I am by the grace of God a certified Chief Mate Unlimited with a Certificate of Competency in Foreign Going Vessels License Holder from the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA). A proud graduate of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State, and the Regional Maritime University (RMU), Accra, Ghana, with over nine years working experience both aboard ships and onshore in different roles across the shipping industry.

My genuine passion for the Maritime industry in mastering the sea trade has led me to expand into more shipping related aspects in the Maritime Industry, thereby accumulating innovative ideas that would promote the industry and also enhance my capability to achieve my personal and organizational goals, which I do not intend to achieve alone. Permit me to share this brief presentation on the *Bonny Deep Seaport: X-raying Economic Advantages, Social Pluses and Downsides*.

Overview of The Project

Let’s begin by asking the question: What is a PORT? This question would ordinarily have different answers from different people. Check out the following:

* To a mariner, a Port is a safe place for ships to load and unload freight and passengers.

* To a shipper, seafarer or passenger, a Port is the interface between land and water transportation.

* To a national economist, a Port is a gateway to all the benefits of international trade.

That is to say a port has a variety of activities and functions that accommodate or respond to the expectations of its stakeholders in different ways.

Since we shall be discussing not just ports but a deep seaport that is about to be sited in Bonny Island in Rivers State, Nigeria, it is important we have an overview of what a seaport is if the intention is to have a comprehensive insight into the issue under review, which obviously, it is. Let us look at an overview of Seaports in Nigeria.

1. Western Ports: These are ports in the South-Western part of Nigeria.

Theses comprise the Lagos Port Complex (5 terminals) and Tin Can Island Port Complex (5 terminals). You will observe that both are in Lagos State, obviously, the only other littoral state in the South-West, Ondo State does not have a sea port. 

2. Eastern Ports: These are ports spread across the South-East and South-South geopolitical zones of the country.

These comprise the Rivers Port or Port Harcourt Harbour (2 terminals), Onne Port (4 terminals), Calabar Port Complex (3 terminals) and Delta or Warri Port Complex (5 terminals). The next will be the BONNY DEEP SEAPORT (FINIMA) recently approved by the Federal Government.

As conceptualized, the Bonny Deep Seaport is expected to handle large cargo vessels inbound from around the world, which cargo will be evacuated to a container terminal which is to serve as the terminal point for the Port Harcourt-Maiduguri rail line. From the above, it is apparent that the deep seaport will deliver and also lift heavy cargo inbound and outbound Nigeria thus serving as a commercial hotspot for all kinds of services, thus heralding an imminent economic boom as an economic hub and growth pole at the same time. 

Economic Advantages

From foregoing, it is clear that the proposed deep seaport to be sited in Bonny – with greater probability of its location being Finima – is ab initio laced with economic advantages and thus requires a closer look. The benefits as well as the economic and infrastructural development it will attract to Bonny Island and Nigeria, in general, comprise of the following:

• Economic Growth – the Port cum Maritime industry is a major catalyst for economic growth as billions of foreign exchange are generated therein on a daily basis.
• Wealth Creation and Poverty Alleviation: Ports play key roles in wealth creation and alleviation of poverty because they constitute an important source of income and employment generation.
• Revenue Generation: Ports generate revenue for the Federal Government. The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) alone generated ₦1.02 Trillion in just three years; just to give you an insight into how the revenue generation profile of Bonny LGA will increase annually when the deep seaport goes live.

Taxes, levies and other forms of revenue will be generated by different revenue generating agencies of the government at different levels from the deep seaport from a range of service providers, investor firms, amongst others, including those providing ancillary services around the port. Aside revenue going to the government, businesses will mutually benefit from each other in the course of exchange of goods and services such as freight forwarding, cargo handling, transportation, equipment provision, staff training, agency services, financial services, food supplies, and so on.

Social Pluses

Aside the economic dimension to the establishment of a deep seaport, there are social pluses or even surpluses for the community hosting the project, the local government, state and country, as a whole. These range from global visibility, infrastructural development, boost to local economy, human capital development, investment upscale, and much more. With ships coming from different parts of the globe will also come expatriates in diverse fields, business transactions transcending national and regional boundaries, attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI), escalation of knowledge economy, and a thriving local economy.  One key area would be human capital development which would be triggered by the vast career opportunities available at the port.

