Vessels waiting time at Nigerian ports now 21-day – Shippers Council raises alarm
By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has said that vessels calling at Nigerian ports now spend 21-day at anchorage, compared to other neighbouring ports like Tema Port in Ghana where they spend 24-hour.
This is even as the Council accused other government agencies in the maritime sector of frustrating the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in developing an international trade portal for Nigeria.
Speaking at a webinar organised by Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association (WISTA) at the weekend, the Assistant Director, Special Duties of the NSC, Ms Adaora Nwonu lamented that agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), amongst others, still mandate shipping companies to submit hard copies of shipping manifest which ordinarily should have been automated.
According to her, “The lack of automation among other ills, made the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issue a damning report on Nigeria in its 2020 reports after visiting the country’s port.
“Right now, vessels are spending 21-day at our anchorage while at Tema Port, they are spending just 24hours. Shipmasters move around other ports and they would tell you that Nigeria is the only place where they have these harrowing experiences.
“Government agencies must comply with the executive order on ease of doing business. They should not be the ones flouting it. The agencies are the major problem because they are not speaking to one another.
“Up till date, we are trying to build an international trade portal for Nigeria.
Currently, we don’t have any, and UNCTAD has offered to help us do one, but UNCTAD cannot do it in isolation in Geneva. They need to work with government agencies in Nigeria, but I can tell you that the problem UNCTAD is having is government agencies not talking to one another. This is why we still don’t have a trade portal in Nigeria. Meanwhile, they have done it for even the most backward African countries.
“Government agencies are usually protecting their individual territories and refusing to share documents.”
She added that most shipping companies have lamented to the Council that they have to invest in giant photocopy machines in order to print hard copies of shipping manifest to NIMASA, Customs and other agencies of government.
“Vessels calling at Nigerian ports are expected to transmit their ship manifest within five to seven days before the arrival of the vessel. In order climes, it only takes 48-hour.
“The seven days is to improve the cargo clearance process. Vessels are complying but not as much as we want because some of them call at neighbouring ports and it is not easy for them to do seven days.
“We have taken statistics of that and it is noted. We are taking these issues back to PEBEC. These are issues that the shipping companies highlighted.
“The seven days is because of the peculiarities of our own environment,” she added.
