SEREC urges FG to create directorate to regulate barge operations

Nigeria’s Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy has been urged to set up a dedicated directorate to enforce mandatory registration, inspection, and certification of all barges and tugboats involved in cargo transportation in the country.

The Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) advised the ministry following a media report over a barge laden with chemical that sank at the Mile 2 Jetty, Lagos. The chemical was washed into the river, threatening marine life and public health.

The Head of Research at SEREC, Fwdr Eugene Nweke Rff., gave the charge in a statement calling on the federal government to immediately reform the Nigeria’s Barge Operations by creating a dedicated directorate.

Fwrd Eugene Nweke said “Sea Empowerment and Research Center (SEREC) expresses deep concern over the recent incident of a sunken barge and chemical pollution at the Mile 2 Jetty, Lagos, where continuous rainfall has worsened toxic leakage into the waterways, threatening marine life and public health.

“According to verified reports from Harbourandport.com and other maritime monitors, industrial chemicals stacked at Clarion Shipping Terminal and surrounding locations have been seeping into adjacent waters with no visible regulatory intervention.

“SEREC views this as a critical wake-up call for the Nigerian government to strengthen the institutional and administrative architecture of barge operations, which remain weakly coordinated across multiple agencies — leaving dangerous lapses in safety, pollution control, and accident response.

“SEREC hereby calls on the Honourable Minister of Marine and Blue Economy to establish a Directorate of Barge Operations and Logistics Services (DBOLS) — headed by a Director and supported by a Deputy Director for technical coordination and logistics reforms.”

He listed the following functions for the directorate, which it christened as Directorate of Barge Operations & Logistics Services (DBOLS), thus:

Institute national safety  and environmental standards for barge design, loading, and operations.

Deploy vessel tracking systems (AIS/GPS) for inland waterway traffic monitoring.

Supervise terminal licensing, accident reporting, and pollution control.

Drive training, certification, and job creation within the marine logistics sector.

The Head of Research pointed out that the directorate annually can generate between N60-80 billion (USD40-50 million) through proper regulation of barge registration and inspection fees, cargo movement levies, inland waterway terminal licensing, and environmental compliance charges.

He expressed confidence that a structured barge logistics can directly and indirectly create between 45,000 and 60,000 new jobs within 3 and 5 years including 10,000 skilled technical and maritime safety jobs, 25,000 dockside, mechanical, and logistics staff, and 15,000 ancillary and local supply-chain roles (fuel, repair, catering, waste management).

According to him, “By unlocking safer inland logistics, Nigeria could attract ₦250-300 billion (USD189-200 million) in private investments over the next decade from shipping companies, dredging firms, terminal operators, and barge manufacturers.

“Every 100 cargo-laden barges can remove 1,000 trucks from Nigerian highways — reducing road maintenance costs and CO₂ emissions by up to 30% annually.”

SEREC therefore urged the Minister of Marine and Blue Economy, Adegboyega Oyetola, to establish an inter-agency emergency task force to address the Mile 2 pollution and strengthen monitoring nationwide; and fast-track the National Barge Modernisation and Regulation Framework (NBMRF) under the Blue Economy agenda.

“Barge operations are the arteries of our inland maritime economy. With proper regulation, they can decongest highways, reduce transport costs by up to 40%, create tens of thousands of jobs, and protect our marine ecosystems,” he concluded.