Maritime
NSC Warns BOAN Over Sub-Standard Barges
The Nigerian Shippers Council, (NSC) has urged members of Barge Operators Association of Nigeria, (BOAN) to avoid substandard barges in order to curb loss of investments and consignments.
NCS also commended BOAN for its efforts in maritime logistics, even as it challenged the association to take the issue of safety and acquisition of technically sound facilities serious for better operation.
This was disclosed by the Executive Secretary, NSC, Hassan Bello, at the weekend.
Bello said that barge operations have come to stay in the maritime industry because its contributions to the growth of the economy.
He urged BOAN to contribute to the sanity of the ports’ environment and called for larger stakeholders’ engagement where other key players in the industry come together to discuss issues affecting the industry.
“On the issue of pricing, we have to look at many factors in setting tariffs for barge operations. NSC is looking to set the standard on the price; we are not fixing price but we just want certain standards to be looked into.
“Also, if we continue to allow unprofessional conduct to happen, there will be accidents or incidents that will have negative effects on the economy”, he said.
Earlier, President of BOAN, Mr. Edema Keliekume, had commended NSC and urged the regulator to strike a balance between safety and economic gains.
“For our services to be more affordable to people, there is a need for the cost component not to be high so that it doesn’t make our pricing to be high”, Keliekume said.