Follow Us on Google
Stories by Isaac Anumihe
Apart from oil, the maritime industry is the second highest revenue earner in Nigeria. For this reason, the importance of ensuring safety of the vessels that sail on Nigerian waters remains critical.
It is also on this score that the former Director-General of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Ade Dosunmu, said that the role played by the country in the West African sub-region makes it imperative for the nation’s waterways to be secured for safe navigation at all times.
“Nigeria as a country accounts for over 60 per cent of the total seaborne traffic in volume and value in the West African sub-region and that makes up over 60 per cent of the total Gross Domestic Products (GDP) of the 16 countries that make up the Economic Community of West African States” he said, adding that the massive cross-border trade is anchored on the Nigerian axis. He, therefore, warned that the challenges of the Nigerian maritime sector will have a ripple effect on the entire sub-region.
The former NIMASA boss also noted that a similar postulation could be made with the oil and gas sector where Nigeria is the sixth largest oil-exporting country in the West African Sub-region, and contributes significantly to the global energy supply.
Against this backdrop, he reasoned, the Nigerian territorial waters must be safe for shipping at all times.
However, the involvement of the private sector investors through the joint venture partnership between the private sector and the NPA has helped a great deal in ensuring the navigational safety of the port channels.
In 2004, NPA management in partnership with the private sector established the Lagos Channel Management Company (LCM), and the Bonny Channel Company (BCC).
The Bonny Channel Company was established to create and maintain a safe navigational passage for all marine users in the Eastern Ports of Bonny Island, Onne, Okrika, and Port-Harcourt while the Lagos Channel Management is saddled with the responsibility of dredging and maintenance of Lagos channels for the safe movement of vessels.
According to the Managing Director, LCM, Mr Danny Fuchs, LCM has carried out an extensive wreck survey of the Lagos Port, both visually, and with side scan sonar (used to locate and plot submerged wrecks). “We also carried out a magnetometer survey in 2007 to enhance and verify initial information collected” he said.
The survey, he said, identified over 70 submerged wrecks that required urgent removal throughout the navigable channels of Lagos Port.
LCM also said that the company is focused on enhancing safety in Nigerian waters, assuring that the Lagos Port buoyage system remains intact and efficient since inception.
“All buoys are refurbished every two years and those that are damaged are repaired within 24 hours. LCM has also striven to improve Aids to Navigation, including the re-instatement of shore beacons and the upgrading of the entrance channel buoys with active Automatic Identification System (AIS) transporter.
“While LCM is now relatively well established, our belief is that with the co-operation of the concessionaires and private jetty operators, we will not only achieve the stated objectives for which we were created, but also surpass them,” Fuchs said.
The BCC on its part has worked to ensure safety on Nigerian waters by making sure the buoyed navigational routes are free of obstruction by focusing on continuous dredging; the removal of wrecks, maintenance of Aids to Navigation and by providing towage services.
The BCC has also successfully implemented its Safety Assessment Evaluation and fulfilled the requirements for the provision of turning circle within operational channels.
The company’s dredging of the Bonny Channel from fairway buoy to KP27.5 to a depth of 13.8m in 2009 enabled the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas Limited (NLNG), to operate round the clock, seven days a week with no tidal restrictions. In 2011, the BCC deepened the channel even further to accommodate larger vessels. The company is reported to have removed 14,000,000m3 of materials by capital dredging; 61,000,000m3 of material by maintenance dredging; installed and monitored 83 buoys, removed 45 wrecks and invested over 6,000 hours in training and knowledge transfer.
In his remarks, the Chief Executive of BCC, Kristian Faber, said that the company will continue to strive to ensure safe navigation on Nigeria’s channels.
“Due to its commitment to safety standards, the BCC has also pledged to support the NPA in establishing the Port Training Institute with the provision of 50 per cent of the fund required for the purchase and installation of the simulator for the centre,” he said.
The BCC chief also noted that the joint venture has complemented the technical capacity of NPA with regard to the channel maintenance and capital dredging of the channels. The company’s dredging of the Bonny Channel has made it possible to maintain draught at 14.3m thereby making it possible for easy and safe movement of vessels along the route.
‘The BCC will continue to safeguard the optimal nautical access through Bonny Channel to Bonny Island with a view to securing safe and efficient operations at the Island’s Oil and Gas Terminals, as well as through Bonny River to the port of Port Harcourt and Onne” Faber said,.
As Nigeria continues in its drive for sustainable development, the country must constantly keep its focus on ensuring that there are no hindrances to maritime safety and the smooth movement of vessels on its waters. This will ensure increased trade and economic growth for the country in the years to come.
