Second from left is ex Favour Okwuashi Rector CISN, Dr Princess Vicky Hasstrup and other board of the board of the institute.
Story by Dili Utomi
The governing board of Certified Institute of Shipping of Nigeria (CISN) has glowingly praised the President of the institute, Dr. Princess Vicky Haastrup for single handedly building the Dr. Princess Vicky Haastrup Multipurpose Auditorium from the foundation to completion without any contribution from the institute.
She was also commended for donating millions of naira for the 22nd annual lecture/ graduation, investiture and award ceremony.
The institute therefore sought for her to continue as its president after the expiration of her tenure.
Speaking at the well attended investiture/graduation and awards ceremony, the Rector, Prof Alex Favour Okwuashi praised Princess Haastrup for contributing immensely to the development of the institute.
Okwuashi recalled that when he mentioned her name to the Patron of the institute, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, as the person being considered to be the President, he said that the patron assented to the name without hesitation.
The rector pleaded on behalf of the institute with Princess Haastrup to continue in office as President after the expiration of her term.
Earlier in her welcome address, Princess Haastrup rejoiced with the graduands and their families on the noteworthy academic achievements.
She was optimistic that the graduands will positively impact the various sectors of the Nigerian economy and the challenge the nation faces as they begin another phase in life.
She also conveyed the appreciation of the governing council to both the academic and non-academic staff for their steadfastness to see that the institute competes favourably with its peers.
Delivering the institute’s annual lecture titled, “Securing The Maritime Economy: The Need For Funding And Sustainability Of Infrastructure, Security And Professional Manpower Development”, Prof. Kunle Folarin noted that the changes in dynamics have generated a highly competitive environment in the seaport industry especially between those large ports with facilities to serve regular deep-sea traffic by liners and accommodate additional traffic from other regions.
Prof. Folarin stated that with the continued increase in volume of global sea borne trade, most shipping lines and main line operators seek to achieve economies of scale by the deployment of large capacity deep-sea and most mother vessels to serve their trunk route trade.
He added that presently, Panamax vessels can load up to between 8,000 and 15,000TEUS, with a draught of between 13 to 15.5 metres.
The guest lecturer therefore averred that a deep seaport with natural draught is critical to this development.
Folarin listed key constraints to the development of shipping in Nigeria as
Lack of support/funds from government and commercial banks;
Lack of cargo support from NNPC;
Lack of cargo rights from traffic generated by Nigeria’s international trade;
Lack of patronage by federal and state governments;
Lack of deep draughts to accommodate large volume carrier vessels;
Long distance from fairway buoy/anchorage, Lagos 14; Nautical miles, Warri and Port Harcourt over 57 nautical miles, Calabar over 70 nautical miles from fairway buoy;
Derelict quay walls/aprons; and
Lack of operations port master plan for landlord model and infrastructure development.
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