Maritime Security: Shipping Firms Pay N260M Monthly For Ship Escort To PH 

*NPA patrol boats are moribund
*Criminals are domiciled in the Ports

More facts have emerged on the increasing sea robbery and piracy in the Nigerian Maritime domain, with shipping companies lamenting that they pay as much as 30,000 Dollars per voyage to the Nigerian Navy officials to escort their ships to eastern ports, precisely, Port Harcourt in Rivers State.

MMS Plus findings have revealed that the eastern ports have been underutilized due to high rate of sea piracy and other forms of maritime crimes which account for the discouragement of importers and exporters who hitherto would have preferred the eastern ports as their ports of choice for businesses activities.

Some stakeholders have expressed worry over the worsening security situation at the nation’s ports and maritime territories, a development that  could trigger more turbulent times for economic activities with its consequent threat to lives and property.

Speaking with MMS Plus in Lagos on condition of anonymity, a source who strongly decried the situation, said reports given by the police on the security situation of the ports do not cover some major aspects of security, including persistent invasion of the ports, especially Onne  by herdsmen.

“Early last month (February), there was another piracy attack at the eastern ports with about four crew members abducted. We still don’t know their fate but there is an organization that is supposed to take responsibility. We were not having this frequent piracy attacks during the last regime of leadership in the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA). I am not talking politics here but the reality at the eastern ports. The infrastructure that the last regime in NIMASA put in place with private organizations are still there but they are not being deployed to save lives and property in the eastern ports. And then the new infrastructure being promised by the current Director General of NIMASA is not operational.

“So I want NIMASA to do something about it because it is their responsibility. They should be able to coordinate other securities like the navy to really get their ass together and save us from this incessant attacks from pirates because it is de-marketing our terminals and our ports. It is also making insurance and other transactions very expensive.

“We are talking about how to invite the task force to the eastern ports but if these piracy attacks is allowed to continue unabated, all government’s efforts to invite the task force will result to nothing.  I think NIMASA should please look into this issue.

“I have a friend who was bringing a ship load of salt but because of the fear of pirates he left the vessel at Lome in Togo and when there was chance for him to come in, he came directly from Lome without wasting time.

Validating this argument, the General Manager, BUA Ports and Terminal, PortHarcourt, Mohammed Ibrahim hinted MMS Plus that shipping companies and terminal operators had to make a special security arrangement to ensure the safety of their vessels going to Port Harcourt because of the high rate of attacks on ships.

Mr. Mohammed said ships going to Port Harcourt now have to be accompanied by escort boats up to 100 nautical miles and it costs as much as $30,000 per escort. He explained that although the escort companies are accompanied by naval men with gunboats owned by Joint Task Force (JTF) or Navy but because gunboats cannot go beyond fairway buoy,  the use of escort boats became germane.

“Vessels coming from Port Harcourt now insist on gunboats escorting them from fairway buoy but some vessels still insist that the escorts must not even stop at fairway buoy because of their previous experiences of attack outside fairway buoy. These are escort vessels with armed men onboard. Those armed men are either naval men or military men and I am saying this not as hearsay but because our vessels have been attacked.

“These escort boats carry armed naval men to escort the vessels. The military doesn’t have an escort boat that can go beyond fairway buoy, so escort boats are private boats that are being used by the oil service companies and they are different from gunboats. Escort boats are like tug boats and they align with the navy who gives them  men that are armed to lead them up to 100 nautical miles.” He said

According to the performance review for last quarter of 2017,which is between  October to December by Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the ship traffic to Port Harcourt port is 78 with an average of 26 ships per month. With the escort of one ship with the minimum cost of $30,000 amounting to over N10 million, it then means that a whopping N260  million is expended on securing escort services on monthly basis.

Another source informed MMS Plus that the patrol boats at the NPA are moribund even as he said the management seems to be working on the procurement of new ones.

”We are talking about patrol boats, we don’t have serviceable  boats for waterfronts patrol, and that is also affecting our service delivery. They are  all down but the purchase of new ones is captured in the 2018 budget. .” He said

When quizzed further on the development, he said the recently commissioned tug boats by NPA management had been given out to the navy while the NPA security officials are left without any.

In reaction to presumptions that only NIMASA is empowered to handle security and safety issues on Nigeria waterways, he said “NPA is also expected to provide security support by patrolling all the ports in the country. NIMASA is not the owner of the pilotage, the pilotage belongs to NPA. It is true that NIMASA has the statutory responsibility for maritime safety and security but then, it is a hybrid thing. What about the navy who patrol the waterfronts, is it NPA or NIMASA?  We have always advocated for a hybrid which involves NIMASA, NPA, Navy, Marine Police to join hands to fight sea robbery and piracy”

Speaking further, he posited that poor access control due to absence of baggage scanners at the ports have constituted a huge burden as movements in and out of the ports environment remain unrestricted which is against international rules for ports operations.

“When you go to the ports, people just walk in and out anyhow without checks. There is no vehicle scanner or detector. We do not know the level of threats that go into the ports on daily basis. At least, we can see the level of checks before one accesses the international airports but we are yet to see that in any of our ports. I want to appeal that something should be done about the baggage and vehicle scanners.”  He said

In a related development, Engr. Samuel Shokunbi has raised concerns about the unchecked activities of destitute  and other persons gallivanting around the ports premises without any specific business at the port.

He said it has been observed that the access control at Tin Can Island second gate is very poor thereby enabling people who ordinarily shouldn’t be allowed anywhere close to port premises an avenue to do so.

Engr. Shokunbi allayed fears that  destitute around the ports might be involved in criminal activities or working in connivance with bandits while disguising even as he recalled that when those around Tin Can Island port were intercepted by the police about four years ago, various dangerous weapons were recovered from them.

“I have the privilege of knowing that some of them are not even Nigerians. One of them once approached me and in the course of our conversation, someone told me that the person is from Niger Republic and they are always within the port throughout the 24hrs of the day.

“I also know of destitute that troop in anyhow without restrictions.  Not only that, India hemp sellers also operate within the premise. Who knows maybe armed robbers are even keeping weapons with them? Food vendors, India hemp smokers, mechanics,  are all within the ports environment. All these have kept the port environment insecure.

“The bunkerers are also selling bunkered oils to the truck drivers within the ports. These people are contaminating the environment thereby leaving it hazardous. It has affected social activities at the port and this is what government should look into.

Engr. Shokunbi opined that it could be true that the law enforcement agents have been induced to allow these abnormalities to persist in our polity even as he concluded that it is important for all stakeholders to come together to make the ports environment habitable and safe.