The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • NIWA holds conference in Lagos today

    The National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) international conference and exhibition will begin today in Lagos.

    It will end on Thursday.

    The aim of the forum, according to NIWA, is to bring local and international stakeholders together to brainstorm on how the inland waterways infrastructure, including vessels can be improved upon.

    The theme of the conference is ‘Modernising inland waterways infrastructure and vessels for safe and sustainable inland water transportation, and it is expected to draw experts from the International Maritime Organisation(IMO) inland waterways operators, boat operators, marine and dredging companies, ferry services operators, and oil and gas firms, banking institutions.

    States with inland waterways are also expected to participate.

    The conference, NIWA said, is expected to showcase development in the inland waterways sub-sector.

    NIWA’s General Manager Public Relations Mr Tayo Fadile said President Goodluck Jonathan was being  expected as the special guest of honour, Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar is the chief host,while the Managing Director of NIWA Hajiya Inna Maryam Ciroma is the host.

    NIWA, he said, has organised several awareness and safety campaigns in various parts of the country including Niger, Ondo and Lagos states to boost water transportation.

    NIWA, he said, donated more than 1000 life jackets across the country to boost safety i n the sector.

    Fadile said the event was borne out of the need to bring to the knowledge of the local and international community the business potential of the dredged River Niger.

    He said the Federal Government had pumped a lot of money into dredging the River Niger and it was only fit to have it put to a profitable use.

    “The idea is to bring relevant stakeholders together both locally and internationally to brainstorm and examine critically how the nation’s inland waterways infrastructure including vessels can be improved upon. Experts from the international maritime organisation will be part of the conference.

    “Several inland waterways operators including marine and dredging companies, ferry services operators and oil and gas firms have confirmed participation at the conference while several states with inland waterways activities are also billed to participate at the conference,” he said

     

  • Ebola: Customs sensitises over 3,000 at border

    • NPA issues guidelines for port users on virus

    The Comptroller-General,  Nigeria Customs Service  (NCS), Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, has sensitised over 3,000 persons at Seme border on the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD). He urged them to take precautionary measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

    Customs has also limited the movement of commercial motorcyclists at the border from 6.00am to 10.00pm as part of its pro-active measures.

    Speaking at the border security meeting at Seme, Abdullahi, represented by the Area Controller, Willy Egbudin, said though the borders remained open, the Customs and other security agents, were partnering to prevent the desease from spreading further through Seme.

    He urged the Port Health Services to enlighten the people on the symptoms and effect of the contagious disease and how to prevent its spread.

    Many Customs personnel, Port Health Services, Army, Police and Immigration officials attended the event.

    The Customs boss, specifically, told the people to stop eating bush meat and bats to avoid contracting the disease.

    He urged them to maintain a high standard of personal and environmental hygiene, asking them to give information to security agents on suspicious movements and happenings in their areas.

    “The borders are not closed but we are here to sensitise the people on what to do, what to avoid and to stress the need to maintain personal hygiene because of Ebola.

    “Before the outbreak of the Ebola virus, we have been talking about security issues and that has to do with restricting okada movement because in our security meeting, we discovered that some contrabands coming into the country were being carried out through the use of motor cycles.

    He said the service had been receiving reports of suspicious travellers being dispossessed of their valuables by some unscrupulous commercial motorcyclists/tricyclists.

    He said some motorcyclists had also been dispossessed of their motorcycles by criminals who pose as passengers.

    Sadly, some motorcyclists did not live to tell their stories as they were murdered by some presumed normal passengers, he said, adding that investigation has also shown that these nefarious acts and other cross-border crimes were mostly committed in the late hours of the night.

    “In view of the foregoing, the joint border security meeting in partnership with the association of commercial motorcyclists and tricycles, has decided to flag off this pro-active security measure towards national security at Seme border.

    “On this note, operational activities of the two associations at Seme border and its environs will start from 6.00am and end before 10.00pm everyday, for security reasons,” warning that offenders will be arrested and prosecuted.

    Customs and other security operatives around the border, he said, have no option than to take security of the nation serious with the prevailing health and national security challenges.

    “At a time like this, we are all working in synergy to prevent the deadly Ebola virus disease from entering the country through any of our borders.

    “As a nation, we are passing through serious health and security challenges in our development that requires the collective efforts of all citizens,” Abdullahi said.

