The Master Mariners Association of Nigeria (MMAN) has called on the Federal Government to develop water transportation as an alternative means of conveying containers and petroleum products in the country.
The President, MMAN, Capt. Ade Olopoenia, stated instances of containers and tankers falling on people and properties could be minimised if such heavy duty cargos were taken off the roads.
He said, “In the developed countries you don’t see containers or petroleum tankers conveying cargo over long distances on the roads. These things are usually transported via rail or the waterways.
“Doing so frees up the roads for vehicular traffic. We should take advantage of our railways and the inland waterways instead of concentrating everything on the roads, which were not built to carry such weight.”
He also lamented the ineffectiveness of the Ministry of Transport in the area of testing vehicles for road worthiness.
“Some of these trucks, if tested, will be discovered that they are over 30 years and not fit to ply the roads. We should revive the old system of training and retraining drivers before they are issued licences.” Olopoenia stated.
He also advised the government to take advantage of the inland waterways to move cargo via barges within and outside Lagos.
A former President of the association, Capt. Adewale Ishola, called for the monitoring of how containers were being loaded at the terminals, noting that there should be inspectors at the points of loading, who would ensure that the trucks did not carry more than the weight assigned to them.
He said, “Traffic management agencies in the state should also ensure that these trucks don’t take certain routes because of the presence of bridges. If the trucks have bad engines, they will not be able to drive up the bridges.
“Traffic management agencies should not only be concerned with checking the documents of a truck, they should also determine by examining the truck if other road users are safe with it.”
Ishola also called on the government to urgently rehabilitate the port access roads.
A member of the association, Mr. Israel Obadan, however, noted that 80 per cent of the problem of falling containers would be solved if the Nigerian Ports Authority enforced a safety standard for all trucks coming into the ports.
He said, “Some of these trucks are contraptions. There are cases where you have a body of one truck brought to and joined to the head of another truck. So, it is no wonder that we are having these problems.
“There is no reason why it should be difficult to transport heavy duty cargo through other alternative means such as water and rail.”
Other remedial actions, which were recommended by the master mariners, include the training and retraining of truck drivers, inspection and licensing of trucks, stationing of loading inspectors at the loading bays and port exits to ensure proper loading and securing of cargos to the trucks.