Festus Olumati, port manager, Nigerian Port Authority (NPA), Calabar Port, has said that the volume of vessels berthing at the Calabar Port has led to massive economic prosperity.
Olumati said this on Sunday in Calabar while on an oversight duty at the Port terminal where over four vessels were discharging their various cargos and petroleum product.
The Port Manager said that one of the vessels, “MV Desert Unity”, berthed at the Port with 16,000 metric tons of wheat, while “MV Medi Bangkok” berthed with 18,251 metric tons of general cargo including cars, trucks and project pipes.
According to him, the other two vessels berthed at the Port with premium motor spirit, while others were still at the Calabar Fairway Bouy and ready to berth for discharge.
He said: “Today is Sunday, but there is tremendous activities going on in the port. As you can see, Calabar Port is very viable and working at optimal capacity.
“In line with the mandate given to us by our able Managing Director, Mohammed Bello-Koko, that the Eastern Port must work, I had to swing into action to make it a reality.
“Also, in line with the mandate of the MD, I went out of the box to hunt for cargos to come into Calabar. The high traffic we see here today at the port is as a result of the mandate given to us by our MD.
“For the past 10 years, we have never had it like this where over five vessels will be berthing and discharging back-to-back at the Calabar Port.
“Special thanks to the MD of NPA for giving us all the requirements to work and achieve result. All our submissions to him for the Eastern Port to work have been approved.
“For these vessels to come here, we had to ask for concessional rate from the MD of NPA for those who bring in cargos and he gave the approval.”
He said that the Port management was utilising the concessional rate strategy to woo vessels to the Calabar Port.
He told members of the public and maritime operators that the Calabar Port was viable, visible and very reliable to use, adding that the Port has modern equipment to discharge cargos.
“As you can see, our workers are effective and efficient and everything is done perfectly. The commitment of staff of NPA and the Eco Marine Terminal workers is quite commendable,” he said.
On security, he said that recently, a detachment of marine police were deployed to the Port to ensure maximum security for the Port in synergy with the NPA police command and Port security officers.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Port is currently a beehive of activities with youths engaged in various jobs.
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