The local maritime industry needs additional funding as the New Shipping Financing Fund (NSFF) will soon be exhausted. Total loans dispensed under the RM1 billion NSFF have reached RM914.2 million. The money was used to buy 58 vessels, of which eight were tankers, nine container ships, nine cargo ships, 20 offshore support vessels, 11 tugboats and one barge. Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Bhd's vice president and head of maritime business development and advisory, Norulhadi Md Sahariff, said the bank provided about RM641 million in loans last year alone because of increased offshore activities and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) requirement that all single-hull tankers be replaced with double-hull.
