NPA Fails to Act on Pledge to ‘Desilt’ Escravos Channel

Emmanuel Addeh writes that despite the pledge by the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) to undertake emergency maintenance and dredging of critical sections of the Escravos channel, the organisation has failed to do so, months after.

Following years of complaints by operators using the Escravos Channel, around Warri, the NPA in October last year, promised to carry out the ‘desilting’ of the water route within 16 months, to ameliorate the challenges faced by the users.

But a follow-up by THISDAY has shown that nothing has been done in the last four months to make that commitment a reality, in spite of the assurances by the government organisation.

While the maintenance of the critical artery should be routine, however, it has been facing a recurring problem of clogging, without the authorities making any significant effort to make the passage of the route by business owners easier.

Since the Bola Tinubu administration took over the reins of power in May 2023, the government has boasted of removing all the bottlenecks hobbling foreign and local investment in Nigeria. Many observers see the problems on the Excravos route as a test case for that much-talked-about commitment.

Indeed, the channel, a major waterway in Nigeria, has been experiencing severe congestion due to its shallow depth, causing large vessels to get stuck. This has resulted in significant disruptions to shipping and trade activities in the region.

Despite the urgency of the situation, the government has been criticised for its inaction in addressing the issue. The congestion has had far-reaching implications for the country’s trade and commerce. Besides, the government has failed to act decisively to address the issue, raising concerns among stakeholders, including shippers and business leaders.

In spite of the award of a contract for remedial dredging of the channel, aimed at reviving the port and improving maritime trade in the past, the delay in implementing the project has only added to the frustration of stakeholders.

Aside from resulting in significant revenue losses for the Nigerian government, the lack of urgency in resolving the issue has led to increased costs for shippers, importers, and exporters, thereby reducing Nigeria’s competitiveness in the global market.

The congestion at the Escravos channel is also capable of leading to environmental degradation, including oil spills and pollution, thereby posing health risks to communities living around the channel.

For years, shippers and importers have expressed frustration over the delay in resolving the issue, which has affected their businesses and by extension the country’s economy.

Stakeholders are therefore calling for urgent intervention from the government to resolve the issue, while plans should be made for a long-term solution to address the root causes of the clogging.

To break it down, the Excravos channel, which apparently appears to have been abandoned, connects the Niger Delta to the Atlantic Ocean and plays a critical role in Nigeria’s oil and gas exports, as well as cargo transportation

The removal of the sediments and debris from the channel will ordinarily increase the depth of navigation channels, anchorages, or berthing areas to ensure the safe passage of boats and ships. This is because vessels require a certain amount of water in order to float and not hit the bottom. Since massive ships carry the bulk of the goods imported into Nigeria, dredging plays a vital role in the nation’s economy.

Several factors have contributed to the clogging of the Escravos Channel, according to checks by THISDAY, including siltation, wherein the channel’s shallow depth and slow currents allow sediment to settle, reducing its navigability.

This challenge at the Excravos water route has further been worsened by  poor maintenance as well as the much talked about climate change, leading to rising sea levels and increased storm frequency which worsen coastal erosion and sedimentation. This severe clogging comes with its economic and environmental implications, including reduction of cargo capacity as vessels must lighten loads, thereby increasing transportation costs.

In addition, not unclogging the route increases transit time, since, as expected, ships face delays, affecting supply chains, resulting in economic losses, reduced trade volumes and increased costs which have harmed local businesses,  leading to job losses.

When THISDAY sought to get an update, those in the know said that nothing was being done on the water route, except for a dredger that was parked on the site for sometime before it disappeared abruptly without doing any work.

 “The dredger just parked there, it didn’t do anything. So, the next thing we’re hearing is that that dredger has gone, left that place. It’s no longer there. So basically, nothing has been done. Now, we’re wondering if they were paid for the job and didn’t do it, or they weren’t paid for the job, or  they are having challenges.

 “ Whatever it is, that problem needs to be addressed because it’s affecting all the businesses on that terrain. So, the long and short of it is that the dredging was not done. Even though they pretended to have brought the dredger, purportedly for that purpose, the dredger did not work.