    Also, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has issued guidelines to its employees and port users on the risks posed by Ebola.

    NPA’s Managing Director, Mallam Habib Abdullahi has, therefore, urged port operators, especially first-line contact officers, against negligence when dealing with foreigners and vulnerable groups, adding that the Nigerian ports are gateways and that they could be vulnerable.

    “We have begun enlightenment campaign at all ports and terminals about the origin, symptoms and mode of transmission of the virus. They are also being taught how to identify people at high risk, diagnose, contain and prevent infection.

    “The medical department of the NPA has equally issued guidelines to all its personnel on protection and prevention measures to be adopted in the discharge of their duties.

    “These precautionary measures to be instilled in the workplace environment and in the port terminals will be carried out in collaboration with the Health, Safety and Environment Division of the authority,” Abdullahi said.

    The NPA boss said the move was in line with the information from the World Health Organisation (WHO). He expressed sympathy to those who had contracted the virus in the course of duties, noting that the NPA would ensure that port facilities were Ebola virus-free.

     

  • Ebola: Customs on red alert at borders

    Ebola: Customs on red alert at borders

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) has placed its officers on red alert at the borders over the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD).

    Some of the borders are in Seme and Idi-Iroko in Lagos State, Saki, (Oyo) and Jibia (Katsina).

    For instance, the Customs Area Controller (CAC), Seme Border, Comptroller Willy Egbudin and his health officers, it was gathered, have met with border protection agencies on how to prevent those  with the disease from entering the country as directed by Customs Comptroller-General (CCG) Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi.

    The CCG, sources said, gave the directive after the pan-African airline ASKY, suspended its flights into Liberia and Sierra Leone. The move also followed the death of one of its passengers from the virus after he landed in Nigeria from Liberia.

    Seme  Customs Public Relations Officer Mr Ernest Olottah said Customs officials were in touch with other agencies to ensure they work in concert to prevent border breach by carriers of EVD.

    The Customs, he said, took the proactive steps in the national interest, adding that the agency also took the step after the United Kingdom reported that a man from Nigeria via Paris was rushed to the hospital with Ebola-related symptoms.

    “Every Customs officer working at the Seme and other borders is on alert, and we have one of the best trained health officers for infectious disease system and they have been deployed to arrest the situation,’’ Olottah said.

    Ebola, he said, is a contagious disease, with 90 per cent mortality rate which deserves everybody’s attention and prevention because there is no treatment for the virus.

    He said: “It has flu-like symptoms and a runny nose, then it develops into a haemorrhagic disease which includes bleeding in the eyes, internal organs and skin hemorrhages.

    “Ebola is transferred between humans via bodily fluids. It could be as simple as wiping a tear off a person’s face or as intimate as the transfer of saliva or semen.”

    Olottah added: “Frighteningly, the virus can still be transferred once a person has died and that is the more reason Customs at border stations cannot go to sleep.

    “As far as we are aware, no Nigerian living in the country is infected by the disease.

    “The Area Controller does not want Ebola to get into an urban hub, such as Lagos because it would be pretty difficult to stop if we fail to act now.”

  • Govt policy affects NPA operations

    The revenue accruing to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has dropped in recent times based on the policies of the Federal Government on cement, rice and other items, The Nation has learnt.

    Findings revealed that the restriction placed by the government on these items and others reduced the revenue base of NPA last year.

    The 2013 ports’performance report of the agency also indicated that market forces were part of factors that limited the activities of the NPA last year.

    A senior official of NPA who does not want his name in print said the research conducted by the agency revealed that each port is being shaped by the market forces dictated by the commodity demand and by the particular port user

    Also, the Assistant General Manager (AGM), Public Affairs, Musa Iliya confirmed that the decline experienced in some products can be linked to general economic factor.

    In dry bulk cargo, he said, there was ban on the importation of cement.

    Iliya also said the increase in rice tariff has reduced the importation   through Nigerian ports, but by smuggling through the land borders.

    Findings revealed that a cargo throughput, excluding crude oil terminals of 76,886,997 million metric tonnes was handled by the ports last year, reflecting a marginal increase of 0.042.6 per cent over the 2012 figure of 76,855,754 metric tonnes.

    A breakdown of the figure showed that container traffic amounted to 1,010,836 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), reflecting a growth of 15.2 per cent over the 877,737 TEUs posted in 2012.

