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A recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) titled “Nigerian Ports Statistics 2012 – 2017” reveals that the total number of cargo throughput across all ports in Nigeria was up by 1.5 percent to record 72 metric tons in 2017.
Cargo throughput is a measure of the total number of cargo moving in and out of a port on a daily basis.
The report equally reveals that the total service boat traffic in 2017 was 12,243 with a gross registered tonnage of 5.9 million compared to 2016 service boat traffic of 9,418 with gross registered tonnage of 5.2 million.
While the total inward cargo decreased by 1 percent to record 43,019,889 metric tons in 2017, the total outward cargo recorded in the same year at the various ports hit 28,883,377 metric tons, a 5 percent rise when compared to the value recorded in 2016.
More so, the number of ocean going vessels dropped by 9.6 percent from 4,622 in 2016 to 4,175 in 2017. The total number of ocean going vessels that berthed in Tin Can Port was 1,350 while Apapa and Onne recorded 1,151 and 681, respectively. Others are Delta (507), Rivers (312) and Calabar (174).
Data from the report also shows that the gross registered tonnage shrunk by 2 percent from 134.2 million recorded in 2016 to 131.6 million. Gross registered tonnage (GRT) is a measure of the volume of space within the hull and enclosed space above the deck of a ship, which are available for cargo, stores, fuel passengers and crew.
Activities at the Apapa port slowed down as the premier port witnessed a mild drop in the total cargo throughput from 19,055,385 metric tonnes in 2016 to 18,909,238 metric tonnes in 2017. Apapa port recorded the highest number of inward cargoes (17.5mmt) in 2017).
Tin Can Port recorded total cargo traffic of 15.5 million metric tons (14.6mmt being inward and 898 thousand being outward) compared to 15.3 million metrics tons recorded in previous year.
Onne Port, which is the largest Oil and Gas Free Zone in the world, recorded 25.8 million metric tons of cargo traffic with 23.8 million metrics tons being outward cargo traffic (the highest in 2017) while 2 million metric tons of cargoes was inward.
Also, Rivers, Calabar and Delta ports had total cargo traffic of 3.4 million, 2.1 million and 6 million metric tons in 2017 compared to 3.5 million, 2.2 million and 6.7 million metric tons in the previous year.
While vehicle traffic in the different ports spiked by 72.5 per cent to 181,404 in 2017 compared to 105,189 in 2016, passenger traffic in Calabar port fell from 7,442 in 2016 to 6,704 in 2017.
