Fears over job losses rise as Apapa Ports terminal records slump in operations

• The Apapa Ports Terminal, usually 1 of the busiest successful Nigeria, has seen its activities dilatory down significantly
• Reports amusement that workers present walk agelong hours idle with thing to do, owed to the challenges to barge operations
• The Barge operators person identified issues that volition request to beryllium addressed urgently, oregon they volition beryllium forced to layoff staff

Legit.ng writer Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has implicit a decennary of acquisition successful concern reporting crossed integer and mainstream media.

Many larboard workers whitethorn soon suffer their jobs arsenic reports person shown a crisp driblet successful barge operations astatine Apapa Port Container Terminal.

Known to beryllium 1 of the busiest ports successful Nigeria, the Apapa larboard has recorded debased activities successful caller weeks, starring to fears that the barge operators whitethorn beryllium forced to downsize.

According to the barge operators, the slump successful activities is due to the fact that determination is nary berthing abstraction for barges.

The easiness of economical activities successful Nigerian ports plays a immense relation successful the Blue Economy vision. Photo credit: Nigerian Shippers Council/Cfoto
Source: Getty Images

The President of the Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Bunmi Olumekun, noted successful a chat that the lack of berthing abstraction is impeding barging activities.

Apapa Port instrumentality terminal reports debased berthing activities

Olumekun told Nigerian Tribune that the barge operators person had meetings with the absorption of the Port Terminal implicit the issue.

“We tin evacuate up to 4,000 containers regular if provided with a dedicated berthing space, but arsenic we speak, APM Terminals has nary dedicated berthing abstraction for barge operations. The barging patronage astatine APM Terminals is precise low, and that was wherefore we had to conscionable with them recently. We discussed improving the barging operations astatine APM Terminals.“We request a dedicated berth from barges astatine APM Terminals truthful that we volition not beryllium kicked retired erstwhile a bigger oregon parent vas arrives. If we person a dedicated berth astatine APM Terminals, barge operators tin telephone astatine the larboard anytime, load and permission the port.”

Barge operations successful a larboard notation to the activities involving barges, which are flat-bottomed boats utilized to transport goods, typically successful inland waterways oregon on coastal areas.

Barges are often utilized successful ports to determination cargo between ships and shore, from a larboard to an inland destination, oregon betwixt antithetic vessels, successful places wherever ample ships cannot easy dock owed to shallow waters, constricted infrastructure, oregon abstraction constraints.

Port absorption promises to code the issues

Olumekun noted that the terminal absorption has asked for a small much clip to wide the congestion astatine the larboard corridor and velocity up instrumentality evacuation earlier they can make a berthing space.

The larboard terminal presently has a backlog of vessels waiting to berth, and until the absorption clears retired the congested ports, nary country tin beryllium made for the Barge operators.

The CBN has besides accrued the FX complaint to beryllium utilized for clearing duties astatine the ports, frankincense expanding the woes of barge operators. Photo credit: NCS/Benson Ibeabuchi
Source: Getty Images

Other issues raised astatine the engagement gathering with the larboard absorption are the higher charges associated with exports, compared to little charges associated with imports. The commercialized squad besides assured the barge operators that determination would beryllium a review.

Recall that the Central Bank of Nigeria besides precocious accrued the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) overseas speech (FX) complaint for import duties, to N1,529.64/$.

Apapa Port makes history

In related news, Apapa Port precocious made past aft it received the largest instrumentality vas to ever berth successful a Nigerian port.

The vessel, owned by COSCO Shipping Lines, has 7,000 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), measuring 272 metres successful length, 43 metres successful width, and has a 14.3-metre draft.

The vas beats the 6,606 TEU instrumentality ship, the Kota Cantik, different Singaporean vessel, which arrived astatine the Apapa Wharf successful 2023.

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Source: Legit.ng