Abandoned ships threaten maritime safety

 …Litigations delay wrecks’ removal

BY UCHE USIM

The Nigerian maritime domain is facing the worrisome challenge of increasing number of shipwrecks and abandoned vessels that litter its navigable channels.

The development, experts say, constitutes grave security and safety challenge as criminal elements now using the wrecks as a base to at­tack serviceable ships at berth.

The shipwrecks are now also contributing to boat mishaps in recent times as reports of some investigated boat accidents indicated that poorly lit passenger boats run into abandoned vessels at night, which, at times have no signs to indicate their location or the danger they pose.

The management of ENL Consortium, oper­ators of terminals ‘C’ and ‘D’ at the Lagos Ports Complex (LPC) last week raised the alarm over the issue of abandoned vessels on Lagos waters, saying that criminals now use the wrecks as a base to access the terminal to vandalise carsaying that criminals now use goes. ­

The Head, Security Safety and Environment Manager of the terminal, Mr. Oyinloye Ra­phael, while briefing the Port Police on the development in­sisted that series of attacks on cargoes at the terminal have been traced to the bandits who often hibernate in the aban­doned ships before launching the attacks.

He disclosed that the mis­creants use smaller crafts like canoes to ferry themselves back to the wreck on Lagos waters after unleashing terror on the terminals.

“At night, the abandoned vessels are illuminated by torchlights, which further au­thenticate the presence of crim­inals on board the wrecked vessels.”

He urged NIMASA as the Designated Authority (DA)  for the International Ships and Ports Facility Security (ISPS) Code to assist the Western Port Police authority in the area of equipment in ensuring that the terminals enjoy police protec­tion.

“It is the duty of the Nige­rian Maritime Administra­tion and Safety Agency (NI­MASA) as the Designated Authority (DA) to remove all wrecks that serve as a threat to our economy and waters and if they do, it will solve some of our problems,” he said.

Daily Sun’s investigations reveal that the Federal Gov­ernment has already awarded contracts for the wrecks’ re­moval but the evacuation has been stalled by litigations by owners of the abandoned vessels who still use them as evidence of collateral for loans they collected from banks.

The Director General/Chief Executive of NIMASA, Dr. Ziakede Patrick Akpoboloke­mi, at a recent meeting with journalists revealed that the first phase of the contract for wrecks’ removal covers Lagos and the South South areas of the country.

He added that plans are afoot to rid the entire Nigerian waters of wrecks in line with government’s port modernisa­tion programme.

He, however, said remov­ing the wrecks was being hampered by litigation as ship owners use their abandoned vessels as a trap to arm-twist the agency into paying com­pensation for removing such wrecks.

“They’ll tell you the ship you removed was still service­able and as such we should pay N10 billion as compensation for a ship that was bought for about N100 million and has worked for over 20 years. Be­fore you know it, they drag the management to court. These are some of the issues we face, though we’re not deterred. We have to fulfill the mandate giv­en to us by the Federal Gov­ernment,” he said.

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