A tug boat piloting a barge loaded with containers have sank at berth 10 of Tin-can Island port, with the pilot of the tug boat said to have escape death by the winkers.

The berth is operated by Five Star Logistics Nigeria Limited while the tug boat belongs to Medlog, said to be the logistics aim of one of the multinational shipping lines.

There are conflicting reasons given for the sinking of the tug boat over a week ago; while a dockworker said the crane hook which was to discharge the containers had fallen on the tug boat causing rapture that result in it taking in water rapidly; a staff of the Five Star Logistics said that the tug boat in its effort to berth the barge had rammed into the quay apron causing a rapture that resulted in the barge in taking water.

The dockworker who said that the incident occurred on Thursday last week, further disclosed that the tug boat sank shortly after before efforts to rescue it could be done.

A visit to the site of the incident on Thursday revealed that efforts were on by the terminal operators to salvage the vessel. Two heavy duty barge cranes were on down, with divers trying to connect both hooks of the cranes to the vessel under the water.

A source at the terminal said that the rescue effort was unsuccessful as cable of the two cranes snapped just as the tug boat was being pulled out of the water.

During an earlier visit to the Apapa office of Comet Shipping Line, the parent company of Five Star Logistics, a Mr. Kingsley of the Shipping department directed the correspondent to Five Star Logistics office at the port.

At the Tin-can island office of Five Star Logistics, it was said that the General Manager was not around and that there was no one to speak on the issue.

Similarly, efforts to speak with the Port Manager of Tin-can Island Port, Sylvester Egede, proved abortive as he neither picked his call nor responded to a text message sent to him. (Vanguard)

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