Career Opportunities

This is an ecosystem that is bustling with opportunities for diverse careers. In Europe alone, over 1,000 ports handle more than 3.5 billion tonnes of cargo every year. Ports can be busy places and offer exciting opportunities in many different areas. Jobs in ports range from stevedores to harbour masters. The size and function of a port will determine the number of employees – some of the largest employ over a thousand people. This can offer us some perspectives into what the Bonny deep seaport will look like.

Typical employers of labour at the ports include Port authorities, Ferry companies, Cruise-line operators, Transport firms, Stevedoring companies, Freight forwarders, Warehouse operators, Ship repair and maintenance companies, and Offshore and Onshore Security consultancy companies, among several others.

For my brother and sisters from Bonny, Rivers State and Nigeria, it is obvious that the career opportunities available at the ports cannot be overemphasized. Ports are mechanised and cargo needs to be unloaded quickly and safely. Port workers need to be organised and efficient as vessels may be waiting to berth, and navigating in and out of the harbour will be affected by tides. With competition from airlines and road haulage companies, ports also have to be run economically. Each employee’s role contributes to the smooth operation of the port. There are opportunities in technical work, administration, customs and management. Some of the jobs available in port operations are described below.

So, it can be deduced that these roles will encompass Marine/Port Operatives, Passenger Operatives, Stevedores, Vessel Traffic Services Operatives, Marine Pilots, Harbour Masters, Engineers, Port Managers, Security and Safety Professionals, and then some.

It is important that those seeking to pursue careers in the Maritime Industry, especially, the ports possess critical skills and personal qualities such as safety-consciousness, teamworking and communication skills, being fit and healthy (some jobs require heavy lifting), preparedness to work irregular hours, and multi-lingual skills, there are key qualifications and certifications required to work in different aspects of the ports. Some roles, however, do not require any formal education just the ability to move things from one point to the other.

Associated Challenges

Inasmuch as the proposed deep seaport project in Bonny Island will bring about gross economic advantages, social pluses and advancement of Bonny, Rivers state and Nigeria, there are numerous challenges associated with port operations, especially, those that can adversely affect the environment. This is because port operations can lead to environmental impacts on air, water and land. Many communities with environmental justice concerns also experience disparities in health outcomes that some researchers have attributed in part, to exposure to emissions from port operations.

It is imperative, therefore, that port authorities and other port operators realize that they have an important role to play in mitigating disproportionately high and adverse impacts to human health or the environment resulting from port projects and operations.

Recommendations

The sole reason I put up this brief presentation on this platform is to humbly appeal to the authorities in Bonny, from the Chairman of Bonny Local Government Area, our dearly beloved King, His Majesty (Dr.) Edward Asimini William Dappa Pepple III, Perekule XI, Amanyanabo of Ancient Grand Bonny Kingdom, and all other stakeholders to consider investing majorly in the Maritime training of our beloved youths, especially, in ports operations and management with respect to the forthcoming deep seaport project coming to the island. A good place to start would be to develop a database of youths who are interested in receiving training in ports operations and management, articulating their basic educational qualifications, and drawing up a strategy to engage training institutions with the data populated with a view to planning on relevant training programmes to expose them to.

Our youths can secure lucrative positions with attractive salaries, instead of becoming more of Stevedores (luggage handlers) at the port. The career exposure they would have cannot be fully contemplated, same as the investment opportunities available to the people of the area. Added to these are the social benefits that would accrue to Bonny LGA, Rivers State and Nigeria.

This is the only means I can air my views and express my feelings and good thoughts for the good of the kingdom, as we pray for the immediate kick-start of the deep seaport project. Let us all come together and show ourselves uncommon and undiluted love, because God loves us more.

Long live Bonny Kingdom.

Long live the King.

Long live the Youths.

Stay safe and convince yourself to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

Thanks, your beloved brother.

Pollyn Stanley Godwin – Proudly Fisherman Pikin from Kalaibiama.

(aka De Loadline)