Even though night operations had last year been banned at all petroleum tank farms for security reasons, there are indications that the ongoing road rehabilitation at the Coconut axis of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway may have forced tank farms to collaborate with petroleum tanker drivers on night operations.
Shipping Position Daily gathered last week that the night operations are to enable the tank farms clear up the backlog of tankers that were trapped in the traffic from morning through the evening hours.
Even though night operations had last year been banned at all petroleum tank farms for security reasons, there are indications that the ongoing road rehabilitation at the Coconut axis of the Apapa-Oshodi expressway may have forced tank farms to collaborate with petroleum tanker drivers on night operations.
Shipping Position Daily gathered last week that the night operations are to enable the tank farms clear up the backlog of tankers that were trapped in the traffic from morning through the evening hours.
Depot officials told our correspondent last week that they have had an internal arrangement with the unions on night operations and that operations have been extended till 9pm daily, up from the 5pm that they usually closed operations.
Also confirming the development, a source; Fidel Aisodionne told our correspondent that all the depots at Ibru and Ibafon jetty have worked out extension of working time.
He noted that as a result of the ongoing rehabilitation of the roads around the area, the expressway which initially had vehicular space of five lanes is now reduced to a service lane. He however lamented that the service lane has now been reduced to a temporary holding bay for trucks and the entire depot on the axis.
“The other road users are left with a single lane; to a large extent this has caused a lot of traffic. Where the depot is supposed to release a hundred trucks per day they reduced it to 70 or 60”
“The union has however put some things in place and the depots now have an extension of working time”
“They have internally arranged for an extension of time, where depots instead of closing by 5pm they now work till 7pm and some work till 9pm. We could also have evidence of people working later than this because of the traffic so that they can clear the backlog from the traffic”
“We appreciate that they are fixing the roads and whatever it requires by way of cooperation and so on, we are ready to give and we have been giving”
Fidel also said that vessels are continually being held up at the anchorage because there was no space at the tank farms for them to discharge cargoes.
“Vessels are coming and products are available, through the weekend, a lot of vessels actually berthed to drop product but they cannot do this because others are doing same and so they are stuck in traffic awaiting clearance for discharge, we are expecting as much as three vessels that are expected to have discharge and go away, there is no space to discharge” he said.
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