NIMASA, firm disagree over sunk multimillion-dollar vessel
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has a dissenting view with Global West Vessels Specialist Limited on the controversy surrounding the sinking of a gunboat belonging to the firm.
While the Managing Director of GWVSL, Winfred Itima, said that the vessel was not in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission but in the possession of NIMASA when the vessel sank, the Director General of the agency, Dr Bashir Jamoh, countered the claim, arguing that it was under the investigation of EFCC when it sank.
Itima admitted that EFCC dragged the company to court over another, a case which it later won, he blamed the sinking of the gunboat on the negligence of NIMASA.
He added that the company spent $30m acquiring six of the boats at $5m each.
It will be recalled that in 2022, a gunboat belonging to GWVSL, sank in the Kirikiri area of Lagos State.
“The vessels are in the custody of NIMASA and not EFCC. GWVSL have a Public Private Partnership contract with NIMASA and the contract is that the company supplies all the vessels and equipment for the operation and after 10y years all the vessels and equipment will belong to the government,” he explained.
Itima said that before the vessel sank, the company had written to NIMASA severally for two years to service the vessels but was not listened to.
“For us to even carry those vessels to dry dock, we have to write to NIMASA for them to give approval for us to take the vessel to dry dock. Because it is in their custody, they have their military officers on board the vessel. They have their guns on the vessels. It was where we tied it up that the vessel went down the waters. I blame NIMASA because we wrote to them severally that the vessel will go down if nothing is done. We started writing these letters since in 2020,” he claimed
He accused NIMASA of not paying the firm since 2015.
“We bought those vessels at $5m each and we bought six of them. We still have five left and one had gone down the waters. We went to court. EFCC took us to court when they were investigating NIMASA. They said that NIMASA paid us more than what we were supposed to collect. So, we went to court for almost five years and we won the case in the process precisely in 2015.
“They did not pay us for almost nine months and we cannot continue. That was what happened. We stopped the contract because they owed us for nine months and we cannot continue. EFCC did not stop the contract. Nobody stopped the contract. We stopped the contract”
Meanwhile, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, said, “Global West was meant to procure vessels with their own money and then operate the vessel in terms of enforcement and providing maritime security. So, after 10 years, they would release the vessel to be owned by NIMASA. But when I came in as DG, I did not have one vessel for maritime patrol and enforcement. So, I told one of the former bosses that I needed to reconcile with Global West so as to be able to utilise the ships.
“I went and met with the then CEO of EFCC and he instantly called the officer in charge of the investigation for an explanation after which he told him of my interest to get the vessels back. So, I sent my legal team and they approached Global West. We both went to EFCC but at some point, EFCC said that there is no way we could reconcile because Global West was saying that we have over $20m that we were supposed to pay them and NIMASA was saying that Global West was the one to refund them. The matter is before the court.”
He claimed this stalled the reconciliation process.
“I reported it to my former minister who advised me to forget about the issue and concentrate on the ‘Deep Blue’ project and that was what I did.
“The issue is not who is in the custody of the vessel but the fact is that the vessel is under investigation and the case is in court. It is the duty of NIMASA to ensure the safety of navigation and no vessel should be allowed to sink but that does not mean that NIMASA would be at sea every day to ensure that ships do not sink. If there is any ship sink, it is the duty of NIMASA to remove it,” Jamoh averred
