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THE NATION WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 18, 2013
MARITIME
Badagry under ocean threat, says monarch • Illegal dredgers’activities cited
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HE Akran of Badagry, an ancient city in Lagos, De Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi 1,has raised the alarm over the threat of the Atlantic Ocean to his domain. He blamed illegal dredgers for the ocean threat, warning that if their activities along the creeks were not checked it would spell disaster for Badagry. He spoke at the Seventh National Dredging Summit and Exhibition in Badagry. He said unlawful dredging was impacting negatively on the environment, citing two peninsula communities in Badagry - Ajido and Okogbado – where illegal dredgers activities have reduced the distance between the sea and the communities to about 50 metres. The monarch also decried the activities of sand miners whose jobs, he said, were also threatening some parts of the Mile 2-Badagry Expressway, noting that such activities have formed artificial lakes. When such artificial lakes are formed, they (sand miners) will abandon there and relocate to another area. He cited an area where sand mining has created a big gully that is threatening to break a major road into two. If these illegal activities are allowed to continue unchecked, he said, the proposed road construc-
Stories by Emeka Ugwuanyi, Asst. Editor
tion from Takwa Bay to Badagry might be stalled. He praised the Lagos State Government for its intervention in fighting illegal dredging and surface mining. He said Governor Babatunde Fashola visited the areas and directed that the activities be stopped, warning that whoever is caught would be jailed. Besides keeping security personnel to watch out for offenders, he said helicopters also conduct aerial survey from time to time, adding that he gave approval to legitimate dredging firms to provide sand to meet the needs of the people of Badagry. According to him, there are legal dredgers on the stretch from Topo to Marina, that pump sand from the river to serve the needs of the people as a measure to discourage illegal dredging. He noted that if not for the efforts of the Lagos State government in controlling the activities of illegal dredgers that part of the state might have sunk by now. The summit Coordinator, Mr Edmund Chilaka, said the programme was a yearly gathering of dredging, maritime and marine sector operators and stakeholders to deliberate on the state of the
• Mrs Gunwa (left), Mr. Chilaka and Assistant Director, Nigerian Institute for Oceanography, Dr Regina Folorunsho at the summit.
• De Wheno Aholu Menu Toyi 1
industry to improve services, expanding the knowledge base of practitioners and contributing to the growth of indigenous operators. He stressed the need for improvement and development of
Shippers, terminal operators resolve feud over service quality
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HE Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has resolved the dispute between the Lagos Shippers’Association (LSA) and operators at Tin Can Island Container Terminal (TICT) over the quality of service at TICT. The parties resolved that, henceforth, all fast-track containers should be delivered direct; rent on containers to begin after vessel has sailed and container identified; constant interaction between shippers and terminal operators. The council’s intervention followed the shippers’complaint that the terminal operators were not providing quality service. Some of their complaints included “undue delay” in examination of goods; upfront payment of storage charges and delay in positioning containers for examination. Others include transfer of containers to off-dock terminals without shippers’consent, transfer of containers to off-dock terminals without prior notice, causing delay in the delivery process, and N10,000 as charge for issuance of identification cards to agents. Speaking at the meeting, the Council’s Executive Secretary Mr Hassan Bello, urged the parties to comply with the law or be sanctioned by the Shippers Council. He said: “ It is all about the law, the law establishing this Council gives it power to weild the big stick, but we are not doing that now, we want the operators to use their tongues to count their teeth. But if things continue like this af-
• Bello By Emeka Ugwuanyi and John Austin Unachukwu
ter this meeting, we shall invoke the provisions of the law and the economy will be better for it. “This meeting is in continuation of our statutory role to intervene in areas of tariffs and other impediments of trade in the country. We have been engaging terminal operators severally on these issues. We have specific complaints from shippers and other users of the ports about issues which we are discussing now. “The Tin Island Terminal Company Limited is one of the concessionaires and we have the shippers complaining about examination period spanning seven to nine days even after payment of invoice. “The second complaint is that
physical examination takes four to five days for positioning of containers for customs examination. Also, we have the problem of transfer of containers to off dock terminals without shippers consent. Containers stationed for ports clearance transferred to offdock terminals without notice, making delivery impossible as at when due. “The purpose of this meeting is to find solution to these and other problems and that is how we are going to approach it. For every terminal we have problems, we are going to summon, because not all the terminals are like this, we will discuss all these issues and issue appropriate directives towards the resolution of the issues.” Contacted, the Council’s Deputy Director, Public Relations, Ignatius Nweke, said the meeting was convened at the Council’s instance to ensure smooth operations at the ports and cordial relationship among importers, operators and other stakeholders. Nweke said: “The Shippers’ Council is here to protect the interest of shippers. We got complaint from Lagos Shippers from TICT. They complained about the unsatisfactory quality of services from the operators of the terminal. The complaints include unwarranted period spent on stacking of containers for inspection, and the delay, which consequently result in more demurrage. “In view of this, we decided to bring together the Lagos shippers and the TICT operators, to sort out the differences.”
