The 4,200km River Niger was the backdrop for the Worldwide Ferry Safety Association’s (WFSA’s) 11th Annual International Student Design Competition for a Safe, Affordable Ferry. Having previously encouraged student naval architects, designers and engineers to devise workable, safe and affordable ferry solutions for waterways including the Amazon, the Brahmaputra, the Pasig River, the Chao Phraya and the Singapore Strait, this year’s Nigeria-focused event represented the contest’s second foray into Africa, following the 2019-2020 call for a design for Lake Victoria, Kenya.
For the 2023-2024 contest, WFSA executive director Dr Roberta Weisbrod was assisted by David Okafor, a naval architect with the Nigerian Navy who has also just commenced a PhD course at the University of Strathclyde, UK. Okafor explains: “The Niger is the major part of Nigeria’s inland waterways, which have very serious issues. In 2023, approximately 1,000 people died on the inland waterways, including 92 in the State of Lagos. Okafor adds that the Nigerian Inland Water Authority, which has regulatory authority over 3,000 waterways, has identified the causes of these incidents as including: the poor state and design of many of the existing wooden ferries; passenger overcrowding, and the resultant reduction in vessel stability; lack of adequate lifesaving equipment, including lifejackets; and insufficient enforcement of safety regulations.
One prime example is the incident that has come to be known as the ‘Kwara boat disaster’, in June 2023, in which a party of 108 wedding attendees lost their lives when the ferry they were travelling on, in Kwara State. capsized in heavy rain and then split into two. In January this year, 20 passengers died when their ferry was struck with a wave on the Andoni-Bonny waterway in Rivers State, and there have been several near-misses on Lagos waterways, a few caused by the overgrowth of water hyacinths around key jetties and terminals. Other accidents have been attributed to ferry owners operating at night, in contravention of regulations, or taking passengers out during storms.
“Technically adept”
It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Weisbrod says: “As one who advocates for ferries, Nigeria is the place to be. I was attracted by Nigeria’s growth and dynamism; my impression from those we have met is that the people are innovative, imaginative, entrepreneurial and innately technically adept.
“The recently re-elected governor of the Lagos State, Mr Sanwo-Olu, is highly committed to ferry transport to decongest the Lagos transportation system, and to alternative power. The policy goals that he has been implementing since the early 2020s are called THEMES, which stands for ‘Traffic Management and Transportation, Health and Environment, Education and Technology, Making Lagos a 21st Century Economy, Entertainment and Tourism, as well as Security and Governance’.” As such, Lagos State is taking a proactive approach to constructing newer, safer ferries and mandating the carriage and wearing of lifejackets. The Sanwo-Olu regime has also launched a mobile app, LAGferry, to simplify ferry ticket purchases.
Okafor explains: “The Lagos State governor recently commissioned 15 additional ferries, built to international standards in accordance with Bureau Veritas’ class rules by Caverton Marine Ltd, a Lagos-based Nigerian company, with 10 more ferries to be commissioned by the end of the year. The governor of Lagos State also unveiled the ‘Climate Action Plan 2020-2025’ to reduce emissions in the energy, transport and waste management sectors, which account for 90% of the total greenhouse gas emissions in Lagos State. This is a game changer for Lagos and Nigeria’s inland waterways, as this fleet of vessels will mitigate the operation of low-quality and unsafe boats.”
River conditions
As with all of the previous waterways selected for the WFSA student design contest, the River Niger has its own set of unique features –and challenges – which must be considered when designing a safe and efficient vessel to work this route.
“In contrast to rivers like the Nile, the Brahmaputra and the Mississippi, the Niger doesn’t carry a lot of sediment, but does have its share of obstructions and shallow depths,” says Weisbrod. “Security is also an issue, so the ferry services are limited daytime hours.” However, one big question that budding boat designers must ask is “what is the vessel construction capacity in this part of Nigeria?” Okafor says. This is an important consideration given Nigeria’s relatively limited shipbuilding facilities – and one that would significantly influence the design of the contest winner’s entry.
