Nigerian Ports Authority Says 3972 Vessels Called Into Nigerian Ports in 2020

Hadiza Bala-Usman, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority, has said a total of 3972 vessels called into Nigerian ports in 2020.

This was below the 4251 received in 2019.

The Managing Director who addressed maritime correspondents in a virtual forum on Monday said, Nigeria witnessed a decline in cargo shipment in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and global lockdowns.

She said, “In 2019, we had a total of 4251 vessels that called into our ports, according to the ship traffic data. In 2020, we had 3972. So, we had a drop. In terms of cargo throughput, we had 78.4 million metric tonnes in 2020 while in 2019 the nation recorded 80.2 million MT in 2019.”

She added, “This new licensing regime, the marine and operations directory is going to embark on new licences in 2021 which will be stricter in ensuring the barges are functional.

“We will address the challenges we have with the movement of the barges themselves, to sequence it and make sure that the harbour master is in control of the activities. We will also develop a Standard Operating procedure on barge operations.”

Bala-Usman, however, said trucks should desist from parking along the port corridors, saying that except they use e-call up, they could not drive into the ports.

She added that the process was free, including onboarding but the truckers would pay whne they were exiting the truck park though it would not be operational till February 27.