The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has revealed plans to use more flat bottom vessels (FBVs) to overcome draught limitation problems.
This after the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping raised concerns over the shallowness of some sections of the channels at the country’s ports.
NPA managing director, Hadiza Bala Usman, said that the increased use of FBVs would serve as a workable solution for the draught limitations in some channels, such as Calabar and Warri, following the successful berthing of a 200-metre-long, 61 000-metric-tonne heavy FBV in Calabar Port last year.
She noted that this would be facilitated by cooperation between the authority and stakeholders in Nigeria’s maritime sector, especially those in the shipping sub-sector.