    Also, a total of 291,824 units of vehicles were handled in the period under review, showing an increase of 8.9 per cent over the 268,026 units recorded in 2012.

    Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) shipment handled in the period amounted to 19,341,663 metric tons, a drop of 12.7 per cent from the 22,146,908 mt posted in 2012.

    On the hand, refined petroleum shipment handled was in 2013 was 19,416,043mt, showing an increase of 9.5 per cent over the 17,730,727 mt recorded in the previous year.

    Dry bulk cargo handled at the ports last year was 9,537,447 metric tonnes. There was a decline of 6.5 per cent from the 10,205,339 metric tonnes posted the previous year, even as general cargo handled was 11,964,978 metric tonnes, indicating a 5.8 per cent drop from the 12,702,826 metric tonnes recorded in 2012.

    Last year, investigation revealed that a total of 5,185 oceans-going vessels with a total gross registered tonnage (GRT) of 131,674,337 gross tonnes called at the ports.

    The Lagos Port Complex (LPC) also recorded 34,466,291GRT, reflecting an increase of 9.4 per cent over the 31,513,987 GRT posted in 2012, even as  a total of 1,498 vessels were handled at same facility in 2013.

    While 1,725 ocean-going vessels were handled at the Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIP) last year, the statement added that the port recorded 42,758,161 GRT, which is 23.2 per cent increased over the 34,703,547 GRT of 2012.

  • Navy blames foreigners for sea crimes

    The Nigerian Navy (NN) has blamed foreigners for piracy, illegal bunkering and other sea crimes.

    Speaking while receiving crew members of a visiting British ship, HMS Iron Duke in Lagos, the Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command (WNC), Rear Admiral Sanmi Alade, said NN would take control of the waterways and rid the place of criminals.

    “Given the occurrences at our waters, the NN is set to take complete ownership. A lot of people and nations have interest in our waters for obvious reasons.

    “With the decline of piracy in the Golf of Eden, it would not be wrong to say that most of the elements have left that area and found their way in the Gulf of Guinea, including our waters.

    “Some foreigners have been arrested in our waters for perpetrating illegalities.

    “Most of criminality in our waters is carried out by foreigners and not Nigerians. The era when the navy had challenges of platforms will soon be over because we will take delivery of some ships before the end of the year and command our waterways.

    “We will take full command once again and there will be no need for private security here and there because our water is not private.

    “We have some private security companies registered with the NN, they have a memorandum of understanding with us like the Ocean Marine Company, we allow them operate with their vessels but normally attach our personnel to such vessels.”

    On allegations that multi-national oil firms engage in illegal oil bunkering, Alade said illegal bunkering had not been treated with kid gloves, adding that anyone arrested is being  prosecuted.

    “Piracy and illegality at sea are not beyond us. The responsibility of ensuring the security of the Nigerian maritime domain is that of the Nigerian Navy and we are poised to take total control of the Nigerian waters and rid it of any form of illegalities,” he said.

    Speaking, Commanding Officer, Her Royal Majesty Ship (HMS) Iron Duke, Commander Tom Tredery said the ship came to Nigeria to work and train with the NN.

    His words: “We are looking forward to training and exercising together. The roles of the Navy are to work together and ensure that that freedom and safety is in place.

    “Our range of training includes navigation, engineering, damage control and fire fighting, boarding party and security operations.

    “The security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea are primarily piracy and maritime crime, which is clearly a threat to all countries and not just Nigeria. When there is a crime at sea, it affects every nation because so much of the world’s trade flows by sea.”

  • Fed Govt probes abandoned power equipment at ports

    Fed Govt probes abandoned power equipment at ports

    • Customs releases 248 containers

    The Federal Government has ordered a probe into a multibillion naira abandoned power equipment at the ports, The Nation has learnt.

    It ordered the probe after the Customs released the 248 containers of abandoned equipment to the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo.

    The equipment were abandoned  in Lagos, Onne and other ports across the country. Their abandonment is  believed to have stalled the power projects in over 11 states.

    Some of the equipment were imported in 2003; others arrived in the country about seven years ago.

    Some were to be delivered at projects sites across the country, others were meant for Abo, Nbese substation, Kano Hadejia transmission substation, Oba-Nnewi substation, Danbata substation, Omotosho, Egbin and Aja lines, Akwa Ibom’s 33Kva line, Iganga-Ibora substation, Ikorodu Odogunyan-Sagamu transmission line and Nsukka-Ayangba line.

