Cargo vessel at the port

Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that cargo throughput in the nation’s seaports have increased by 15.2 per cent; from 380,114 containers in the first half of 2011 to 438,049 containers in the corresponding period of 2012.

This was contained in a statement signed by the General Manager (Public Affairs) of NPA, Chief Michael Ajayi. It said that the ongoing dredging of the Nigerian water channels had resulted in an increase in the gross tonnage of ocean-going vessels, containers and vehicle traffic, in the first half of 2012.

“The total gross tonnage of ocean-going vessels in the first half of 2012 was 60.23 million tonnes, a growth of two per cent over the 59.1 million tonnes recorded in the corresponding period of 2011”, it said.

The authority said that empty container throughput was 332,917 TEUs (containers), an increase of 25.2 per cent over the 265,827 TEUs recorded in the same period of 2011. It added that vehicular traffic in the first half of 2012 was 129,389 units, representing a 35.2 per cent increase over the 95,676 units of vehicles recorded in the first half of 2011.