The NSC mediators at the meeting.
Story by Dili Utomi.
The repeated claims by importers of goods and freight forwarders against shipping companies and terminal operators in the country that they are being unfairly exploited has continued to receive attentions. The Nigeria Shippers’ Council (NSC) is the economic regulator of the Ports and is also saddled with the additional responsibility of settling trade disputes that arise from the activities at the Ports. These responsibilities have therefore made it in incumbent on the NSC to always wade into matters such as a misunderstanding between the Importers/freight forwarders on one hand and the shipping companies and terminal operators on the other.
Over the past few weeks, there have been meetings between these different sets of operators and brokered by the NSC to iron out grey areas and find a way of reducing the over 600% increase in different charges by the shipping companies and terminal operators. The shipping companies and terminal operators have in most cases hinged raising of their operational charges on the high cost of doing business as occasioned by the high rate of foreign exchange.
Another meeting held on Thursday where some of the issues were tabled again, but it seems that the shipping companies and terminal operators are hell bent on sticking to their own terms, if we should consider the contents of the letter written after the meeting. The letter signed by the general secretary of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Igwe Kingsley was sent to greatalternativenetwork.com detailing the terms of the agreement reached between all the parties at the meeting held on the 25th of October and which they insist must be upheld.
The resolution reached at that particular meeting were that:
1. Terminal Operators (TOs) should reduce their proposed 600% increment on storage
charges to 400%.
2. The 400% new rate will only take effect and apply only to cargoes that arrived from 26th
October, 2023 onwards.
3. That container boxes that arrived any terminal before and on Wednesday 25th October
would be charge based on the old storage rate before the increment.
4. That the number of free storage period at the terminal has been increased from 3 to 5
days in all the terminals.
5. That NSC should establish a dedicated complaint desk at the port stations that will
ensure that issues raised by port users are resolved promptly and efficiently.
6. That NSC will continue to host further meeting with Freight Forwarders (FF) in order
to effectively address their operational challenges at the ports.
From left, Dr. Rauf Ladipo of the NCMDLCA, Chief Ukwu of the same association and Chief Ezisi, the NAGAFF President at the meeting.
At the meeting on Thursday, the NSC said that the shipping companies and terminal operators are complaining that the Freight Forwarders are exploiting the points 2 and 3 of the agreement to their detriment as the freight forwarders are not evacuating their cargoes that arrived before October the 25th and thereby causing certain level of losses to them. The freight forwarders on the order hand are rejecting such accusations and are insistent on seeing the agreement to fruition and added that all Customs and Excise Management Act laws must be obeyed.
The freight forwarders also added that
1. NSC should conduct a study at the port that will critically examine operational
procedures of the Terminal Operators, Customs and Other Government Agencies
(OGA) with the view of identifying and eliminating bottleneck areas by setting
Standard Operational Procedures (SOP) at the ports.
2. NSC should give TOs annual throughput target such that TOs must meet 98% of
successful timely processing and release of consignment passing through their
respective terminals within a given time.
The letter also pointed out some other issues raised against the terminal operators by the freight forwarders, for example the the NAGAFF President, Chief Tochukwu Ezisi had said that part of the problem they have with the TOs is that of inefficiency. He had noted that the TOs wait in most cases for 5 days before dropping their containers, that is after they had booked and that this makes nonsense of any grace period that had been established.
The president also added that truck drivers also face herculean tasks of evacuating containers after collecting the terminal delivery order (TDO) which has a 12-hour expiry period, but in practice has the truck drivers wait for as long as 3 days in order to eventually pick up the container and requiring a fresh TDO. The problematic issue of the return of empty containers is another matter that Chief Ezisi raised and cases of unusual delay in accessing the Ports to deliver these containers and the consequent deductions on deposits by the shipping companies for not returning the containers has always pitched freight forwarders against shipping companies and terminal operators.
Again, the matter of charging demurrage on cargoes on no work days such Saturdays, Sundays and bank holidays by shipping companies and terminal operators was also tabled and the NSC has as usual promised to look into these incessant complaints.
It is left to be seen whether the new Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr. Akutah Ukeyima will act decisively and impartially to give proper direction to all the players so that the inherent economic benefits accruable to the nation may be properly harnessed in a manner not destructive to businesses.
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