Maritime stakeholders have challenged the claims made by the Ports Standing Task Team (PSTT) that its operations saved visiting ships N5.4 billion in demurrage fees over a single year. The National Coordinator of the PSTT, Moses Fadipe, presented a scorecard to journalists in Lagos, stating that the team’s activities had saved ships more than N5.4 billion between 2021 and 2022. He also highlighted a substantial reduction in congestion, cargo dwell time, and ship turnaround time during that period.
In response, Jonathan Nicol, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Nigeria Shippers Association, argued that only shipping agencies can accurately determine how much money has been saved, as they own the vessels. “Everybody is fighting to be relevant in the system, and it is only shipping agencies in Nigeria that can say if they are saving so much money for Nigeria because they are the owners of the vessel,” he said. Nicol questioned the methodology behind the PSTT’s figure, noting that the reported savings were not linked to any specific service. “How did PSTT know that it has saved that type of money? The money it said it has saved was not tied to any service,” he added.
Nevertheless, Nicol acknowledged a noticeable decline in vessel waiting times and a reduction in the number of ships arriving in Nigeria. “There is an appreciable reduction in time for vessels waiting to discharge and leaving the ports. It has reduced unlike before because the volume of vessels coming to the port has also reduced, which really attracts so much demurrage,” he explained.
Lucky Amiwero, founder of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, echoed concerns about the PSTT’s claims. He asked for transparency, saying, “It is easier for them to say they have gotten N5.4 bn. How did they get it? They will tell us the names of the ships. They should be able to tell us how they made the money. The ship turnaround time—are they the people going there? The problem we have is people do a lot of adverts in the paper and then go to the press and talk.” Amiwero also noted that Nigerian ports are not only highly porous but also among the most expensive in the world.
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