The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has announced that it has saved a whopping N2.7bn between 2020 to 2022, which could have been lost through shipping companies and terminal operators through demurrages, among other charges. The announcement was made in the NSC’s periodic publication called ‘Complaint .’
During the period under review, the NSC said it recorded a total of 1,727 complaints. In 2021, the year with the highest figure of complaints by shippers, a total of 666 cases were handled, and N2.5bn recovered on behalf of the trading public. In 2020, despite the coronavirus pandemic, a total of 648 cases were recorded with N57m recovered. In 2022, a total of 413 cases were recorded, and N204m recovered on behalf of shippers and freight forwarders.
According to the NSC, the complaints were mainly caused by excessive charges, demurrages, container deposit refunds, damages of cargo, and other related issues.
However, despite the decrease in the volume of cargo in the country’s seaports, the NSC noted that demurrage and detention charges remained high. To reduce these costs, the council urged importers and exporters to engage professional logistics service providers to handle the clearing and delivery processes of their cargoes to ensure that all containers are returned promptly without incurring demurrage or detention charges.
In conclusion, the NSC’s efforts in saving N2.7bn from demurrage charges is commendable, and it is a significant step towards boosting the nation’s economy. Importers and exporters must follow the NSC’s advice to reduce their costs and prevent future complaints.
Punch
