The Rivers Port is expecting to handle its first ever Roll On/Roll Off operations in a couple of weeks, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has disclosed.
The NPA said the development is part of its efforts to improve vessel traffic to the Eastern Ports.
In a statement, the General Manager Corporate and Strategic Communications at the NPA, Adams Jatto, said “ the first RoRo Vessels to berth in the history of the Rivers Port are 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.
“This is a milestone in the history of Rivers Port and the whole of the Eastern Ports. The introduction of RORO operations will in no small measure increase the revenue base of Rivers Port in particular and NPA as a whole.
“The achievement is traceable to intentional commitment and landmark reforms that the current management of the NPA has instituted toward ensuring that all ports in Nigeria become optimally functional.”
He disclosed that the NPA had also introduced 10 per cent discount on harbour dues on some categories of cargoes berthing at the eastern ports.
The NPA is also embarking on the dredging of Escravos Channel in Warri, the deployment of equipment and machinery to improve operational efficiency, while stakeholders’ engagement is taken seriously towards achieving industrial harmony and peaceful co-existence.
The NPA spokesman added that regular conversations with shipping companies had been productive, leading to the deployment of flat bottom vessels to Calabar.
He said the NPA is working with the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency and the Port Police Command to combat crimes on the nation’s waterways, while engaging with the Federal Ministry of Works to ensure the rehabilitation of access roads to and from ports in the region.
