ASSESSMENT OF CONTAINER TERMINAL OPERATIONS IN TIN CAN ISLAND PORT, NIGERIA

Abstract

This study assessed the container terminal operations in Tin Can Island Port with a view to determine the annual growth rate of container throughput, turnaround time and berth occupancy rate from 2005 to 2018, factors influencing storage yard capacity and the delay factors of delivery and receipt system of terminal operations. Both primary and secondary data were collected from staff of the container terminals in Tin Can Island Port Complex. For primary data, multi stage sampling method was employed; purposive sampling technique was first employed to select five container terminal operators therein the population was stratified based on occupational status, and random sampling was used to finally select 324 respondents using Yamene formular. The scope of secondary data was limited to 2018 being the period for this study and the availability of full data for the entire variables. Ordinary Least Square regression was used to analyse annual growth rate of container throughput, turnaround time and berth occupancy rate. Hungarian assignment technique was used to determine the optimal turnaround time while multiple regression analysis was used to examine the factors influencing the storage yard capacity and delay factors in the delivery systems. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient was used to analyse the correlation between factors influencing storage area and delay factors of delivery system. The study found that the gross registered tonnage shows the highest R2 value of 0.802 i.e. 80.2% in annual growth rate of container throughput. However, a unit increase in the turnaround time at the terminal has a negative effect of about 0.083 on annual growth rate. All the other variables (number of vessels, container throughput and berth rate are all significant at p < 0.05 with R2 = 0.748, 0.603 and 0.031 respectively. Among all these identified variables, berth occupancy rate is at the lowest ebb based on these findings with reference to years under observation. Similarly, there was a downward trend of turnaround time from 2005 to 2018. It decrease drastically from an average of 9.00 days to 4.27 in 2011 and increase to 5.25 days in 2012 and later drop to 4.13 days in 2018. Also, there was decrease in turnaround time from January to December across the five terminals. The turnaround time for Josephdam is the highest while that of PTML was the least. Findings concluded that there was strength of association between storage capacity and delivery system of a container terminal. The study recommended the need for stakeholders to invest on intermodal infrastructures and modern handling equipment; periodical training of indigenous personnel that will handle modern equipment; and that terminal space should be expanded to accommodate more containers. This study contributed to the existing knowledge on the operations of container terminal with emphasis on the annual growth of container throughput, berth occupancy rate and turnaround time.