The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), has vowed to stop payment of containers deposit before the end of first quarter of next year.
The executive secretary of NSC, Barrister Hassan Bello, stated this on the sidelines of the meeting of heads of maritime agencies held at the headquarters of the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) yesterday.
Bello noted that Shippers paid N1.7 billion cumulatively every year on container deposits which adversely adds to the cost of doing business in the country.
He also blamed lack of holding bays and the gridlock at the port premises for the delay in returning empty containers, adding that the council is already in talks with National Insurance Corporation of Nigeria (NAICON) to see how they can get insurance for the shippers to cover cost of containers.
According to him, “Shippers pay N120,000 for containers deposit that is about N1.7 billion every year and this is adding to the cost of doing business. It is not the fault of the shipper but because he cannot return the container within the specified time, the roads are clogged, the holding bays are not working so how can he bear that cost?
“We want indemnity system and we have already spoken with NAICON, we could extend the marine insurance to cover containers. I can assure you by the first quarter of next year, there will not be payment of containers deposit.”
Speaking earlier, host of the meeting and director-general of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Bashir Jamoh revealed that the Deep Blue project that is expected to address Nigeria’s maritime security issues should be operational by September or October this year.
In his words, “Exactly one month ago, we commenced the meeting of the heads of maritime agencies to deliberate on common area of challenges. Today, one of the issues discussed is about the port community system.
“We have agreed to set up a committee that will look into the operationality of the port community system. We also discussed the 24 hours operation of our ports. We observed that port efficiency and effectiveness cannot be achieved without 24 hours port operation.
“We have also agreed that at the next meeting, we will have an action plan which will come with deliverables and key performance indicators to see how our ports will run on a 24 hours basis.
“The issue of multi-modal means of cargo evacuation was also discussed, and the National Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) has been mandated to ensure professionalism in movement of cargoes by barges.
“We also agreed to co-opt the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) into this meeting in our next meeting because rail evacuation of cargoes is very important for efficient port operation. So far, we are focusing on road, inland waterways and the rail for cargo evacuation at our ports, he said.
Jamoh disclosed that they also talked about the issue of maritime security which has been lingering for some months now. The NIMASA boss revealed during the meeting that more than 85 per cent of the assets of the Deep Blue project are already in the country. What is left is the local component which includes logistics and training.
“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have not been able to send personnel abroad to go for training for the Deep Blue project. Most of the Deep Blue assets are highly sophisticated equipment tailor made for Nigerian terrain.
“That is why it is only the manufacturers of these assets that can deliver the required training for those that will man these assets. We have agreed to send personnel for this training by this month, August; so that Deep Blue project can commence operation by September or October of this year,” Jamoh added.