Port operators grumble as Apapa gridlock continues

Shippers – importers and exporters – are groaning over delays in business transactions at the Lagos port due to the gridlock they are going through with a large volume of cargo trapped at the ports.

  • The gridlock has degenerated to increasing rate of cargo diversion to ports in neighbouring countries and the attendant huge revenue loss suffered by the Federal Government.
  • The shippers lamented the breakdown of infrastructure at the ports coupled with the gridlock caused by the bad state of access roads leading to the two major ports in Lagos.
  • Speaking, the President, Shippers’ Association Lagos State (SALS), Jonathan Nicol, said that the country lost an estimate of N1 trillion annually to ports in neighbouring countries due to bad access roads to Lagos ports and the gridlock
There is massive diversion of Nigerian-bound cargo to neighbouring ports.

There are also queues of vessels within the Lome waters awaiting call-up for berthing in Lagos ports.

This will attract port congestion levy on Nigeria-bound cargo, which is no fault of the shippers.

Demurrage on containers is increasing with no control from the respective maritime agencies. Importers and exporters are suffering,’’ Nicol explained.

  • The shipper said that apart from the revenue loss, demurrage, terminal charges and storage fees incurred by shippers galloped into billions of naira daily.
  • Nicol suggested that the contractor handling the rehabilitation of the Apapa Port road should expedite action to alleviate the problems encountered by shippers and truck owners.
  •  Nicol said that the export initiative of the Federal Government was also under threat as export goods spent several days before getting to the ports.

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