Barge owners partner maritime workers to improve operations

The Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN) has partnered with the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) in order to develop frameworks that will improve barge operations in Nigeria.

Edeme Kelikume president of BOAN said that the partnership with MWUN was necessary to ensure better management of barge activities and to instill discipline among waterways operators. He added that the partnership will also strengthen engagement with regulatory authorities and the government.

“With this partnership, there will be better coordination of the movement of our crafts and other third parties that will be plying the waterways, it will also enhance regular engagements with regulatory agencies,” he said.

Kelikume told journalists at a press conference that going forward, intentional efforts will be made to increase partnerships and engagements with relevant stakeholders and regulatory agencies like National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Police and Lagos State Waterways Authority (LASWA) to solve prevalent challenges.

He highlighted challenges of barge operators particularly the issue of wreck removal and insecurity. “We expect NIWA, NIMASA, and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to get more involved in clearing the water of the wrecks we have in them, we also need to have the right navigational aids and assured security,” Kelikume said.

Read also: NIMASA begins wreck removal on Nigerian waters to boost safe shipping

Adewale Adeyanju, President-General, MWUN, stated that the synergy between both organizations was essential to driving successful operations and also become tough in reaching its goals and interfacing with the Government and regulatory bodies.

“Following this partnership, we expect an improvement in activities across the board; however we urge the government to also play their roles effectively through policies and actions” Adeyanju said.

He stated that the partnership will transcend beyond Lagos as he had engaged with stakeholders in other quarters of the Federation, adding that MWUN will continue to support BOAN to ensure all set goals and objectives are achieved.

Subsequently, both associations reformed their operations to have channels and teams that will foster a seamless operation; this has birthed the Barge Operations Management Committee (BOMC) composed of members of both organizations with Ahmed Mohammed as the Chairman steering committee.

The committee will also focus on refining core elements that encapsulate the operational activities of Barge operations such as manpower availability, infrastructure, and waterway channels and the equipment required.

Kelikume also revealed that BOAN is working on mobile software to ease engagement and communication on the waterways, “with this software, barges can be tracked as they leave the jetties real-time, we will have an opportunity to build a strong database for the industry thus improving insight and enhancing swift decision making and projections,” he said.

Speaking on the first the annual conference, Hajia Bola Muse, Chairperson, BOAN conference Committee, mentioned that BOAN will be hosting the maiden edition of its annual conference which will provide a platform to outline growth strategies and improve engagement among stakeholders and regulatory agencies.

She said the annual conference is scheduled to hold on the 24th of August, 2021 at the Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, adding that Rotimi Amaechi, Minister of Transportation, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos state governor, Idris Abubakar Acting Managing Director, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Executives from NIMASA, and other key players in the Maritime Industry will be in attendance.