Danger: Submerged barge pours over 80% of its chemical cargoes in Lagos waters

Maureen Aguta

Barge Operators Association of Nigeria (BOAN) said on Saturday that a barge belonging to one of its members submerged in the water at Mile 2 and lost over 80 per cent of its cargoes which is believed to be chemicals.

It was learnt that the barge, laden with industrial chemicals sank on Friday night when it was making an attempt to berth at the Clarion Bonded Terminal in Mile 2, Lagos.

It noted that the incident happened after the barge was experiencing a bad maneuvering.

The association’s media Officer, Daniel Eze, in a statement disclosed that BOAN had been trying to get to the owner of the barge.

However, he explained that crew members in the vessel were safe and healthy, noting that some cargoes were recovered but not much.

He explained:  “The incident occurred in an area densely packed with maritime traffic, where roughly seven jetties operate, four of which are near the Lagos State ferry route to CMS Island. Barges, ferries, and various small crafts frequently converge in this zone, narrowing the navigation channel for vessels traveling between Festac, M 2, Apapa and CMS.

Eze disclosed that as at the time of sending out the information of the submerged vessel at 11.00hrs on Saturday, no relevant safety agency is on ground to evacuate the cargo in the barge.

In a similar development, a resident in the area,  Martins Ogwu, told Advocacy Times that the officials of the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) were yet to arrive at the scene of the incident.

He said: “The barge is about 90 per cent submerged in the water. We fear that the vessel is carrying chemicals which are dangerous to health. The government needs to remove the vessel immediately.”