Ships, containers trapped as dockworkers shut Lagos Port

Ships laden with containers expected to discharge imports in Apapa container terminal have been trapped at the Lagos anchorage following a strike declared by dockworkers to press home their demand for a better Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) with the terminal management.

Dockworkers had on Wednesday crippled business activities at the terminal run by the APM Terminals alleging refusal of the terminal operator to review their Collective Bargaining Agreement usually done annually.

The management of the terminal in a notice to customers, a copy of which was obtained by BusinessDay, said the action of the union will affect vessel turnaround time and cargo clearance from the terminals.

“This is to inform you that APM Terminals Apapa dock employees have embarked on a strike. This action is regrettable because the strike began unexpectedly. We recognise that the action would impact our customers, vessel, and the terminal; as most operations are impacted by the union’s strike action, causing operational disruptions as a consequence of the lockout,” the notice reads.

The APM Terminals’ management, however, assured customers that the ongoing deliberations and discussions between the management and the labour union hopes to reach an alignment as quickly as possible.

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Speaking with newsmen after the advocacy meeting with the Shippers’ Council, Adewale Adeyanju, the president-general, the Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), said the executive secretary of the council was at the union’s headquarters to discuss the strike and possible ways of resolving it.

According to Adeyanju, the union informed the Shippers’ Council’s boss that unless APM Terminals convene a meeting on the CBA, the strike would continue.

“The strike is on. We are yet to reconvene to decide whether we will be calling off the strike, in fact, the terminal operators have even not been encouraging,” he added.

He said the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Mohammed Bello-Koko, has been on the issue for the past three days, but the terminal operators have been adamant.

Meanwhile, with the strike which entered its second day on Thursday, clearing agents have cried out over accumulated charges on trapped cargoes.

Osita Chukwu, the chairman, Save Nigeria Freight Forwarders Importers and Exporters Coalition (SNFFIEC), said the enormity of the strike is yet to be dawn on cargo owners until it is finally over.

“All the meetings being held now is centred on calling off the strike. Nobody is talking about the charges that are accumulating. Demurrage and storage charges are there, nobody is talking about them, everybody is concerned about calling off the strike,” he said.

According to him, cargo owners expect the terminal operators to waive storage charges 100 percent even though consignees already know that the shipping companies won’t waive demurrage.