Freight forwarders under the umbrella of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) have said that more than 10,000 containers have been trapped because of unnecessary delay at Tincan Island Port’s terminals.
The Coordinator of association’s 100 per cent Compliance Team, Dr. Ibrahim Tanko, explained that this had led to congestion in the port, alleging that terminal operators were obstructing efforts to decongest terminals.
He stressed that the Overtime and Auction Committee, which includes Customs and other government agencies, was facing challenges to access the containers as demurrage continues to build up.
Tanko said that the uncooperative attitude of terminal operators, who refused to grant the committee access to containers, was another challenge in the port.
The coordinator added: “We have an issue with the terminal operators. Government is trying to decongest the ports by setting up a committee on overtime and auction. Most of these boxes in the ports are being trapped because of demurrage.”
Also, Tanko alleged that the terminal operators were turning down requests for waivers and ignoring numerous letters from the committee, warning that if the terminal operators continue to obstruct the committee’s efforts, freight forwarders would withdraw their services at the ports.
Tanko said: “We are on the part of government. If they refuse to cooperate with the committee, we are going to withdraw our services. By then, the government will come in. Everybody will come in. “We cannot take it again.
The 100 per cent Compliance Team has given the terminal operators a two-week ultimatum to reconsider their stance or face the consequences of a service withdrawal by freight forwarders.
“This development underscores the ongoing challenges in Nigeria’s maritime sector, where port congestion remains a significant issue affecting trade facilitation and logistics efficiency.
The call for cooperation from terminal operators is seen as crucial to resolving the congestion and ensuring smooth operations at the ports.”
Recall that in July 2023, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) inaugurated a joint Task Team/ Committee to handle congestion caused by overtime cargoes across the ports. The committee was inaugurated to prudently decongest the ports, make them more operational and yield more revenue.
Also, the committee was mandated to ensure that all delayed cargoes were timely evacuated, in order to create space for better usage of ports space.
According to the former Managing Director of the authority, Mohammed Bello Koko, the committee would ensure that cargoes do not overstay at the ports unnecessarily.
The managing director noted that the congestion of the ports with cargoes impedes ports operations. He said: “We want to ensure free movement of cargoes in the ports, the era of abandoned cargoes is gone, we want to improve ports services for efficiency.
“If there is inadequate space, it deprives NPA of needed revenue to make for their operation. Overtime cargoes are a common thing in the ports.”
Represented by the Port Manager, Onne, Stanley Majagi Eno, the managing director stressed that when space in the terminal becomes clogged, it affects the movement of cargo.
He added: “Before the cargo operator picks a new container, old ones have to be removed, and that means multiple handlings. When Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) decides to auction the cargoes, the owner gets nothing, the terminal operators get nothing.
“Our concern is how issues of overtime cargo can be resolved. These are common problems everywhere. NPA is willing to collaborate, to give all its resources, to ensure we have good results from this exercise.”
The managing director noted that the reasons freights in Cotonou ports were lower than Nigeria was the challenges of overtime cargoes that have affected the berthing of ships.