Former
Flag Officer Commanding, Naval Training, Rear Admiral Goodwill Ombo (rtd), has
called for the revival of the defunct Nigerian National Shipping Line (NNSL).
Ombo
said in an interview in Lagos that reviving the former national carrier would
help grow the shipping industry and the training of sea cadets.
According
to him, if revived, the defunct national carrier can ensure adequate manpower
development for the future of Nigerian maritime industry.
“The
totality of the maritime industry centres on shipping. If we do not have a
national carrier, there is no way we can grow as a maritime nation.
“So,
the transport minister must focus on bringing back our national carrier if he
wants to grow the maritime industry.
“If
we have our national carrier, we would also be able to make sure that the
manpower that we are training in several institutions across the country and
the world and that are gaining no sea experience, will have the opportunity to
gain the sea experience.
“If
we do not bring back our national carrier, there is no way we can guarantee
that our youths that are coming into the maritime industry will have the
requisite maritime experience to be able to do what they must do.
“They
go through several maritime institutions, they come back home, but there are no
ships for them to beef up practice and experience.
“And
no country will give us their national carriers for our manpower to develop.
“As
a maritime nation, we must bring back our shipping fleet. We must have our own
national carriers.
“That
should be the focus of the (new) minister of transport and a training ship for
our cadets that are undergoing training in various institutions both at home
and abroad.”
Ombo,
who is the Deputy Secretary-General of the Society of Nigerian Mariners (SNM),
also called on the incoming minister to ensure that the transporter, MV HORTEN,
abandoned on the marina waters, was put to productive use.
According
to him, MV HORTEN can be used for the training of 135 sea cadets.
NNSL
was liquidated in 1995.