    It was also gathered that had the equipment been installed, power supply would have improved.

    Receiving the equipment from Customs, Comptroller-General, Alhaji Dikko Abdullahi, who was represented by Zone ‘A’ Coordinator, Mr. Victor Gbemudu, Prof Nebo said he was happy that Customs understood the power challenge.

    “It is my pleasure to address you today. It is a day of joy and gladness at the flag-off of this very critical event on the release of 248 containers of electrical equipment and power installations. These equipment which had been abandoned at various bonded terminals in Lagos, have been held since seven to 11 years ago.

    “We have inspected some of them; we wish to express our most profound gratitude to the Controller-General of Customs, and his staff for making it possible, seeing a day like this,” he said.

    Nebo said the Customs agreed to release the containers to the defunct PHCN, which was represented by the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), noting that the equipment had been paid for.

    Recovering the equipment and installation, according to the minister, was part of the transformation agenda of the Jonathan’s administration in the power sector to maximise resources and minimise waste.

    “These containers could have remained at the ports forever and nobody would have bothered. But we saw the need to recover what rightfully belongs to the Federal Government of Nigeria to the benefit of the general public.

    “We have synergy with the Nigeria Customs Service and we are impressed with the understanding of the Nigerian Customs for their mutual co-operation with the Ministry of Power.

    “We express our profound gratitude to CG for making it possible, the power project was stalled by overstays of these containers, but the Customs service has graciously agreed to release it to the TCN.

    “The containers could have remained here forever and nobody will bat an eyelid, but we saw the need to recover what rightfully belongs to the government of Nigeria and put it to use for the benefit of our people,” he said.

    The minister, who promised to revamp the NIPP projects, said the evacuation of the containers had started.

    He said it was part of the expectations of the government that, by 2020, the country would have the capacity to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity and this would be a huge leap for Nigeria and President Jonathan in the power sector.

  • NIMASA spends over N32b on seafarers’, cadets’ training

    The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA)  has spent over N32 billion  on 3,938 Nigerian seafarers’ and 44 cadets’ sea time training abroad, its Director-General, Patrick Akpobolokemi, has said.

    He told reporters in Lagos that NIMASA spent about N8 million on each trainee, adding that the aims are to stem criminality on our waters as well as end foreign dominance in the industry.

    Akpobolokemi, represented by the Executive Director of Maritime Safety and Shipping Development, Capt Ezekiel Bala Agaba, said NIMASA also trained 1,498 dockworkers in the first-half of the year, to boost cargo handling.

    Sea-time training for seafarers has  become a major challenge since the collapse of the national  line, hence, placing the seafarers aboard vessels has become a priority for NIMASA.

    The Nation learnt that NIMASA is set to float a new national carrier to give the seafarers the training at home and stop the huge amount spent on their training abroad.

    Akpobolokemi said: “Currently, if we decide to go and hire or procure a vessel to train cadets, we are looking at N23 million per year on each cadet, and I am sure you know that NIMASA cannot afford that. We are not funded by the government. It is funded by three per cent of vessels that come to Nigeria, if our trade goes down and vessels don’t come; we don’t earn money, there is no point hiring vessels and over the year we won’t be able to maintain them.

    “This is why we have decided to go a cheaper road by sending the cadets to available vessels all over the world, and the cost goes down from N23 million by owning a vessel, to about N8 million per cadet which is being prudent,” he explained.

    “We are not relenting in our quest to ensure that all beneficiaries of this programme acquire sea-time training, which was a challenge in the past.”w

    Apart from that, the agency has introduced a programme for ratings under which 200 beneficiaries will be sent to the Philippines for training, while another set of 100 beneficiaries will also proceed to Malaysia for training.

  • Free Trade Zone will ease port congestion

    The Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ) will ease importers’ pains at the ports when it begins operation in 2017, its Director of Finance, Kundan Sainani, has said.

    The LFTZ, he said, would provide lasting solution to port congestion.

    Speaking when the Nigeria Shippers Council (NSC) management visited Tolaram Group of Companies, the promoters of LFTZ, Sainani said there was need for new facilities to grow the economy because of port congestion.

    According to him, containerised cargo demand is on the increase and there are capacity constraints at the ports.

    The firm, he said, would invest $1.5 billion in LFTZ.

