WRECKS: Trawlers, Barges Litter Kirikiri Waterfront, As Operators Beg NPA, NIMASA For Evacuation

Fishing trawlers and barges are currently constituting looming danger for moving crafts along the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) waterfronts in Lagos, DAILYFOCUS NIGERIA investigations have revealed .

 

Most of the vessels, findings revealed have been abandoned for over a decade.

 

While some are currently in a particular spot for ages due to court injunctions others are statically positioned for repairs, maintenance and detention by regulatory authorities.

 

Some of the trawlers spotted by our correspondent last week ,numbering twelves owner by fishing trawler operators were not seaworthy while others are in corrosive condition which are beyond repairs.

 

Multiple sources alleged that most of the trawlers are beyond repairs but  some  of the owners deliberately abandoned them in front of their jetties for possible sales as scrap metals.

 

According to them, some of the vessels are  there and nobody is querying the abandonment which poses danger to aquatic lives and navigation of smaller boats.

 

 

It was also gathered that barging activities have also faced some level of hiccups while berthing to offload cargoes.

 

A barge operators name withheld lamented that  movement of barges  along the Kirikiri waterfront has experienced some level of challenges due to vessels abandonment.

 

The barger decried government negligence towards the evacuation of some of the critical wrecks along the waterways adding that the Kirikiri Lighter Terminals play host to large volume of cargoes from the mother ports, namely the Lagos Ports Complex (LPC )Apapa and Tin Can Island Port Complex (TCIPC).

He maintained that the waterfront is unsafe for navigation noting that the relevant agencies to clear the jetties berthing some of wrecks.

 

He maintained that despite the presence of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) within the Kirikiri Lighter Terminals, waterways  safety mandates remain uncertain for users, calling on the apex regulatory agency to lead the way for the evacuating the outclassed vessels.

 

Recall that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA)and Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) and NIMASA have stated that claimed to have removed critical wrecks from the nation’s waterways.

There are multiple boat mishaps in the last two years along the KLT waterways a situation that has threatened water transportation within the axis.