Abstract
This study set out to establish that land transport system in the country of destination, determines the turn-around time, capacity utilisation of port infrastructure, facilities and cargo-handling equipment and general port performance. Of particular interest, is the contribution of road transport infrastructures and system to the magnitude of turn-around time, port performance and general economic growth and development. This is true and significant for developing countries of Sub-Saharan Africa, where transport systems are poorly developed and sparsely integrated; but the economies are import oriented. The port’s rates of capacity utilisation was determined over a period 14 years (1990 to 2007) and a study of ship traffic was done for 156 vessels calling at the port and 19, 296 loaded road vehicles leaving the port between 1 December, 2006 and 31 March, 2007. The result showed that over-utilisation of road transport resulted in under-utilisation of several port infrastructures, port congestion; longer turn-around time and general poor performance of the port. The need for a well-integrated transport system was therefore underlined. Key words: Capacity utilisation, turn-around time, berth effectiveness.
Highlights
The primary function of a seaport is to transfer cargo between maritime and inland transport, quickly, efficiently and at a reasonable cost. It means the available capacities in terms of berths space, cargo handling equipment and cargo throughout must be utilized effectively
The use of direct cargo discharge from the vessels by virtually all the port users led to high vehicular traffic at the exit points which in turn resulted in longer berth idle time and time spent in port, poor capacity utilisation of storage facilities and other port infrastructure
Nigerian ports are known to have frequent congestion problems but from the study it was obvious that ship traffic to the port is low and berth capacity utilisation is about 50%
Summary
The primary function of a seaport is to transfer cargo between maritime and inland transport, quickly, efficiently and at a reasonable cost. For this to happen, it means the available capacities in terms of berths space, cargo handling equipment and cargo throughout must be utilized effectively. According to the report of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development/Swedish International Development Authority (UNCTAD/SIDA), 1983, the major costs of maritime transport relate to cargo handling costs at the ports. Every nation relies on its transportation systems for the movement of the people and goods within as well as outside its geographical territory, a part of which ports are (ICC, 1992, 1993)
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