The Nigerian Ports Authority(NPA) has issued a standard operating procedure which aims at streamlining the operation of barges, and banned their movement at night to avoid collision or impeding navigation of vessels on the channels.
Managing Director of NPA , Mohammed Bello-Koko, who disclosed this in Lagos at a media parley, said the NPA has set minimum operating standard for the barges just as it is doing for trucks .
According to him, the move is to enhance safety and remove encumbrances to quick access to berthing area for oncoming ships .
“We are also encouraging the use of barges. We have come up with a Standard Operating Procedure for barge operations because we have all forms of barges that are not safe.
“Same way we created minimum standards for trucks is what we did for barges, and we have called them for meetings. They have been operating on free tickets for long, and that has to stop and they need to start paying us tariffs.
“We gave them concessions because at least the government generates revenue from it. Most of the barges do not have communication systems and are not identifiable individually, with their sailors often driving with reckless abandon.
“Sometimes you hear vessels blaring their horns; it’s not to signal goodbye but to tell someone to get off the channel.
“In fact, we have had occasions where ships had to anchor right in the middle of the channel because of a barge on the way.
“That has to stop, or we will start cracking down on them. We are going to be very firm on this.
“The day a ship sinks in the middle of the channel is the day we are done. We will also insist that they don’t operate at night,’’ he said.

“A few weeks ago, a barge sneaked out to operate at night and almost hit a vessel that was offloading liquid cargo. Imagine if the vessel had gone aflame. You sometimes see them double-banking or even triple-banking, which is not allowed’ he said.

By: Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos