Ministry to increase eastern ports' vessel traffic
Lagos – The Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy says it will provide facilitation and advocacy required to grow vessel traffic to the Eastern port.
Speaking at the commissioning of a 4.8km road and marine craft at Onne Port, Rivers State, the minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, disclosed that deepening efficiencies and full capacity utilisation of the Eastern ports constitute one of the tools deployed to achieve the Key Performance Indicators, KPIs, assigned to the ministry under the Presidential Performance Bond.
The Eastern ports comprise ports in Onne in Rivers State, Warri and Calabar.
The minister, who expressed happiness that the Onne and Calabar Port Complexes have met the requirements of the International Organization for Standardization and are ISO certified, said the newly commissioned mooring boats would further enhanced the security and safety at the Eastern port.
According to him, providing an enabling environment for investors to patronise the Eastern ports is top priority of the Marine and Blue Economy Ministry.
"This road infrastructure constructed by the Nigerian Ports Authority and the mooring boats we are gathered here to commission, is another testament to the commitment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy under my watch to maximise the entire gamut of opportunities conferred on us by our maritime endowments, in line with the directives of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
"The Mooring Boats are used to safety berth and unberth vessels calling at various pilotage districts. These six Mooring Boats is our own way of further enhancing the security and safety of our maritime space,” he stated.
According to him, deepening the efficiencies and full capacity utilisation of the strategic advantages of Onne and other port complexes in the eastern axis constitutes one of the tools being deployed in actualising the Key Performance Indicators assigned to the ministry under the Presidential Performance Bond. “We are now poised more than ever before to give the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) all the backing necessary to address all factors responsible for the underutilization of these national assets," Oyetola said.