The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), says it will soon come up with a regulatory standard on all barge operations in the nation’s ports.
NPA said the regulation is under a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which must be complied by all operators effective September 1, 2021.
Acting Managing Director, NPA, Mohammed Bello Koko, disclosed this during an interactive session with members of Barge Operators of Nigeria (BOAN) in his office, recently. 
Koko said the Authority was poised to review the modalities for the registration of barge operating license with emphasis on operators meeting the minimum safety standards of their barges. 
He said failure to meet this requirement would place a ban on operators from using the channel.
“Under the new set of regulations, an electronic call-up system is being developed for deployment of barge operations in which barges would remain at their anchor until they are called to pick or discharge cargo.
“This is aimed at streamlining their movements to reduce congestion and possible threat to ocean going vessels”, he explained.
Koko also said that the NPA had set out to capture a comprehensive profile of all barge operators meant to highlight the carriers’ corporate name, to make for easy identification, especially in line with efforts to check the deployment of dilapidated barges that are in poor state and do not meet the minimum standards for barges and tugboats.
According to him, “it is a new era in barge operations and all operators are required to key into this regulatory provisions”.
Koko also told the barge operators that the government has instituted a binding tariff scheme payable to NPA as well as to the operators.
“There would be a harmonised interactive session (berthing meetings) between the barge operators and the relevant designated port managers for specific areas where information sharing would be prioritised accordingly.
“These meetings are envisaged to create a forum where illegal barge and jetty operators would be identified and stopped”, Koko said.