Maritime

Truckers Want Seamless Cargo Evacuation At Lekki Port

Published

4 weeks ago

November 13, 2022

Barely weeks to the commissioning of the Lekki Deep Seaport, members of Amalgamation of Maritime Truck Owners Association of Nigeria (AMTOAN) have urged management of Lekki Deep Seaport to ensure a coordinated approach to truck movement at the port.
Coordinator of the association , Mr Remi Ogungbemi, who stated this during a visit to the Port, weekend, noted that such approach would prevent gridlock.
He said a coordinated approach to trucking will ensure seamless cargo evacuation when commercial operation begins next month.
Ogungbemi, however, noted that cargo evacuation from the Lekki port would still be a challenge due to the bad roads leading to the port city.
He urged the Lagos State Government to ensure that the roads were expanded to avert the traffic challenges similar to the one being experienced at Apapa and Tin Can ports.
“The purpose of our visit is to get ourselves familiar with the facilities, especially where it has to do with movement of trucks in and out of the port.
“We also want to know the provisions made for trucks that are coming to the port”, he said.
Ogungbemi described the Lekki seaport project as a game changer for the Nigerian economy.
“What we saw here is the first of its kind. We don’t have such infrastructures in any of our ports. We have not seen such before in Nigeria. It is, indeed, a game changer,” he said.
Also speaking, a trucker, Mr Ridwan Bello, said there was need to have adequate truck parks around the port’s corridor that would match the volume handled at the port.
Bello said due to heavy traffic flow in the Lekki-Epe axis occasioned by poor access roads, truckers might consider night movement of trucks before the completion of the road.
He urged the State Government to create a dedicated lane for trucks upon completion of the road to reduce gridlock in the axis.
“Our basic concern is the access road and truck park facility. If you look at the Ajah to Lekki road, it is in a bad shape. So you can imagine the chaos when trucks start coming to the port.
“This is why we are proposing night movement for our trucks. From Eleko to Epe”,
“There is a dedicated lane for trucks, so we are also suggesting that there should be a dedicated lane for trucks from Lekki to Ajah”, he said.
Earlier, Chief Operating Officer, Lekki Port, Mr Laurence Smith, and Head of Regulatory and Procurement, Mr Daniel Odibe, who received the team, assured the visitors that the challenges of gridlock experienced at the Apapa ports would not be the case at the Lekki Port.
They assured that the operations at the port would be streamlined and fully automated.
Odibe said to ensure smooth evacuation of cargo, the management of the Lekki Port had put in place a truck parking area with a capacity for 250 trucks.
“The trucks will be required to park at the truck parking area until they are called up into the port through a booking system.
“With the road network going east of Lagos, we have newly constructed six lane roads leading to Epe all the way to Shagamu.

By: Chinedu Wosu

Maritime

Nine Ships With Frozen Fish, Others Arrive Eastern Ports, Today

Published

4 days ago

December 5, 2022

The Tide

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) weekly shipping position says nine ships with various cargos will arrive Eastern ports today to discharge cargoes
The ships, expected to berth at Rivers Port Complex, Port Harcourt, Warri and Calabar Port’s, are laden with Frozen Fish (FF), Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), Bulk Wheat, and In ballast.
Other cargos in the manifest includes, Raw Sugar in Bulk, Float Glass and Gypsum in Bags.
This was contained in NPA’s weekly shipping manifest issued to The Tide Newspaper, in Port Harcourt.
The manifest also listed the agents for the vessels as Ocean Glory, JFDOR, Akathon and AMCO.
Other Agents include, AIS, Blue seas, Maylon Ports Services and White Waters
The Shipping Position gave the names of the Ships as Elizabeth G Spirit, Lausu, Virgo 1, Lila and SFL Yukon.
Other ships expected today include, Orange ICE, Riser Anne, Stellar and SFL Hudson.
NPA said the arrival of PMS, Frozen Fish and Raw Sugar in Bags would create ready markets for marketers ahead of Yuletide celebration in the region.
It further noted that the arrival of the ships would enhance maritime activities in the Ports and create casual jobs for youths.

Maritime

Buhari To Inaugurate Lekki Deep Sea Port, Jan

Published

4 days ago

December 5, 2022

The Tide

Following the completion of the $1.5 billion Lekki Deep Seaport, President Muhammadu Buhari will officially inaugurate the Port in January 2023 for commercial and maritime activities
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, diclosed this at a recent bi-annual Non-Oil Export Summit held in Lagos.
The Governor said the State government will continue to provide the space and opportunities for businesses to thrive.
He said work on the Lekki Deep Seaport had been completed and that the project would be inaugurated by the President in January 2023.
Sanwo Olu said when inaugurated, the facility will provide enormous opportunities for exporters to ply their trade and improve the export earnings of the country, especially in the non-oil sector.
He urged stakeholders to continue to promote a public-private partnership that will drive growth.
He further noted that the landlocked countries of Chad, Mali and Niger Republic have indicated interest of routing their cargoes through Nigeria, when the the Lekki Deep Seaport begins operation.

Maritime

NPA Wants Hoodlums Out Of Takwa Bay Facility

Published

4 days ago

December 5, 2022

The Tide

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has called on the military to flush out any suspected hoodlum from Takwa Bay facility in Lagos.
The Authority said Takwa Bay facility legally belonged to NPA, but was handed over to the military for training and operational exercises.
The Authority expressed regrets over illegal activities by hoodlums at the facility
Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello Koko, stated this when he received the General Officer Commanding 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Obinna Ajunwa, in his office in Marina.
Koko said the property has been abandoned by the military and taken over by hoodlums who use it for illicit activities.
He assured NPA’s commitment to collaborate with relevant stakeholders and the military high command towards protecting lives and property at the nation’s seaports.
He said NPA has, over the years, enjoyed cordial working relationship with the Nigerian Army whenever the need to maintain law and order at the port arises.
Speaking at the event, General Officer Commanding 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major General Obinna Ajunwa, thanked NPA for the collaboration and noted that he assumed duties three months ago.
“I assumed duties three months ago. I felt that as part of our training, we should visit installations in my environment and one of them happens to be the NPA.
“My men are ready to carry out our responsibilities of protecting lives and property at all times”, he stated.
Ajunwa also said the military will engage other government agencies to curtail the illegal activities of hoodlums at Takwa Bay.
He said his men regularly raid the facility to curtail criminal activities.