Dr Magdalene Ajani, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Transportation (FMOT) on Friday in Lagos inaugurated two newly acquired 80 tonnes Bollard Pull Tugboats of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).
The Bollard Pull Tugboats acquired by NPA, were to support the optimisation of the Lekki Deep Seaport.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) is the first in Africa to acquire these 2813 model of Damen’s ASD neoteric 80 Tons Bollard Pull Tugboats.
The 80 tonnes Bollard Pull Tugboats was christened M.T MAIKOKO and M.T DA-OPUKURO.
Speaking at the inauguration, Ajani said that the two newly acquired state-of-the-art marine crafts accentuated the determination of the ministry to boost port operational efficiency.
“My joy derives from the fact that the acquisition of these equipment, amongst many others that are in the works, signposts Nigeria’s seriousness to optimise opportunities inherent in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)Agreement to which we are signatory.
“Maximising the comparative advantages that our maritime assets as a littoral nation confer rests heavily on how much we are able to deepen our efficiencies through the deployment of relevant technology and equipment.
“I particularly want to commend the NPA management team for delivering on this project in good time to support the optimisation of the Lekki Deep Seaport.
“This is the kind of efficiency that the ministry supports its agencies to entrench in the polity and I am happy that we are making progress,” she said.
Ajani reiterated the support of the ministry for the efforts of NPA and all sister agencies and parastatals as they encourage inter-agency collaborations.
He said that would assist toward the attainment of the goal of making Nigeria a global reference point of excellence in trade facilitation.
Also, Mr Lawrence Smith, Chief Operating Office, Lekki Deep Seaport, said that NPA had consistently shown its commitment to the port, with the various infrastructure deployed.
According to Smith, this will ensure that Nigeria has a competitive edge and become the hub in West Africa.
“I appreciate NPA for the newly acquired tugboats and appreciate the FMOT, Lagos State for the strong enabling environment for operations.
“We look forward for a continued journey with the NPA,” he said.
Earlier, Mr Mohammed Bello-Koko, Managing Director, NPA, said that the event was the fulfillment of the agency service charter to provide relevant marine crafts to support port security, patrol and surveillance.
He added that most importantly, was to deliver excellent marine services, especially with the beginning of operations of Nigeria’s first Deep Seaport, the Lekki Deep Seaport.
“I am delighted and honored to welcome you to this occasion, which is a demonstration of this administration’s resolve to position the NPA to respond squarely to the contemporary demands of trade facilitation.
“Imbued by our corporate aspiration of attaining hub status by more efficiently servicing domestic cargo needs, winning back transit cargo hitherto lost to our maritime neighbours and positioning to cater to the maritime requirements of our landlocked neighbours.
“To achieve this, we have deployed a three-pronged strategy driven by people, technology, infrastructure and equipment, such as the state-of-the-art vessels we are gathered here to commission today,” he said.
He said that the agency’s determination to continuously enhance operational efficiencies accounted for the purchase of these new tugboats.
“They are to complement existing fleet of tugs and recently commissioned Security Patrol Boats (SPBs) and Pilot Cutters deployed to enhance channel security across all our locations.
“These neoteric 80 tonnes tugboats are the first of the 2813 Azimuth Stern Drive (ASD) Model in Africa constructed by the world’s leading ship builders (Damen).
“They possess exceptional Seakeeping Behavior, Superb Manoeuvrability of 360°, using the Azimuth Thrusters, fire-fighting capability and outstanding towing characteristics, which will enhance the maneuvering of large capacity vessels of 300 Metres LOA and above presently calling at our Ports.
“In addition to positively affecting the turnaround time of large vessels, their deployment will enable stakeholders leverage the concomitant benefits of economies of scale, especially cost savings,” he said.
Bello-Koko reiterated that the agency’s drive towards deploying Lekki Deep Seaport as launch pad for transshipment remains unwavering, saying, “this event today is confirmation of our doggedness on this noble cause.
He assured all consignees, concessionaires and other stakeholders of continuous improvement in service delivery from the Nigerian Ports Authority.
