LAGOS – The Port Consultative Council (PCC), has urged the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) to recycle all broken down ships at the ports.
The Chairman of the council, Chief Kunle Folarin, gave the advice in an interview with newsmen in Lagos.
Folarin said that crashed ships could be a huge source of income because of its increasing demand worldwide.
“If the ships are completely derelict and broken down completely it comes down to the mandate of NIMASA to remove them and probably send them for what we call ship recycling.
“All over the world, people are looking for such ships to recycle because you get as much money in a derelict ship when broken down.
“A ship is sometimes more profitable when it is broken down than when it is working.
“In fact the market for recycling ships is very huge and is the backbone of Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Indian economies.“
He said that government could earn more money from recycling the wrecks.
Folarin said that the recycling of the broken down ships would help stop miscreants from using the wreckage as accommodation in the ship yard.
He also urged the port police to look into the security challenges being faced by terminal operators at the ports.