• Workers fear repeat of 2006 concession lay-off
There are concerns over the outcome of automation in port operations and processes in the country’s maritime sector.
While some industry stakeholders said the automation would ensure seamless cargo clearance processes and procedures, others feared technology would displace humans.
These were the discussions at the third JournalNG port industry town hall meeting held in Lagos, with the theme: ‘Essence of automation to productive Blue Economy’.
The convener of the town hall meeting, Ismail Aniemu, said it is important for the country to have a port system where technology plays a role as well as a maritime system where ease of doing business can be facilitated using rules of artificial intelligence, robotics and other methods of data analysis.
He said the world is getting to a point when robotics and artificial intelligence will play vital roles in maritime, adding that the number of persons and crew on-board will likely reduce because machines do what men do.
Aniemu said the Blue economy, especially at the port area, is also going to reflect some aspects of technology, where cargo discharge will be automated as trucking as well as access and exit from the port, noting that Nigeria must not be left out in this drive.
“Ships move with a transponder, automatic identification system (AIS) to indicate their position. That is the impact of technology. We’re getting to a time when greener shipping will lead to vessels using less fuel resulting in less pollution. We are also getting to a time when robotics and artificial intelligence will play vital roles,” he stated.
Aniemu said Nigeria, as the biggest trading entity in West and Central Africa, must get it right for the entire region to get it right, adding that if Nigeria fails, trade will also fail.
The Managing Director, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, explained that automation would not only bring about efficiency but also lead to increased revenue and profitability.
Bello-Koko, who was represented by the Apapa Port Manager, Charles Okagha, disclosed that NPA has concluded the interconnectivity of its operations to the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) to create seamless cargo clearance processes and procedures.
He said that besides Customs, the agency has also connected its operations to shipping companies, terminal operators and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)
According to him, the agency will meet the 2025 target of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) to create a port community system for an effective and efficient port system in Nigeria, going by the speed at which it is automated.
He said the agency has developed a lot of automation-based processes noting that before the introduction of Electronic Ship Entry Notice, it takes about two weeks from the time of application to the time of approval and issuance of the ship entry notice certification.
Bello-Koko said since the introduction of electronic processing of ship entry notices, it takes about one hour depending on the idiosyncrasies of the man on the table and all the tables the documents need to pass through.
“When you look at the cost-benefit of carrying out a function of two weeks in one hour, you will see that that is quite massive. We also have the Electronic Ship Manifest where rather than submitting ship manifest to us in hard copy, manifests are submitted in electronic format.
“The Customs automation has improved so much that we have recorded some reasonable turnaround in productivity. The berthing meeting that used to be a physical meeting only meets two times a week and other days, berthing meetings are done virtually. These are some of the initiatives that port automation has introduced into port E-Manifest,” he said.
Also speaking, the Area Controller, Kirikiri Lighter Command, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Comptroller Timi Bomodi, stressed that Nigeria’s hope of attracting Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) into the blue economy sector wouldn’t be realised without adequate data to guide investments.
Bomodi said automation could be channeled towards the collation of such vital data to guide local investments, government policies and ultimately attract FDIs.
The Customs boss, however, admonished all port stakeholders to develop and publish their Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and ensure they adhere to them to avail port users a high degree of certainty on port processes.
According to him, the absence of SOPs at ports leads to ambiguity and hampers the ease of doing business.
While stating that the Customs online portal, Nigeria Integrated Customs Information System (NICIS) II, allows for the integration of other agencies, he maintained that the blue economy should be explored as an ecosystem that leverages technology.
Meanwhile, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN) expressed concern that the persistent calls for automation of port processes may lead to massive job loss among workers in the industry.
The Deputy President General, MWUN, Harry Tonye, expressed fear that the rapid introduction of technology and innovations in the maritime domain would lead to job losses, as witnessed during the port concession of 2006 that affected dockworkers and in turn led to a total reduction of labour employees in the industry.
Tonye advised government agencies and other stakeholders to ensure such technological advancements are not at the expense of maritime workers.
According to him, employers of labour in the port community and government agencies should focus on manpower and human capacity development in line with international best practices through training and retention of workers.
He stressed that shipping lines, terminal operators and government agencies have not been able to build capacity for workers to meet up with the dynamism of the automation system in port operations.
Also speaking, a maritime lawyer, Abdullai Tony Dania, called for due diligence and enactment of laws that will strengthen integration among government agencies.
According to Dania, there is a need for mandatory inter-agency and ministerial collaboration, supported by statute to give impetus to the required technologically backed integration.
