Findings by Shipping Position Daily have revealed that there is a slight increase in the number of trucks exiting Lagos ports compared to the number entering in the last six months. This is according to data provided by Truck Transit Park (TTP) Limited, operators of the electronic call up system.
Data released by TTP Head of Corporate Development, Mr Richard Emenim indicates that a total of 230,788 trucks entered the port, while 234,839 trucks exited from August 2023 to January 2024, yielding a difference of 4,051 trucks. The corresponding percentage difference for the entire six-month duration stands at 1.76%.
The breakdown of the statistics for January 2024 to February 22, 2024 further revealed a total of 60,523 trucks entered Lagos ports, while 65,389 trucks exited, resulting in a difference of 4,866 trucks. This represents a percentage difference of 8.04%.
However, Emenim provided a caveat noting that some terminals at the Lagos ports have waterfront access to barges, and as a result, trucks entering the port via barges are not captured in the data provided.
This implies that the actual traffic may be higher than the reported figures, considering the maritime access points not accounted for by the port’s trucking system, known as Ètò.
Reacting to this, the Vice President of Nexus Association of Maritime Transport Operators (NAMTOP), Mr Rilwan Bello raised concerns about the accuracy of the data. He pointed out a significant discrepancy, indicating that there is a disparity in the data provided due to the sale of unofficial codes which were not recorded as entries and exits.
According to Bello, some of these codes are generated without proper documentation and oversight, allowing vehicles to enter and exit the port without being captured by the data collected through the Electronic Call-Up System.
Highlighting issues with data capture, Bello mentioned that some of the codes generated in this process are not reflected in the Truck Transit Park’s (TTP) data. He noted the existence of a practice where individuals generate codes to facilitate the opening of barriers, presenting a potential loophole in the monitoring system.
The NAMTOP Vice President stressed on a decline in imports, citing data from APM Terminal which indicates a higher volume of imports compared to exports. The imbalance in import-export ratios was identified as a contributing factor to the prolonged queues observed at Tin Can Port, as many trucks are laden with export cargo.
Bello traced the decline in barge-related truck entries back to previous complaints that led to the discontinuation of this method. According to him, trucks were initially brought into the port through barges, offering a quicker route that by-passed regular road traffic.
Speaking further, he stressed that the bottleneck created by the handling of barges at APM Terminals has led to increased traffic congestion on the roads, affecting the timely handling of trucks, until all barges are loaded.
In his words: “From that data, it is obvious that barges don’t bring trucks into the port any more. I believe the disparity is coming from those codes that they sell; that are un-official. That’s why you have about 5,000 trucks different from those that came in as to those that went out.
“Some of these are just generated. You just generate the code for you to exit, so that the barrier will open. The barrier will open to go in and exit out. So this is not captured by the data of Eto. Before now, people brought in trucks through barges into the port, but we complained and they stopped them. This is because when they go through barges, it will be faster for them and they will not follow the traffic. What is happening now is that barges now come in with empty containers and take imports out.
“If you go to APMT, you will see about 10 barges on the queue and they can move about 30 to 40 containers each. That is why you notice that the traffic on the road is stagnant because they are attending to barges. They may not attend to trucks on time, until they load all the barges” Bello said.
Responding to these concerns, the Public Relations Officer of the Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN) Daniel Eze acknowledged a reduction in the rate at which trucks are transported through barges as Roll-On/Roll-Off (RORO).
While affirming that the practice has not entirely ceased, Eze noted that there is a decrease in its frequency. He promised to provide data on the traffic of barges moving containers from terminals in Lagos port. However, he did not get back to our correspondent as at press time.
