This is the kind of path Nigeria needs to tow if she is going to get out of the woods

Ayo Akinfe

[1] Bangladesh has for the first time exported an oceangoing high-speed, multipurpose container vessel to the United Kingdom

[2] Ananda Shipyard and Slipways handed over the ship to its UK buyer, the Enzian Shipping Company at an event held at the InterContinental in Dhaka

[3] This 364 feet long, 54 feet wide and 27 feet deep ship has a 4,130 horsepower engine and can reach speeds of up to 12.5 nautical miles/hour.

[4] Also, the ship, with a capacity of 6,100 deadweight tonnage, was built entirely in Narayanganj's Meghnaghat.

[5] Dr Tariqul Islam, executive director of the Ananda Group, said: “In 2008 we first exported a ship to Denmark and now we have exported to the UK. It is also the first time that the UK has imported a ship from Bangladesh.”

[6] He added: “This vessel can transport any kind of dangerous cargo, except nuclear waste and it is an ice class vessel that can move smoothly, breaking four feet of ice on the ocean. This ship also can run without a captain’s assistance in its engine room for up to 16 hours.”

[7] Bangladesh’s state minister for shipping, Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury, who attended the handover ceremony, said: "Bangladesh today has completed the export of a modern multipurpose container ship to the UK. This is a proud day for us all."

[8] He added: “Under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, the current government attaches great importance to the shipbuilding industry.

[9] Therefore, it has become easy to export ships for the private companies of Bangladesh. This sector will play a big role in the economy of Bangladesh soon.”

[10] Bangladesh has a similar history to Nigeria. They were a former British colony like us, have a large population and have a gross domestic product near about the same as ours. When such economies start building ships and exporting them and we do not even have steelworks, we should realise there is fire on the mountain.