Maritime
THE Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN) on Friday said that its members were prepared and capable of sourcing ocean going barges for evacuating cargoes at the Lekki Deep Seaport.
Mr Daniel Eze, Public Relations Officer, BOAN, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that sourcing of the ocean going barges was of essence due to the location of the port and to ensure that cargoes were evacuated seamlessly.
NAN reports that Lekki Deep Sea Port, Nigeria’s first deep seaport, commenced full operations on April 6, 2023.
Eze pointed out that in sourcing the ocean going barges, there should be a political will, an assurance, conviction from the port management and government that if they bring these barges, there would be business for them.
“These ocean going barges cost billions of naira; we cannot just go and get the barges and within one week, month or year, we still have not gotten any movement.
“The barge business is not the same again, business have declined and so if one takes loan, you keep servicing that loan and there is no business, it will affect everyone of us.
“There are instances of the business being hijacked by foreign companies and if this happens, it will affect our investment drastically.
“So, we are asking a guarantee that if members invest in this ocean going barges, they will not regret it,” he said.
He urged the management of the Lekki port to ensure adequate arrangement was made to accommodate such barges due to the location of the port.
He said that making adequate arrangement was of essence as the barge would contain not less than 50 to 100 boxes and we know what that means in terms of operational cost.
He also urged government to ensure that indigenous barge operators are given priority as regard operations at the port.
He noted that the other challenge faced by the association which had to do with double taxation and different agencies demand was being addressed by the minister of transportation.
“The minister of transportation had set up a committee to harmonize the barge operators Standard Operating Procedure (SOP),” he said.
He urged government to open more channels around the 24 states covered by water in Nigeria, as barges could be deployed to move some of these cargoes or even petroleum products.
“There is need to dredge the channels, even in Lagos waterways, like between Apapa to Ikorodu. If you don’t know the channel well, you might be grounded because there are channels that are shallow.
“We are calling on the Federal Government, on regulators, those who are in charge to dredge most of these water channels to do so, to improve barge operations in the country,” he said. (NAN)
T.S
Tags: Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN) Mr Daniel Eze Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
