| This study investigates and determines certain aspects of section 5 of Decree No. 10 of 1987 on the National Shipping Policy. It deals with the relative cost of construction of comparable vessels in Nigeria and in foreign countries (i.e. USA, U.K. Japan, and S. Korea).; The Nigerian shipping industry has always been saddled with the problems of ship acquisition costs, of where to purchase ships and of the long-term need to resolve ship shortages estimated at 3 million deadweight in the national merchant fleet.; The major thrust of this study is the estimation of new ship construction costs based on a comparative study among the notable shipbuilding nations named above. Basic ship design was utilized in the determination of major ship characteristics permitting the preparation of initial cost estimates. Costs were addressed through cost estimation, the process by which the investment and operating costs of transportation systems are predicted.; Two models were used in the course of this study: The Budget estimate model which evaluates construction costs and the OECD model which gauges the shipbuilding effort in each of the countries studied.; The study determined that the comparable vessel that meets Nigerian shipping requirements is the Handysize/Handymax bulk carrier through a careful analysis of Nigerian shipping characteristics. Significant findings revealed the following construction costs: {dollar}27M (Japan), {dollar}25M (U.K.), {dollar}24M (U.S.), {dollar}22M (S. Korea), and {dollar}15M (Nigeria), and then following shipbuilding effort in Cost/CGT (compensated gross ton), {dollar}2,121 (Japan), 1,964 (U.K.), 1,886 (U.S.), 1,729 (S. Korea), and 1,179 (Nigeria). |