    The fund is expected to be provided by Tolaram, the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) and the Lagos State Government.

    Sainani said: “By the end of 2017, the port will be operational and together with the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Ports Authority, we are investing $1.5 billion.”

    He said the LFTZ would build a state-of-the-art facility that would be technologically-driven and also provide effective and efficient port operation.

    The multi-purpose port comprises liquid, container and bulk terminals, with 1,500-metre quay-side and 14 metres draught.

    Sainani said:  “Railway facility is important in this kind of project because that is what happens elsewhere in the world, but you are equally aware that it will take a longer time to be completed.”

    The zone, he said, is connected to Lagos and the hinterland, adding that there is the need to expand existing road network to avoid congestion and gridlock on Apapa ports’ access roads.

    The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, called for good roads and rail network in the zone to avoid what stakeholders are facing in Apapa.

    Bello said there was the need for the LFTZ to provide good roads to avoid what is being experienced at the Lagos Ports of Apapa and Tin Can Island, adding that the LFTZ  could address such issues.

  • Oyo govt worried over Container Depot’s ‘neglect’

    Oyo govt worried over Container Depot’s ‘neglect’

    The Oyo State Government has cried out over the neglect of the Inland Container Depot (ICD) in Ibadan, the capital, urging the Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) to ensure its smooth take-off.

    Speaking during a visit to NSC the management in Lagos, the Secretary to the State Government, Lekan Ali said they are not happy that the Ibadan ICD project has been abandoned for too long.

    He said the resuscitation of moribund infrastructure and the establishment of a viable transport network through collaborative efforts with the Shippers’Council will make the ICDs in Ibadan and other parts of the country functional and promote business.

    He identified the absence of a functional rail line connecting the ICDs as one of the major factors impeding the smooth take-off of the project.

    “One thing that is very germane is the issue of the rail which is about 1.5 kilometres from Eremu from where you could have the connection and we have written a long while that the Ministry of Transport should please consider through the Nigeria Railway Corporation the possibility of linking the dry port by rail so that when goods come into the country, they can be transported by rail.

    “We believe this is the time we want to get to that level of industrialisation. To check unemployment and move in many investors as much as possible,” Ali said.

    Replying, the NSC boss, Mr Hassan Bello, said the idea of dry ports was conceived to decongest the port and boost the nation’s economy.

    He however said the delay in the take off of the Ibadan dry port was due to the fact that the Council does not have the legal frame work to establish the dry ports as ports of origin and ports of destination so that cargo can be consigned to the ports.

    “It has not been easy for several reasons chief of which is the argument or gap in the legal frame work. These ports are supposed to be designated and gazetted as port of destination and port of origin. This has been going on because we have been steadfast in pushing and promoting the idea of dry ports. We have been pushing for this to be done. The Minister of Transport set up a committee and the committee has made some recommendation and the Minister has forwarded it to Mr  President.

    “But all pressure is now there and your Governor and other Governors who show concern on this should come together so that this designation would be done,” he said.

  • Residents raise the alarm over port’s bridge

    Residents are worried over the state of Ijora bridge leading to the Apapa Port in Lagos, urging Governor Babatunde Fashola to save it from collapse.

    The bridge, the residents said, is old, adding that it is being stressed by heavy trucks daily.

    The bridge, it was learnt, was constructed by the British colonial masters before independence in 1960.

    A resident, Chief Joseph Abayomi blamed the parking of articulated trucks and tankers on the bridge for its deterioration.

    In 2003, the Nigerian Institute of Structural Engineers (NISE) warned that  the parking of vehicles on the bridge might result in its collapse if left unaddressed.

    To stop the practice, the Lagos State government imposed a N50,000 fine on those who park their vehicles on the bridge.

    But a truck driver Isa Ibrahim said they stay long on the  bridge because of the traffic congestion leading to the ports.

    A resident, Biodun Oludayo, identified some major reasons why the trucks stay long on the bridge, urging Governor Fashola to save it from collapse.

    His words: “The gridlock is as a result of four major factors namely; increase in the volume of business activities at the ports and jetties without corresponding increase in road infrastructure by the Federal Government; lack of holding bays for truck drivers; collapse of Apapa-Oshodi expressway; and the collection of bribe from the truck drivers by security agents,” he said

    He alleged that  Police, Army and other security operatives are milking the truck operators.