By Chiazo Ogbolu
Abuja (Sundiata Post) – Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) on Sunday said that the Rivers Port in Port Harcourt would receive its first ever RoRo vessel in few weeks time.
NPA Spokesman, Adams Jatto, said in a statement that the imminent arrival of the first RoRo vessel in Rivers Port was part of its efforts to improve vessel traffic to the Eastern Ports.
“The first Roro Vessels to berth in the history of the Rivers Port is scheduled to depart the United States of America in the middle of March and arrive Port Harcourt at the end of March or early April.
“Roro vessels are usually loaded with automobiles,” he said.
Jatto added that this was a milestone in the history of Rivers Port and the whole of the Eastern Ports.
He said that the introduction of RoRo operations would in no small measure increase the revenue base of Rivers Port in particular and NPA as a whole.
He pointed out that the achievement was traceable to intentional commitment and landmark reforms that the current NPA management had instituted toward ensuring that all ports in Nigeria become optimally functional.
He listed steps taken by the authority to include: the introduction of 10 per cent discount on harbour dues on some categories of cargoes berthing at the eastern ports, the dredging of Escravos Channel in Warri.
Others he listed as the deployment of equipment and machinery to improve operational efficiency, constant engagement with stakeholders towards achieving industrial harmony and peaceful co-existence, conversations with shipping companies, which saw the deployment of flat bottom vessels to Calabar.
Others, according to him, include working with the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, (NIMASA) and the Port Police Command to combat crimes on the nation’s waterways.
Also on the list was engaging with the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure the rehabilitation of roads access to and from ports in the region.
“The management assure of her commitment to ensuring that all ports in Nigeria operate at maximum capacity to the advantage of all Nigerians,” he said. (NAN)
