By Godfrey Bivbere

Dredging activities by promoters of a portion of Port Novo Creek opposite the Tin-can Island first gate has blocked the drainage that discharges flood water from the terminals at the port into the creek.

Vanguard Maritime Report learnt this development grounded operations at Five Star container terminals and some other terminals following a flooding from recent rainfalls, leading to a “Save Our Soul” letter to the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, by the affected terminals.

Consequently, Vanguard Maritime further learnt that the Tin-can Island Port Manager, Jibril Buba, reported to the Managing Director, Bello-Koko who visited and directed that the channel be opened.

Confirming this, the Port Manager said that operations at the port have since resumed after the drainage was cleared with the intervention of the Managing Director.

Dredging activities are being done by local sand dredgers and a company sand-filling a piece of land initially for the construction of a tank farm but the project has since switched to a holding bay. It is however not clear which of the two led to the blockade of the drainage.

Recall that there has been a battle for ownership of the shoreline opposite Tin-can Island port between the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing and the management of the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA.

The management of NPA had earlier granted licenses to some firms for the use of the shoreline only to revoke the same and re-award it to some other firms.

However, following the re-award of the shoreline to new set of operators, the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing awarded the contract for landscape development to Dangote Group.