to NIMASA for approval so far. Established under Nigeria's 2003 Cabotage Act, the fund allows fully Nigerian-owned operators to borrow up to $25 million to acquire or build vessels. The scheme had accumulated capital for over two decades without functioning before being revived in January with an online portal. Shipowners were originally promised a process completion time of no more than 90 days.
