Bayo Akomolafe 
Lack of standard vessels will deny about 80 per cent of barge operators from accessing N500 billion freight business in the port sector from this year. Findings revealed that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) in its determination to enforce minimum standard, safety and curb incessant loss of containers on Nigerian waterways has mandated barge/pusher tug minimum to obtain valid certificates from Nigerian Mari- time Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) before they could be al- lowed to lift containers. Annually, about one million containers are ferried by barges on Nigerian waters to off dock terminals as it cost between N400,000 and N500, 000 to ferry a container through the Lagos waterways.
Worried by the substandard state of barges on Nigerian waters, the authority said in its guidelines that barge operators must obtain Certificate of Registry (CoR) from NIMASA and Certificate of Registration from NIWA. Also, it said in the guidelines that operators must obtain insurance certificate and valid NPA Pilot Exemption Certificate (PEC) before they could be permitted to ferry containers to off dock terminals. Other requirements in the guidelines include provision of Condition Survey Report (CSR), availability of publication or equivalent procedural manuals covering pusher tug/ barge crew, company marine operations manual, local tide tables, harbour master notices to mariners, company contingency plan, company salvage manual, pilotage district information pack, Pilotage Exemption Certificate (PEC).
Also, the authority explained that the vessel must be fitted with the good equipment such as com- pass, Marine VHF radiotelephone installation, Automatic Identification System (AIS), mobile tele- phone, a deck logbook or equivalent record on board, passage plan appropriate to the area and service for navigation, safety management, containers for recovered waste, emulsifiers (for deck cleaning only), fixed fendering systems in sound condition and capable of preventing metal-to-metal contact with other vessels among others. According to NPA, barge opera- tor that contravened any of the provision would have his license withdrawn after two consecutive warning letters on the same is- sue and would be directed to stop service indefinitely until further notice.
It added: “Each operator shall submit N50 million unconditional bank bond in favour of the Nigerian Ports Authority to qualify for operation within 10 working days of submitting the acceptance letter. Payments for the services shall be in compliance with Nigerian Ports Authority’s pre-payment policy except where waiver is granted to the applicant by the managing director or his/her delegated officer. “NPA in conjunction with NI- MASA may carryout periodic inspection on the pusher tugs and/ or barges to ensure compliance with Flag State requirements for barge vessel type. Line-towing should only be carried out in the daytime between 7.30 am to 6 pm (0730 hours – 1800 hours). Berthing, unberthing and movement operations should not be carried out during unfavourable weather condition and or poor visibility.” Meanwhile, NPA’s Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, said in Lagos that NPA had frozen licensing of the barges until it review the current ones, noting that those that meet its requirements would be licensed.
He said: “We have seen videos of containers falling off barges at berth, we have seen barges sinking also. So, it is not the number of barges that is important, it is the quality of the barges. “We would create standards, ensure quality and start increasing the numbers with the same quality. I believe that shortly we would allow those that met our requirements to have licenses but we are not adding new ones. The opera- tor shall submit N50 million unconditional bank bond in favour of the NPA to qualify for this operation within 10 working days of submitting the acceptance letter. “At the commencement of any towage operation, port operations or signal station shall be informed so as to fac- tor the movement into the traffic management within the channel to avoid the risk of collision.
The operator shall furnish the traffic department of the port with monthly report on its activities, a copy of which should be referred to the office of the assistant general manager, operations HQ for record purpose.” However, the Barge Opera- tors Association of Nigeria, (BOAN), in a desperate move, said that the only option available was to hold talks with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and Nigeria Export and Import Bank (NEXIM) for loans to enable acquire modern ocean-going barges. According to the President of the association, Dr Bunmi Olumekun, the sector needs legislation that would protect them since barge operation was part of inland waters trade exclusively reserved for the indigenous firms.
