The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has threatened to stop Egina FPSO vessel from Nigerian waters if the parties do not comply with its towage and pilotage laws.
NPA’s General Manager of Corporate and Strategic Communications, Abdullahi Goje made this revelation in a recent interview.
“The refusal of the parties involved in the project to request for towage and pilotage service from the NPA, (being the only organisation empowered to provide same in the country), is contrary to the laws of the country and would be resisted,”
“Notice has already been given to promoters of the FPSO to the effect that the vessel would not be granted access to Nigeria’s waterways and that the NPA would pursue legal remedies in its determination to ensure that no organisation impedes on the mandate of the NPA as provided in Part II of the Port Act.” He said.
Nigerian Ports Authority operates ports in Nigeria. Its functions include pilotage, towage, supply of water, ship repair, security services, fire services, and medical services.
The company provides port shipping services; port facilities, including bunkers, water, ship’s stores, ship’s waste, and stevedoring and storage, as well as other facilities, such as break bulk facilities, container terminal facilities, stock trade facilities, passenger terminal facilities, and packing/unpacking facilities; port cargo services; port security services; and port visit services.
Its customers include cargo owners, shipping lines, international container terminal operators, coastal terminal operators, general and bulk cargo shipping companies and shipping agents, freight forwarders, and non-vessel operating common carriers. Nigerian Ports Authority was founded in 1955 and is based in Lagos, Nigeria
Egina Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) built by SHI for Total Upstream Nigeria Limited (TUPNI) for the 200,000 barrels per day Nigeria’s Egina deepwater field.
Towage is the pushing or pulling of a ship or barge along the water by another ship or boat called tug. While Pilotage is the act or skill of assisting a ship to navigate through the channels of the port.
