Though petrol vessels are beginning to berth at Lagos and other ports in the country, the fuel crisis being experienced by Nigerians is yet to abate.
According to reports, queues in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the country intensified on Tuesday as the filling stations ran out of supply.
Dealers who spoke to The PUNCH disclosed that petrol vessels were berthing at the ports one after the other, saying this may not be enough to rescue the situation, and claimed that depot owners now supply fuel to their filling stations only due to low supply.
According to a dealer, “The depots are not wet yet. We are still doing epileptic loading. No product for third parties. That is, the depots are prioritising their own stations.
“That is always the case for depot operators. They will prefer to keep their stations wet to promote customer loyalty. Independent marketers will be left in the cold,” a dealer said.
Another source stated that “It’s not that vessels are not berthing, but the rate cannot meet the expected loading to reduce queues. We need to double up. Apapa jetty alone needs at least two vessels discharging simultaneously, but the vessels are coming one after the other and that cannot solve the pending problem.”
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Ports Authority said 16 ships were awaiting to berth at the Lagos ports as of Tuesday.
The News Agency of Nigeria said this was disclosed in the Tuesday edition of the ‘NPA Shipping Position’, a daily briefing by the port authority.
According to the NPA, two vessels are set to berth with petrol, while another two will arrive with bulk and butane gas.
“The 16 vessels will berth at ENL Consortium, AMPT, Apapa Bulk, and Greenview Development Nigeria Ltd. terminals in Lagos,” the NPA stated.
NAN reports that nine vessels are currently discharging crude oil, diesel, containers, gasoline oil, and other cargoes at various ports in Lagos.
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