Insecurity: Sanction Josepdam, stakeholders urge NPA

Clearing agents operating at the Tin-Can Island port complex have called on the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), to sanction Josepdam Port Services (JPS) over porous and unsecured anchorage.

Josepdam, the operator of berth 1 and 2 of the Tin-Can Island port complex, Lagos has in recent times, experienced series of attacks at the terminal.

Though, the Marine Police is expected to secure the quay side of all ports terminals, other terminal operators at Nigerian ports have started providing security to secure their quay sides against attack on vessels at berth, which has been on the rise in recent time.

Recall that on March 18, a group of sea robbers numbering about 20 gained access into Josepdam terminal through the waterfront and headed to the terminal’s fuel dump. The robbers beat up and tied the security guards at the fuel dump before they connected a hose from their standby boat to evacuate fuel from the terminal’s fuel tank. The robbers, who reportedly operated unchallenged for more than an hour, succeeded in carting away about eight drums of diesel from the terminals.

Four days later and precisely on March 22, 2018, the robbers called at Josepdam terminal again. This time, they launched an attack on a ship named MV Kiana. The ship, which was discharging its cargo of bulk sugar belonging to BUA Sugar Refinery, has Nura Shipping Limited as its agent in Nigeria. The robbers, as usual, stormed the ship using canoe, which they brought alongside the ship and gained access onboard with the aid of a rope tied to a hook.

Speaking to newsmen on the incident, a clearing agent, Ikechukwu Nwani asked the Nigerian Ports Authority to sanction the terminal operator over its poor security architecture.

Nwani said the porous nature of Josephdam can affect other terminal operators and affect the gains made by the country in implementing International Ships and Ports Security (ISPS) code.

“The incessant attacks by bandits and sea pirates at Josepdam terminal can affect the security of other terminals on the Tin-Can port axis, and the earlier the government sanctions them in order to sit tight, the better it will be for the ports.

“If you visit their terminal, you will know it is the most porous among all the terminals at Tin-Can Port, and you begin to wonder how they became compliant with the ISPS code. Their berths is porous, that is why they recorded three consecutive attacks in one month,” Nwani lamented to newsmen.