The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has paid the sum of N13.5billion as wharfage charges for a floating dock, which it acquired three years ago, investigation by Daily Trust on Sunday has revealed Wharfage is the fee charged to cover the cost of using a wharf. It includes…
EromoseleAbiodun writes that the N50 billion modular floating dockyard acquired by Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency to put an end to the huge cost of dry-docking outside the country has generated more controversy than the purpose for which it was acquired
To ensure seaworthiness of the ships, most ships are required to be dry docked twice every five years. Some ships may have dry-docking postponed or the intermediate dry-docking waived by performing an underwater inspection in Lieu of dry-docking.
Dry-docking a ship is a complex task. The ship weighs a lot and the weight must be spread evenly to the dock. While a ship is floating the pressure holding the ship afloat is spread throughout the entire underwater hull. While in dry dock the load is spread among wood blocks. There are also interferences such as transducers and irregularities such as flare at the bow. In order to dry dock the ship the dock master must be aware of the characteristics of the ship’s bottom