indigenous dredging firms, saying that most of them are not properly managed and lack the right calibre of personnel. Chilaka said: “The observation over the years is that Nigerian dredging outfits managed by Nigerians are constantly run as one-man family ventures, which struggle from project to the next in spasms of neither poverty nor affluence, with staff salaries and debts to service providers not regularly paid, while the managing director or chairman is busy flying from Europe to America usually with the first advance payment. “You constantly find that in many of these companies, essential staff like accountants, clerical officers, site engineers and supervisors are not officially employed. Rather the owners would deploy family members to man these and any position at will.” The Nigerian Maritime Adminis-
tration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) Executive Director, Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr Nwabueze Calistus Obi, represented by the Head of Department, Maritime Labour Services, Mrs. Juliana Gunwa, stressed the importance of dredging to the maritime sector and the economy. She said: “Dredging is used for port developments all over the world because it enhances shipping routes and depth of water for vessels to avoid grounding and accidents. It is also serves as a big source of employer for both skilled and unskilled workers. It boosts import and export trade, and used to shorten navigational distances for ships, thereby saving cost and time for ship owners as in Panama Canal, Kiel Canal and Suez Canal, just to mention a few, for without dredging activities, this could have been very difficult to achieve.”
Policies that will shape maritime coming
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HE policies that will boost the ongoing port reforms are on the way and expected to be passed into law before end of this year or early next year, it was learnt. According to reports from Who’s Who Legal, the policies will enhance the progressive activities in development of the Greenfield deep seaports, and other projects that will make the ports better. The report said: “There is some legislation, expected to be enacted into law in the coming year that should impact positively on the maritime industry. They include the Petroleum Industry Bill, Ports and Harbours Bill, and Customs, National Transport Commission Bill, and Exercise Management Bill, among others.” Petroleum Industry Bill: This is being progressed at the National Assembly and aims to provide checks and balances on the petroleum industries in Nigeria with regard to their operations in both the upstream and downstream sectors. A critical component of the Bill is in the area of maritime transportation concerning the importation and exportation of oil by sea. Ports and Harbours Bill: This will likely be passed into law in the coming year. It is envisaged that technical supervision of the port and terminal operations will remain under the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) while economic supervision of the terminals will be regulated under the anticipated National Transport Commission. Customs and Exercise Management Bill: The Bill has been passed by the Lower House of the National Assembly, but due to the outcry from many operators in the maritime sector, its passage by the Senate is being delayed in order to address areas of concern, including the perceived infraction into the powers of other government agencies with statutory functions in the port, as well as the rights of port terminal operators pursuant to their concession agreements with the Federal Government. National Transport Commission Bill: This is a proposed enactment to designate an independent commission to regulate economic operations and operators, not only at the sea ports but also in all other transportation sectors of the economy. There has been a steady build-up in capacity for many segments of the maritime sector over the last decade as capital investment by operators flowed in. This trend is bound to continue as more investment, favourable policies and laws continue to be enacted. The report further said that the most discussed development in the maritime sector over the year is the prospect of realising the development of Greenfield deep sea ports in order to support the existing port infrastructure in Nigeria, which by many maritime operators’ accounts is overstretched and inadequate to meet the increasing volume of trade and cargo. The envisaged development of deep sea ports, with draughts in excess of 14 metres, is bound to reduce freight costs and enhance shipping operations. In view of the development, the Federal Government in Nigeria is encouraging public private partnership (PPP) arrangements towards developing deep sea ports as part of the plan to address the insufficiency of capacity in Nigerian ports.