BusinessDay... the voice of business: Maritime gets Oceanic’s funding support

Maritime gets Oceanic’s funding support
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CLIFF ALOZIE-ERONDU on 27 April, 2008 02:00:00
 
Oceanic Bank plc has provided 60 million Euros (N10 billion) to an indigenous
company for procurement of dredgers.
The dredgers will be used to deepen water channels to attract bigger vessels
into the country.
According to the managing director of Oceanic Bank plc Cecelia Ibru, who
disclosed this at a seminar organised in Lagos by IHC Merwede, a Dutch firm
which specialises in building dredging vessels, offshore equipment and other
specialised ships, she said the financial institution hope to invest about 100
million Euros by the end of the year.
To consolidate the bank’s effort in the sector, she explained that the bank
had established a maritime desk in one of its branches and had been financing
purchase of dredgers from the Dutch company.
The chief executive pointed out that the bank had been partnering with the
Commerce Bank of Germany, which makes it easier for importers of dredgers to
bring in their equipment from IHC Merwede.
Ibru, who was represented by the executive director, southern directorate,
Duate Iyabi, said the bank’s shareholders’ fund had grown to N220  billion,
which warranted its appetite for large projects.
She pointed out that opportunities in dredging were quite immense in the Niger
Delta region, which provides a formidable centre for companies involved in
dredging.
“There are increasing opportunities for Nigerians to acquire dredgers both
for the oil companies and for dredging sands’’, Ibru stated.
Although there were fears expressed by the dredging firms in view of
hostilities in the Niger Delta region, she was optimistic that with time,
normalcy would return.