Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has it was not responsible for the sinking of a gunboat in Lagos on Sunday.
The gunboat reportedly in the fleet of Global West Vessels Specialists, was reportedly parked at the Kirikiri Terminal, behind the NIMASA Resource Centre.
Seafarers onboard the adjoining vessels have blamed NIMASA for negligence, saying they had reported the impending disaster to NIMASA for a long time.
However, the Assistant Director, Public Relations of NIMASA, Osagie Edward, said both the boat and the management had remained a subject of litigation.
Edward said the boat in question has been under the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
He said “while this is an unfortunate development, it is important to bring to the attention of all that this vessel under reference here is one of Global West boats that were in service with the Agency years ago. This boat has the name NIMASA-Barugu right from the days of the contract. There are also other boats in this contractual category in Warri.”
He said the agency had made efforts to reactivate some of the boats but was prevented by legal encumbrances.
