754 Ships Desert Eastern Ports

754 Ships Desert Eastern Ports 

A total of 754 vessels dumped the eastern ports in the country within a period of three years due to shallow depth and pirate attacks, LEADERSHIP’s investigations have revealed.

The eastern ports comprise Calabar, Onne, Delta and Rivers ports, all in the restive Niger Delta region.

The ports, it was observed, are the shortest distances for haulage of cargoes for catchment states of Anambra, Imo, Enugu, Edo, Kogi, Abuja, Ondo, Benue, Kastina and Kano.

The ports also have quick identification and documentation of cargoes and excellent delivery of cargo procedures.

Aside the shallow depth, the ports operate on security level two on the International Ships Ports Security (ISPS) Code 2 due to insecurity in the region.

As a result of this, the number of vessels that berth at these ports receded from 2,268 vessels in 2013 to 1514 in 2016 due to insecurity and shallow draft that wouldn’t allow big vessels berth at the ports.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the number of vessels that berthed at the Delta port dropped from 609 in 2013 to 433 in 2016, while the Gross Registered Tonnage at the port also dropped from 8,687,160 in 2013 to 6,177,809 in 2016.

Also, vessels that berthed at the Rivers port dropped from 439 in 2013 to 287 in 2016, while the Gross Registered Tonnage at the port also dropped from 6,761,057 in 2014 to 4,560,844 in 2016.

The number of vessels that berthed at the Calabar port dropped from 373 in 2013 to 189 in 2016, while the Gross Registered Tonnage, which peaked at 4,087,599 in 2015 dropped to 3,803,199 in 2016.

The number of vessels that berthed at the Onne port dropped from 847 in 2014 to 605 in 2016, while the Gross Registered Tonnage at the port also dropped from 43,916,846 in 2014 to 35,937,547 in 2016.

Speaking on the level of insecurity in the Niger Delta, the Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, at the second stakeholders’ interactive session held in Warri, Delta State, noted that one of the factors militating against the success of the maritime sector was insecurity in the Niger Delta region, which he said was also hampering the growth and development of the region.

He said, “Niger Delta is not working because of you (Niger-Deltans). How many Lagosians are in the water in Lagos? None. Reason why vessels will not come to Eastern port is because there is war insurance risk placed on vessels because of restiveness in the region.

“War insurance means if the goods cost N10,000 in Lagos, it will get it N20,000 here because there is extra cost on it. There is insecurity in Lagos but not worse like we have here in Eastern ports. Even as a minister, I can’t enter a boat from Warri to Port Harcourt but I can move around Lagos at any time of the day.

“I asked a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, why people from Anambra won’t import through Port Harcourt port and he said it cost less to import from Lagos and move to Onitsha even with the price they pay on the road. It is cheaper to import from Lagos to Aba and Aba to Port Harcourt is 30 minutes drive. He said it cost less even when it is evident that it will take eight hours.

The truth must be told; Warri used to be heaven but the reverse is the case now”.

Also speaking, the president, Delta Shippers’ Association (DELSA), Dr. Austin Egbegbadia, said insecurity in the Niger Delta was overblown.
The DELSA boss also attributed challenges facing the port to unresolved dredging of Escravos bar that leads to Warri port, saying in the past seven years there were no records of insecurity in the state.

His words: “One of the numerous challenges facing the Delta port is the erroneous perception that the Delta ports are unsafe by both local and international investors. Indeed, we may have had challenges in the past, but successive governments, including the current one, have largely curtailed these.

“It is worthy of note that in the past seven years there is no record of incident of insecurity. We are confident that in collaboration with stakeholders in the organised private sector such as the Chamber of Commerce as well as government MDAs, we can debunk this negative impression and systematically launder our image positively”.