Captain Ebubeogu Iheanacho

A shipping expert and former General Manager, Marine of the Nigerian Ports Authority NPA, Captain Ebubeogu Iheanacho has listed the lack of 24-hour pilotage services, the delineation as a war zone, among other challenges as the greatest impediments to the full optimisation of Nigeria’s seaports located within the eastern part of the country.

The seaports include the Delta Ports located in Warri, Delta State,Rivers Ports located in Port Harcourt, Rivers StateOnne Ports, also located in Rivers State and Calabar Ports, located in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

Speaking at a recent conference hosted in Lagos by the League of Maritime Editors LOME, with the theme: “Lagos/Eastern Ports: How to reverse existing imbalance in disproportionate cargo vessels calls”, Captain Iheanacho, who chaired the event, noted that the absence of 24-hour pilotage services in the region was a serious disincentive to vessels that might want to call at the ports because they might not sail out as soon as they finish discharging their content.

“Here in Lagos, at 2am, 3am, you hear vessels’ whistles, which indicate that they are sailing out after discharging but this is not the situation at the eastern ports because the vessels would have to wait till morning because they are no pilotage services to enable them sail out of the berths.

“You know that such delays have serious cost implications for a vessel operator, because it costs a minimum of $50, 000 per day to run a vessel and so the vessel operator would naturally prefer seaports where they can berth and sail off any time of the day without incurring additional cost by waiting at the berths because there are no pilotage services”, he said.

He also listed the issue of insecurity in the Niger Delta region some years ago, which led to the delineation of Nigeria’s eastern seaports by insurers as a war zone, which attracts an additional 10 per cent charge on consignments designated for the affected seaports, which make them less attractive and competitive.

He however observed that the security in the Niger Delta region has improved tremendously in the past few years, citing oil and gas companies, which used to rely heavily on the deployment of helicopters for their logistics and allied services due to insecurity but have again retuned to the use of speed boats and other crafts for such services due to the improved security in the area.

Speaking further on the classification and capacities of the seaports, the Captain said: “It is pertinent to note that seaports owned and regulated by the Nigerian Ports Authority are referred to by the International Maritime Organisation IMO, as SOLAS Ports. This is because they play host, amongst others to ships classified by that organisation as Convention Ships – which are ships of 500 gross tonnage and above engaged in coastal and international trade.

“IMO’s requirements for this class of ports are that they shall ensure maritime safety; marine environmental protection; maritime security; and the expeditious movement of vessels and cargo in and out of the ports to reduce their turnaround time and dwell time respectively.”

He further argued that every port strives to maintain a high level of port reputation and competitiveness, which refers to the overall public and industry perception of a port in terms of reliability, efficiency, safety records, security records, regulatory compliance and trustworthiness.

According to him, port competitiveness is a port’s ability to attract shipping lines, cargo owners and logistic business by offering faster services, lower cost, and better connections than rival ports, adding that this determines how well a port performs in local, regional and global trade.

“The above seaports in their various locations are expected to operate in a conducive environment that will ensure comfort to shipping with high level of operational efficiency, safety, fastness and at low logistic cost. These performances are expected to earn all the ports a steady port economic growth.

“One of the ways of measuring the effect of port reputation and competitiveness is by its rating of economic growth. Port Economic Growth refers to the increase in regional or national wealth generated by a seaport’s operations and infrastructure. It occurs when a port’s capacity, logistics efficiency, and throughput expand, acting as a “funnel” that drives industrial development and connects local businesses to the global market”, he said,

He therefore called for concerted efforts towards reversing the war zone status imposed on the ports to eliminate the additional 10per cent charge since the insecurity in the Niger Delta region has since been addressed, he also sought for measures to improve pilotage services in the region to boost the turnaround of the vessels that call at the eastern seaports,