 “What people are noticing now is that the dredger has even been taken away. It’s no longer there. And the challenges have remained.  And nobody is saying anything, nobody is giving us any feedback as to why this has happened,” one user of the Excravos route told THISDAY.

Therefore despite NPA’s assurances as of October when the organization was reached, that it would carry out the emergency work within 16 weeks, THISDAY learnt that work had not even begun as of January 9, 2025.

When the NPA was reached the first time this story was published in October, the organisation listed the various efforts it had made to solve the problem, describing the Excravos Channel issue as ‘peculiar’. It therefore promised to carry emergency works, a pledge it has not kept.

 “The contractor has concluded the in-survey and is already mobilising to site. It is expected that the campaign would be completed within 16 weeks. Once concluded, it would provide the much needed temporary respite pending the completion of the rehabilitation of the breakwater which would then be followed by regular/routine maintenance of the entire channel,” NPA spokesman, Ikechukwu Onyemekara, said at the time.

He added:  “The Warri/Escravos Channel is quite peculiar in the sense that its dredging must of necessity be preceded by reconstruction of the Escravos breakwater which had collapsed and is resulting in unprecedented rate of silt at the entrance of the Channel.

 “Fortunately the federal government has approved the Authority’s inclusion of the comprehensive rehabilitation of the breakwater in the Port Modernisation Programme  which is to be implemented shortly,” the NPA spokesman stressed.

He added that the rehabilitation, once achieved, will pave the way for regular and routine maintenance dredging for the entire channel. According to him, the last time a dredging campaign that specifically targeted the critical entrance area covering over 21.0 kilometres was in 2022.

Onyemekara recalled that the Authority made a case for urgent federal government intervention and had secured administrative approval to undertake maintenance dredging in the most critical section of the channel on an emergency basis.

As a measure of ensuring business continuity, the Authority, he said, had approved the ‘lightering’ of vessels laden with products to minimise incidences of vessel grounding and facilitate easy evacuation where violations of the advertised draught results in grounding.

 “In addition to the above is the Authority’s enhanced installation of navigational aids/buoys and robust stakeholder engagement with the host community and shipping lines to adhere to the ‘mitigatory’ measures being put in place to make the best of the situation,” he stated in the response.

But operators have said that nothing has changed since then, insisting that the NPA has not been helping matters, but instead, has been compounding the problem. The NPA aside, failing to do its job, they complained, is also delaying and frustrating other genuine efforts aimed at getting the job done in the interest of Nigeria.

By the law setting it up, the NPA plays a crucial role in maintaining the nation’s waterways, including the Escravos Channel. Although there have been attempts in the past to address the challenge, they have not borne the expected fruits, especially since it is not conducted regularly.

If the NPA does what is statutorily expected of it, this will improve navigation and reduce transit times, increase cargo capacity and reduce transportation costs, enhance economic growth and competitiveness as well as protect the environment by reducing sedimentation.

The operators insist that several vessels have been running aground in the channel, further compounding the mess, because the NPA, which should ensure the orderly movement of vessels around the area, has largely shirked its responsibility.

 “Typically, this is the channel that allows access into the Warri port and there are multiple users. It is also a channel that provides access for the tankers that bring in Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) for the country.

 “NNPC is a key user because those are tankers that are commissioned by them. Now, with regards to crude oil production for the country, some of the assets in the western Niger Delta corridor also convey crude oil from the fields via mid-range tankers shuttling from the asset through the channel to offshore locations for export.

 “This channel, over the years as is typical with nature has been silted. So, increasingly, it has been difficult for vessels to navigate and once aground will require assistance to re-float with high-powered tug boats, ” THISDAY was told.

In the past, several ocean-going vessels had run aground within the same axis.

It was further learnt that since the maximum draft at the channel during high tide is about 6.2 meters, many vessels now routinely get stuck in the area, leading to loss of huge revenues, including expenditure on heavy machinery for towing the affected vessels.

Before they are towed, these vessels are said to block the entire channel, thereby making it impossible for other vessels to move along the route for sometimes as many as 10 days, leading to significant financial losses to users and government.

This problem is now a crisis and must be addressed now. If the NPA isn’t competent enough to deal with this (as the case appears to be now) then the Government should find other ingenious ways to deal with the crisis.