The winning design, Queen Nneka, was supplied by Team Nawasena from Indonesia’s Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS), captained by Quito Abian Iqtarib and comprising fellow students Afwan Izzul Muttaqqin, Dewi Diaz Gitasari, Fahri Ramadhan, Nita Wahyuni Dwi Puspitasari, Rafi Maulana and Raif Adhi Ramadhan. The result is a 50m ro-pax catamaran, featuring a low draught of 0.8m even with a full passenger and vehicle complement. This was crucial so as to work around the aforementioned 1m depth restrictions in some sections of the Niger.
“We optimised the hull shape, designing a wide, flat catamaran hull,” says Iqtarib. “This design proved to be effective for weight distribution, and minimises wake wash, helping to maintain a low draught.” The team ran a CFD simulation to calculate the ferry’s resistance, which was logged at 52.9kN at 13knots. The vessel was also developed in accordance with Lloyd’s Register’s rules for ferries, ro-ro carriers and passenger ships, and the team used the Maxsurf Motions software package to simulate the ferry’s seakeeping capabilities.
The ferry would be built in sections or modules supplied to local yards
Pre-cut package
Queen Nneka would theoretically utilise Onitsha as its home port, and operate in tandem with a twin ferry, serving two routes: a ‘yellow’ route between Onitsha and Ndoni, served by Queen Nneka 1, and a ‘green’ route linking Onitsha to Idah, served by Queen Nneka 2, with services running from 6am to 6pm to avoid potentially riskier night-time trips.
Designed to displace just under 210tonnes, the ro-pax can carry 191 passengers, 10 cars, six SUVs and two trucks, as well as passenger luggage and other cargo. In terms of vessel weight, Team Nawasena calculated that Queen Nneka’s overall deadweight would come to 78.76tonnes – the bulk of this comprising the hull and payload (76.5tonnes), with machinery and electrical systems adding 1.51tonnes, pipework contributing 0.5tonnes and liquids adding 0.25tonnes.
Taking Okafor’s advice on board, the team opted for an alternative method of producing the vessel ‘in Lagos’ in an affordable and viable manner: namely, providing the ferry pre-cut, with the ship being built in sections or modules that are supplied to local yards and then assembled together. Iqtarib elaborates: “The pre-cut vessel design was the most efficient option because there are no advanced shipyards around the Niger River. The process involves dividing the ship into several blocks that can be transported by truck, with construction happening simultaneously, allowing different blocks to be built concurrently.” In all, Queen Nneka (and each potential sister ferry) comprises 89 blocks, which would amount to a total of 38 truck trips to the shipyard for the complete build project, the team estimated.
“Supplying a pre-cut vessel is more cost-effective than building a large boatbuilding facility near the Niger River,” Iqtarib continues. “While some training is needed, the assembly process is relatively straightforward, requiring workers to understand how to assemble the pre-cut blocks. As long as quality control is maintained, there is no increased risk of flooding or leakage since assembling a pre-cut vessel is similar to building a regular ship.”
Team Nawasena’s plan included a CNG bunkering facility at the ferry’s home port, Onitsha
CNG-fuelled
Team Nawasena opted for compressed natural gas (CNG) to fuel Queen Nneka and factored in four onboard CNG tanks, providing a combined stored power capacity of 1,024kW. “These would allow the ferry to operate for 24 hours,” says Iqtarib. Each tank would measure 230mm in diameter and 910mm in length, and would store 144kg of CNG. Iqtarib adds: “We’ve also designed a CNG bunkering facility at our home port in Onitsha to support the ongoing development of CNG-powered ferries on the Niger River.”
The ferry would be powered by a diesel-electric engine, supported by four CNG-powered generators feeding the vessel’s four shallow-water thrusters. The proposed battery type would be Praxis Automation’s GreenBattery brand, which can store up to 160kWh. Additionally, the ferry would carry a roof-mounted set of 56 JinkoSolar panels, enabling it to capture an estimated 155kWh of clean solar energy each day.
The propulsive set-up would include a Twin Disc thruster with a propeller diameter of 585mm, fashioned from Ni-Al-Br (Cu3). Based on the above, Queen Nneka would enjoy a range of up to 315nm, with a maximum speed of 13knots, Iqtarib says.
For the full article and technical particulars, see Ship & Boat International September/October 2024
