The Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 1 Is there a notifiable operation?

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The demerits of Pipeline transportation are:

(i) Initial heavy investment – This mode of transportation has initial heavy cost of capital outlay though the subsequent operational and maintenance costs are minimal,

(ii) Danger of possible attacks: There is usually the danger of possible attack on the pipeline either during the peaceful time or when there is insurgency. They are more prone to attacks from bandits, militia men and the vandals thus jeopardizing the free flow of the crude oil or gas supply to the entire nation. This may result to the production activities been grounded to halt.

(iii) Prone to damage – Pipelines are exposed to damage because there are no separate lands mapped out for them, this make them to be subject to either man-made damage or natural disasters such as earthquake, landslide, volcanoes etc.

(iv) Vandalism – This is the deliberate destruction of the pipelines by criminals due to its unprotective nature, so as to disrupt the free flow of the products during the period of the crisis.

(v) Possible leakage and theft – There may be possible leakage and theft of the product transported through pipelines. The early detection of the leakage may not be possible with underground and under water pipelines.

(vi) Maintenance Problem – It may not be easy to carry out regular maintenance check up for the underground and underwater pipelines. This may allow for the spillage of the products been transported through the pipelines.

(vii) Fire accident – This may occur if there is leakage of highly inflammable substances from the pipelines. This may lead to environmental pollution and also the fire may not be easy to put off at the right time.

(viii) Compensation Problem – The oil company may not be willing to compensate or in some cases pay inadequate compensation to the landowners for damages, as the case with the Niger Delta People and oil producing communities in Nigeria. This is because the oil companies may feel it is not obligatory for them to do so the people.

(ix) Fixed capacity – In pipeline transportation there is usually a limit to the number of petroleum products that can be pumped through pipelines per unit of time. This limit can therefore not be exceeded and as result the capacity cannot be increased (Your article library, 2014; Theintactone.com, 2019).

Self-Assessment Exercise

What are the advantages of Pipelines over others surface transportation?

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It is very indispensable for the movement of goods and services across borders. It consists of: (a) Inland water transport and (b) Ocean-transport.

(a) Inland Water Transport:

This basically consists of transport by rivers, canals and lakes.

(i) Rivers:

They are natural waterway which can be used as a means of transport and are suitable for small boats and big barrages. It played a very important role before the development of modern means of land transport. The importance has gradually declined due to a more reliable and cheaper transport services offered by the railways.

(ii) Canals:

They are artificial waterways that are made for the purpose of irrigation or navigation or for both. The construction and maintenance of its track may require a huge amount of capital investment. This makes the cost of the canal transport to be higher than that of river transport. The cost of providing water for the canals is another problem of this type of inland water transport.

(iii) Lakes – This can either natural like the rivers or artificial like the canals.

Advantages of Inland Water transportation are:

(a) Low Cost:

They do not require any cost of construction and maintenance. The cost of construction and maintenance of canals is not much and they are used, not only for transport purposes but also for irrigation, etc. Generally, the cost of operation of the inland water transport is very low. This makes it the cheapest mode of transport for the movement of goods from one place to another.

(b) Larger Capacity:

This mode of transportation is good for moving larger quantities of heavy and bulky goods such as coal, and, timber etc.

(c) Flexible Service: It offers more flexible services than the railways and can be adjusted to individual requirements.

(d) Safety:

There are minimum level of risks of accidents and breakdowns for this form of transport, compared to any other form of transport.

Disadvantages of Inland Water transportation are:

(a) Slow:

The Speed of Inland water transport is very slow and therefore make it unsuitable where time is an important factor.

(b) Limited Area of Operation:

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This mode of transportation can be used only in a limited area which is served by deep canals and rivers.

(c) Seasonal Character – They cannot be operated for transportation throughout the year, because the river or canal may become freeze or the water level may go very down during certain period in the year.

(d) Unreliable:

The inland water transport may be unreliable because the river may change its course and cause dislocation in the normal route of the trade.

(e) Unsuitable for Small Business:

The rivers and canals may not be suitable for small traders, because it takes a longer time to carry goods from one place to another through this form of transport.

(b) Ocean transport:

This form of transportation is very vital for foreign trade and it has brought the different parts of the world closer and makes all the nations of the world to become one big world market. The seaports in Nigeria are managed by the Nigerian Port Authority, and major seaport include: the Lagos Port Complex, Apapa, Lagos State; Calabar Seaport,Calabar, Cross River State; Tin Can Island Port, Apapa, Lagos State and Delta Seaport, Delta State. The Delta Port includes the ports of Warri, Burutu, Sapele and the petroleum terminals at Escravos and Forcados. Others include: Rivers Port Complex, Rivers State which comprises the Port of Port Harcourt; Onne Port, Rivers State which are Located in three Local Government Areas of Rivers State: Eleme LGA, Bonny LGA and Ogu-Bolo LGA (Omipidan, 2019). Ocean transport is, apparently, the cheapest mode of transport and it includes:

(i) Coastal Shipping (ii) Overseas Shipping

(i) Coastal Shipping:

This serves as one of the most important means of transport for the moving of goods from one part to another in a country. Coastal shipping is cheaper and quicker and most suitable for the carrying of heavy and bulky freights like coal, iron ore, etc. to distant places. Also, it serves only limited areas.

(ii) Overseas Shipping:

The following types of vessels are employed in the overseas shipping:

(a) Liners, (b) Tramps, (c) Tankers.

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(a) Liners:

The ships have regular fixed routes, time and charges, they are collection of vessels under one ownership or a fleet. They normally offer a uniform and regular service and sail on scheduled dates and time, whether full of cargo or not.

(ii) Tramps:

They have no fixed routes and no set of rules or rate schedule. The ships do not sail till they have full cargo and can be chartered by exporters who are ready to sail anywhere and at any time. They are not as fast in speed as liners but are more suitable to carry seasonal and bulky goods.

(iii) Tankers:

They are specially designed to carry oil, petrol and such other liquids. They have a large capacity.

Advantages of Overseas Shipping:

(a) It operates on a natural track and is provided a readymade ‘road bed’ to sail. Huge amount of capital investment is not required for the construction and maintenance of its track.

(b) The smooth surface of sea, make it require comparatively tractive effort to operate.

This results in a lesser cost of operation and make it the cheapest mode of transport.

(c) This form of transportation has the largest carrying capacity as compared to any other transport.

(d) The risk of having damage goods in transit is also less when compared to other modes of transport. However, the goods may be exposed to some of the ‘perils of the sea’.

(e) Overseas shipping is the only suitable mode of transport for carrying heavy and bulky goods to distant places.

(f) It is also indispensable for foreign trade and business.

Disadvantages of Overseas Shipping (a) Slow Speed

It takes longer period to reach destination compared to coastal shipping because of the longer distance involved in making voyage.

(b) More Risky:

Overseas shipping can be more risky when compared to other means because there is always danger of sinking ships or boats in high seas.

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(c) High Tariff payment - The operators in most cases have to either turn around or comply with a tariff payment they were not prepared to pay.

(d) High regulations – There are frequent regulations been made by International Maritime Organization for the shipping companies which are intended to ensure the clean, safe and efficient global shipping practices.

The failure to comply with these regulations may lead to the sanction of the erring operators and at the same time hinder their free passage on the sea route. This regulation is having a massive impact on maritime shipping (Your article library, 2014; Mihlfeld &

Associates, 2018).

Self-Assessment Exercise

Discuss the merits and demerits of Inland Water Transport.

3.3 Air routes