Importers incur excessive demurrage over empty container return delays - APFFLON

Importers navigating Nigeria's busy Apapa and Tin Can Island ports are grappling with escalating costs, primarily driven by difficulties in returning empty shipping containers. The Africa Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) has highlighted these excessive demurrage and detention charges as a major financial burden.

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It is unacceptable for a shipping company to continue issuing containers to importers without providing an efficient system for receiving the empty containers after use.

APFFLON National President, Otunba Frank Ogunojemite, stated that shipping companies are failing to provide sufficient facilities for empty container returns. This operational deficiency creates bottlenecks, slows down cargo movement, reduces truck turnaround times, and exacerbates congestion around the Apapa port area. He specifically called out Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) for its persistent failure in this regard.

Ogunojemite stressed that importers are being unfairly penalized for a problem caused by shipping companies, which he described as exploitation and contrary to the government's 'ease of doing business' initiative. He urged the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Shippers’ Council, and the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to intervene.

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This operational failure has become a major contributor to congestion at Apapa and is inflicting enormous financial hardship on importers, freight forwarders and transport operators.

The association is calling for an investigation into the situation and demands that shipping companies adhere to operational standards. This issue persists despite ongoing government efforts to improve infrastructure, digitize port operations, and implement reforms aimed at reducing cargo dwell time and the overall cost of doing business in Nigeria.

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Why should importers be punished financially for a problem created by the shipping company? This amounts to exploitation of Nigerian businesses and runs contrary to the principles of fair trade and ease of doing business being championed by the Federal Government.