Nigeria Shippers Council, NSC, has summoned stakeholders meeting over trapped 4,817 export containers at Lagos port.
Following complaints by shippers and their agents over trapped export containers, APM Terminal said shipping giants, Maersk Shipping have been convinced to evacuate 1,900 trapped containers from their facility by Wednesday.
This was made known in Lagos over the weekend when the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Shippers Council, Pius Akutah paid a working visit to the terminal.
Disclosing this during the visit, the Government Relations Manager of APM Terminal, Kayode Daniel, said some of the containers that were allowed did not get clearance from Customs to be loaded onboard vessels for export.
According to the APM Terminal Chieftain, “Despite following all the laid down processes we still end with a situation where containers are staying in the port longer than expected.”
The Shippers Council boss had earlier decried the time wasted at the port by export cargo, especially at a time when the federal government is looking at diversifying the economy.
Akutah further warned against wastage.
Also speaking at the meeting, Deputy Director, Consumers Services, NSC, Celestine Akunjobi, wondered why the shipping had to wait for APM T Terminal’s intervention before agreeing to come pick up the export, stressing whether the delay was a deliberate action on the part on the shipping lines.
In his words, “You just told us now that Maersk shipping will be shipping about 2,000 of these containers in the next couple of days, it means that the problem is not with the shippers but the shipping lines because once they move 1,900 containers out of that number with is left will be insignificant.”
Responding, the General Manager, Legal of APM Terminal, Chinenye Deinde, said it would be wrong to pass the blame on the shipping lines since they were not present, noting that right by right to hear from the shipping lines why there delay in coming to pick up export boxes from the terminal.
Speaking earlier, the Terminal Manager of APM Terminal, Steen Knudsen said, “Everyone involved in the process, government agencies, shipping lines, shippers, agents must come join together to find an improved process for export cargoes.”
