By Tony Obiechina, Abuja 

One year after taking over the management of Onitsha River Port, Universal Elysium Consortium Limited, the concessionaires of Onitsha River Port reached an important milestone when it formally received its first barge at the Port on the 16th of August 2023.

According to the Managing Director, Dr.

The barge that arrived Onitsha Port is a consignment of tiles from Ajaokuta to Onitsha.

 It is expected that this is going to be a weekly occurrence going forward as the consignees of the goods would now move 600 tons of tiles to Onitsha every week and take 600 tons of clay back to Ajaokuta.

The General Manager of Onitsha River Port, Wannes De Wit, also expressed his happiness on reaching this very important milestone. According to him, the activity helped take more than 70 trucks off the busy roads and this was only possible and achievable because of the higher water level in the river Niger during the rainy season. 

According to him, this only happens for 6 months in a year due to the low water levels in the Rive Niger during the dry season. He however pleaded with the Federal Government to dredge the river channel so that goods can be moved through the river channel all year round as this would have immense benefits to the country. 

The Managing Director paid tribute to the operations team at the Port which consists of the supervisors, dockers, crane operators, and forklift operators who really put in immense effort to ensure the operation was seamless and successful. 

According to the MD, the goal of the company is to continue to strive to make Onitsha Port great despite all the challenges.

The Ocean Ambassadors Foundation (OAF) has urged Sen. Wasiu Sanni, the new Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport, to push for autonomy of coastal maritime state.

The President, OAF, Mrs Violet Williams, made the call in an interview yesterday in Lagos.

Williams, a blue economy professional and former member of the Board of the Nigeria Shippers’ Council, also congratulated Sanni on his emergence as the Chairman, Senate Committee on Marine Transport.

According to her, stakeholders are expecting a positive turnaround in the maritime industry, especially in line with the blue economy.

“This is because we are looking at 2030 actualisation of the establishment of blue economy in all maritime nation.

“Ghana is doing well on it, even Togo and so we expect that he as the new man with a background in agric, he should be able to push for the blue economy and autonomy of coastal maritime state.

“Looking at the 13 per cent oil derivation for the oil producing state, they are getting it and enjoying it.

“So, let the maritime state, the coastal communities enjoy the benefits of the coastal economy which is the blue economy,” she said.

She noted that it was a delight to have Sanni as the maritime game changer for all the coastal communities in Nigeria to be strategically positioned.

The 62-year old Sanni is the senator representing Lagos Central.

He previously served as the Deputy speaker of the Lagos State House of Assembly from 2015 to 2023.

OAF is an non-profit organisation geared toward enhancing awareness about maritime opportunities whilst building the next crop of elite Nigerian practitioners in the maritime sector via strategic mentorship programmes for secondary school students.

It works in partnership with government agencies and private organisations in the nation’s shipping sector while connecting school authorities, teachers and pupils in a holistic approach to stimulate interest in shipping among young ones. (NAN)

The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has taken over areas leased to it by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) at the Continental Shipyard for the operations of the Modular Floating Dock.

The Director General of NIMASA, Dr Bashir Jamoh, said this at the handing-over ceremony in Lagos Wednesday.

He said the areas include, but not limited to the dolphin jetty, waterfront of the jetty adjourning the slipway, an administrative block, a construction, welding and mechanical workshop and a civil maintenance workshop, among others.

Jamoh said that the handover of the Continental Shipyard to NIMASA marked the final lap in the quest of the agency to deploy the modular floating Dockyard.

The DG, represented by the Head, Public-Private Partnership (PPP), Unit, Mr Kabiru Diso, assured stakeholders that the modular floating dockyard would soon be deployed since all grey areas between NIMASA and the NPA had been cleared.

“The modular floating dockyard is a national asset and now that all grey areas between the NPA and NIMASA have been addressed, we are very close to the deployment of the dock.

“Our goal is to domicile dry-docking of vessels in the country, thus saving the nation foreign exchange, currently expended on dry-docking vessels outside the shores of Nigeria.

“The floating dock will also provide both direct and indirect employment to Nigerians with a multiplier effect on capacity development,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Infrastructure Concession and Regulatory Commission (ICRC) had issued a certificate of compliance for an Outline Business Case (OBC) for the operation of the floating dock, while also describing it as bankable and sustainable.

The modular floating dock, which has the capacity to handle up to 10,000 metric tons vessels, would be run on a Public Private Partnership arrangement. (NAN)