New Telegraph

NPA mandates barge operators to pay tariff under new regulations

The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that barge operators will be paying tariff under its new regulatory framework from September 1, 2021. It was learnt that they had operated for close to three years without paying any tariff to the Authority.

The regulatory framework was established for the operation of barges across the nation’s seaports under a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), which must be complied with by all operators effective September 1, 2021. As part of efforts to enforce the regulation, the Authority said that it was making moves to capture a comprehensive profile of all barge operators, which will highlight the carriers’ corporate name, to make for easy identification, especially in line with efforts to check the deployment of dilapidated barges that are in poor state and do not meet the minimum standards for barges and tugboats.

It explained that government had instituted a binding tariff scheme payable to NPA as well as to the operators in order to generate revenue for government. Also, the Authority explained that it would review the modalities for the registration of barge operating licence with emphasis on operators meeting the Minimum Safety Standards ((MSS) of their barges.

Failure to meet this requirement will bar an operator from using the water channel. Under the new set of regulations, an electronic call up system is being developed for deployment for barge operations in which barges would remain at their anchor until they are called to pick or discharge cargo. This is aimed at streamlining their movements to reduce congestion and possible threat to ocean going vessels. Acting Managing Director of the Authority, Mohammed Bello-Koko, made these known while speaking during an interactive session with members of Barge Operators of Nigeria (BOAN), who paid him a working visit at the authority’s corporate headquarters on Marina, Lagos.

The acting managing director stressed that installation of acceptable UHF Radio communication devices as well as navigational lights on board crafts would be among the critical mandatory requirements for operators by September 1 to ensure safe and secured operational services. Bello-Koko stated that it was a new era in barge operations and all operators were required to key into these regulatory provisions.

To further ensure safety in navigation of barges, he stressed that tug masters are required to possess Pilot Exemption Certificate (PEC) even as night operations are abolished while double loading of barges are prohibited to prevent damage to the quayside. The acting managing director added that there would be a harmonised berthing meetings between the barge operators and the relevant designated port managers for specific areas where information sharing would be prioritised accordingly. He said: “These meetings are envisaged to create a forum where illegal barge and jetty operators would be identified.”

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