Stakeholders urge reforms as port gridlocks persist

Following persistent gridlocks which often see raw materials and cargoes lie un-cleared for weeks and even months at Nigerian ports, stakeholders in the import and export business have called for a radical reform to bring an end to the menace.

Nigerian ports, which include Tin Can Island, PTML, Brawal and Lilypond, are characterised by gridlocks which occur in the form of ship congestion at the port approaches, harbour and terminals, vehicular traffic congestion at the port gates and port approaches, as well as human traffic congestion at port gates and processing points.

The gridlocks have increased cargo dwell time and slowed down movement of manufacturers’ raw materials to factories, thereby frustrating production processes and consequently increasing production and miscellaneous costs.

The Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR), which was introduced recently to checkmate malpractices by stakeholders, has also been criticised for delaying cargoes and essential raw materials at the ports.

Industry analysts believe that Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), shipping agents/companies, ports and terminal operators, regulatory agencies, freight forwarders and banks or shippers are all responsible for the gridlocks.

“There has been a yearning by stakeholders in the shipping business for an agency that will ensure fair play and protect the interests of stakeholders in the industry,” said Hassan Bello, executive secretary/CEO, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC).

“The role of a regulator is essentially that of an umpire that instills sanity in the operations of service providers in the industry by bringing all stakeholders to observe the rules of engagement. This eventually helps to unlock the gridlock in the system,” Bello said during a dialogue session organised by the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA) with the theme ‘Unlocking Shipping Gridlock at the Ports: Stakeholders’ Initiative’, in Lagos.

Complaints against shipping companies include delays in the delivery of cargo by carriers, cumbersome documentation procedures, misinformation on arrival date for goods, as well as outrageous and unilateral local shipping charges.

On the other hand, complaints against the Customs revolve around poor link of its system with that of some critical stakeholders like banks, persistent breakdown of the Customs’ systems server, insufficient scanners for containers, predominance of manual inspection of cargoes, as well as sharp practices by some unscrupulous officers.

Furthermore, port/terminal operators who provide cargo handling services such as cargo receipt, storage and delivery to port users are also contributors to gridlocks, through insufficient and obsolete cargo handling equipment and space for cargo at the terminals, rent-seeking practices, cumbersome documentation procedures and poor deployment of ICT for cargo clearance processes, among others.

Stakeholders say though there are genuine freight forwarders, others seek to cut corners in an attempt to either reduce cost for the shipper or to increase their own profit.

They add that the greatest contributing factor to shipping gridlocks in Nigeria is the human factor element, which cuts across all the actors in the shipping business. According to them, some bad eggs in organisations critical to cargo clearance fail to respect the rules of engagement in the business of shipping, adding that such individuals are averse to the deployment and use of ICT which reduces human contact to the minimum.

Lucky Eyis Amiwero, national president, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, said owing to some of these unwholesome practices, as well as high cost and cumbersome clearance process in Nigeria ports, players were continually being encouraged to patronise other West African ports.

He said there was need to create transparent overtime system under the law to avoid secret gazetting, adding, “The commercial/port regulator needs to look at charges not tied to services and unwholesome practices.”

Badaru Mohammed Abubakar, national president, NACCIMA, said in spite of the ongoing efforts by the Federal Government to remove the impediments at the ports, challenges were still being faced by stakeholders, especially with the payment of huge demurrage to shipping companies, unnecessary delays in PAAR issuance/wrong computation, the perennial traffic congestion in and around the ports, amongst others.

ODINAKA ANUDU