By Oluyinka Onigbinde
Nigeria’s eastern ports are facing declining vessel traffic as insecurity and rising operational costs continue to discourage shipping lines, despite efforts to position the region as a viable alternative to the congested Lagos corridor.
Investigations by our correspondent reveal that vessels heading to ports in the region are often forced to pay unofficial levies—locally referred to as “deve”—to suspected militant groups before gaining access to port channels. Stakeholders say these payments are inflating operational costs and weakening the competitiveness of the ports.
The eastern port network, comprising the Onne Port Complex, Rivers Port Complex, Calabar Port, and Delta ports in Warri, was designed to decongest Lagos ports and serve key regions across the country. However, persistent challenges have continued to limit their utilisation.
In a chat with the President-General of the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria, Francis Bunu, he confirmed that insecurity has significantly reduced vessel calls to the eastern corridor, noting that shipping companies now factor in unofficial payments when planning their operations.
“Let us hold our governors responsible; they have security votes—what are they doing with it? If the governors of those states come together, they will achieve more and solve the security problem bedevilling the seaports. If Delta and Rivers states come together to tackle this menace, businesses in this region will rather come to the ports than Lagos seaports, and things will be cheaper,” Bunu said.
Beyond security concerns, operators are also grappling with high insurance costs linked to the Gulf of Guinea, which has historically been classified as a high-risk maritime zone. Although piracy incidents have declined in recent years, war risk premiums remain a burden, raising freight costs and discouraging shipping lines from using the eastern routes.
However, a Port Harcourt-based importer, Chinedu Okafor, blamed the situation more on policy and structural issues than insecurity alone, arguing that political will has been lacking in addressing long-standing constraints.
“The problem is not just insecurity; it is also about political decisions. There has not been enough commitment to make these ports competitive. Channels are still shallow, infrastructure is weak, and policies are not encouraging,” he said.
Checks by our correspondent showed that while past dredging efforts, particularly during the administration of late President Muhammadu Buhari, sought to improve access to ports like Calabar and Warri, significant limitations persist.
Stakeholders note that unless security concerns are decisively addressed alongside infrastructure upgrades and policy reforms, eastern ports will continue to operate below capacity.
