Maritime employees decry rising vessel assaults at Lagos port

The Maritime Employees Union of Nigeria has raised an alarm over what it described as an increase in assaults on vessels whereas at berth, as contained in a press release on Wednesday obtained by The PidomNigeria.

This comes because the union accused port safety businesses of neglecting their duties.

The assertion famous that MWUN President-Normal, Francis Bunu, made the remarks on Tuesday in Apapa, Lagos, whereas internet hosting members of the Transport Correspondents Affiliation of Nigeria, led by their President, Moses Ebosele, throughout a courtesy go to forward of the deliberate Dockworkers Day 2026.

Bunu said that some safety businesses on the ports have didn’t safe adequately port waters and waterfronts, warning that the development may harm Nigeria’s repute within the international maritime group.

The MWUN President-Normal mentioned assaults on ships at berths are unacceptable in a regulated port setting.

Based on him, the Marine Police are primarily accountable for the safety, security, and safety of vessels as soon as they berth, as they’re mandated to patrol and safe the waterfront.

“Why will a vessel berth and other people come from throughout the water of their numbers to assault the vessel on the berth? These vessels are foreign-owned, and the way do they need Nigeria to be seen within the worldwide group?” Bunu queried.

He lamented that such incidents point out lapses in safety coordination amongst related businesses, stressing that the scenario should be addressed urgently.

“Someone is definitely not doing their job. We can’t be having these assaults, and nothing is being accomplished to cease them by the company accountable,” he mentioned.

Bunu due to this fact known as for a strengthened safety presence round port berths and waterfronts, warning that insecurity in such managed areas raises deeper considerations about security in Nigeria’s territorial waters.

“If the berth shouldn’t be secured, then what is going to occur on the excessive seas?” he requested.

He urged related safety businesses and port authorities to evaluate instantly surveillance and patrol mechanisms round port terminals to stop additional assaults and reassure worldwide delivery operators of Nigeria’s dedication to maritime security.

Earlier, Ebosele recommended Bunu for safeguarding members’ pursuits, including that the go to types a part of preparations for the 2026 Dockworkers occasion organised by SCAN and solicited the help of maritime employees to make the occasion an enormous success.

Based on Ebosele, this 12 months’s celebration will emphasise the significance of environmentally pleasant practices and trendy applied sciences in Nigeria’s seaports, reflecting the continuing dedication to sustainability inside the maritime business.

Ebosele mentioned this 12 months’s theme, ‘Inexperienced Ports: Sustainable Practices for Dockworkers’, will information discussions amongst main stakeholders within the maritime sector, together with business leaders, policymakers, and environmental advocates.

“The inexperienced port initiative goals to reinforce the environmental efficiency of seaports whereas sustaining their financial viability and supporting maritime commerce,” Ebosele mentioned.

He defined that members will discover the achievements of dockworkers in sustaining the nation’s financial system and description pathways for enhancing their roles within the rising inexperienced financial system.

That is within the wake of a reported current safety breach on the Eko Help Terminal in Lagos, the place unidentified assailants reportedly attacked a vessel whereas it was already berthed on the facility final week.

The incident, business sources mentioned, raised contemporary considerations amongst ship operators and port customers in regards to the security of vessels inside Nigerian ports.

Stakeholders worry that repeated assaults at berths, areas which can be imagined to be among the many most safe sections of the port, may discourage worldwide delivery strains and worsen the nation’s maritime threat profile.