The perennial congestion at Apapa Port has worsened as barge operators have lamented the acute shortage of berthing space, crippling their operations and further exacerbating the gridlock.

The Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN) claimed that the lack of dedicated berthing space for barge operations at Apapa Port has resulted in exorbitant terminal handling charges, making barge haulage economically unviable.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday in Lagos, the National President of the Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN), Hon. Olubunmi Olumekun, alleged that APM Terminals has effectively cornered barge operations at the Apapa Port by denying indigenous operators access to berthing windows, acquiring GMT Shipping as a preferred barge partner, and now manoeuvring to extend its grip to another terminal, GDNL Terminal.

Olumekun explained that some terminals have taken over the barge operations while not allowing local content to thrive.

According to him, the terminals are trying to determine the price by bringing their barges and taking over every aspect of business at the port, adding that the development would ultimately affect the common man on the streets and the price of goods at the market.

Olumekun explained that having been shut out of APM Terminals’ berth, operators had turned to Eko Support Terminal as an alternative, dropping containers there and trucking them down to APM Terminal. But that lifeline, he alleged, has now been severed.

“They went and have a kangaroo agreement with Eko Support Terminal. Normally, they have refused to give us a window at the berth for our barges to berth and discharge and pick containers, so we went to Eko Support Terminal who permits us to drop containers at their yard and truck it down to APMT, but now APM Terminal have gone ahead to truncate that agreement.”

Beyond exclusion from berths, Olumekun said a crippling escalation in terminal handling charges has made barge haulage economically unviable.

According to him, charges have jumped from N50,000 to nearly N300,000, an increase of approximately 300 per cent, rendering operators unable to compete with road transportation.

“The road transportation is competing with us. If you are transporting cargo from Apapa Port to Oshodi, it’s around N250,000 for a 40-foot container, but for barges now, due to numerous costs from terminal charges, bunker, crew, and labour at the destination jetty, we are looking at between N700,000 to N800,000. Looking at this, how can we compete? How are we going to decongest the road with this kind of arrangement?” he asked.

Olumekun also raised concerns about the common user finger jetty in Apapa, which he noted was not concessioned to either APMT or Eko Support Terminal but has effectively been taken over by GMT Shipping.

“The common user finger jetty in Apapa which was reserved by the Federal Government was not concessioned, neither to APMT nor Eko Support, and we as barge operators have written to government several times that we cannot allow foreigners to start chasing us out of the finger jetty and be making money from it,” he said, adding that BOAN members possess the necessary equipment and cranes to operate the jetty themselves should access be granted.

Invoking international port operations standards, the BOAN President noted that maritime law mandates that every terminal must leave 50 metres available for emergency evacuation or barge operations, a provision he said is being flagrantly violated.

“According to international laws on port operations, 50 metres is designed for emergency evacuation. Every terminal must leave 50 metres for emergency operations or barge operations, and even the concession agreement the terminal operators signed with the Federal Government, the clause is stated there. APMT is the only place where this anomaly is taking place,” Olumekun stated. (Daily Trust)