The Nation Newspaper

Category: Maritime

  • NCS: New platform for 48-hour cargo clearance coming

    NCS: New platform for 48-hour cargo clearance coming

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), Tin Can Island Command, is set to introduce a new electronic information system, to ensure that cargoes are cleared from the port within 48 hours.

    According to the command, Time Release Studies (TRS) will comprise data and electronic information that will enable stakeholders track the movement of their Single Goods Declaration (SGD) forms from the date of submission to when the cargo  exited the Customs system.

    The Controller, its  Public Relations Officer, Mr. Uche Ejesieme, said, ordered the issuance of TRS to provide information about daily movement of SGD forms to ensure that there were no bottlenecks and bureaucracies in the clearance system.

    He described it as a trade facilitation tool, which will further exonerate the Customs from any delay experienced by importers and clearing agents taking delivery.

    He said the TRS was introduced by the new Customs Area Controller, Comptroller, Mr. Musa Baba, adding that the command has been given a target of N354 billion for the year.  Last year’s target was N310 billion.

    The image maker said the command was expected to collect N29.5billion monthly instead of N25.8 billion it collected last year. “The annual target for 2018 at Tin Can Island is N354.6 billion, monthly is N29.5 billion. This is higher than the target of 2017, which stood at N310 billion with a monthly collection of N25.8 billion.

    “Don’t forget that the controller just assumed office few days ago, but as soon as he came onboard, he called for an emergency meeting of all sectional heads, officers in charge of terminals, releasing officers, CIU, and valuation, these are very key officers.

    “He already has a template for the realisation of the figure. He mentioned it to everybody, and he is also planning to ensure that he shares the target to some of these terminals and to ensure that terminals on daily basis must submit their collections and interventions,’’ Ejesieme said.

    He continued: “There are people already on the system working hard to monitor all transactions, when they see infractions they flag it. There will be close monitoring of all transactions.

    “The controller has also directed that there should be time release studies. This will provide information about daily movement of single goods declaration forms to ensure that there are no hiccups, bottlenecks and bureaucracies.

    ‘’He has also told us that he wants practical facilitation of legitimate trade. It is not enough for you to say you are facilitating trade, but the public must see you facilitating trade,’’ Ejesieme said.

    He urged all releasing officers to  go for value check before releasing any consignment. There would be sanctions this time around if any infraction is noticed,” the image maker added.

     

  • Omatseye advises reporters on blue economy

    Omatseye advises reporters on blue economy

    The Editorial Board Chair-man of The Nation, Mr. Sam Omatseye, has challenged maritime reporters on the need to be educated about the economic potential of oceans and seas which are the bedrock of the industry they are covering.

    At a one-day seminar organised for maritime media stakeholders in Lagos, Omatseye urged the reporters to identify the challenges facing the sector and how to resolve them.

    For instance, water resources, Omatseye said, hold a potential $24 trillion of untapped wealth. He urged maritime reporters to lead the way on how and why the resources must be tapped by local and foreign investors to boost the economy.

    He identified some of the challenges facing Nigeria and other West African countries in harnessing the potential of their economies to include  insecurity, crimes at sea, poor infrastructure and climate change.

    According to him, Nigeria and other African countries have a lot that can generate wealth, such as fishery, aquaculture, tourism, transport, ship building, underwater mining and bio-prospecting. These, he further argued, are veritable areas where maritime reporters could focus their attention on to educate the people and create employment.

    Apart from education, Omatseye also charged the reporters to focus attention on understanding the protocols, mostly in the international context;   and the goals and dynamics of the larger government to contextualise the working of the blue economy and NIMASA; have an enlightened view of the larger economy and how the blue economy fits.

    “It is after this that the journalists can better report, analyse, interpret a millitant attack in a Bayelsa water bank, or a tussle over an oil rig, or change of interest rates or a Babalawo forbids a ship to cross a channel because of a great tossed in there to mollify the goddess of the sea,” Omatseye said.

    In his address, the Director-General of NIMASA,  Dr. Peterside Dakuku, solicited the support of the media in promoting the blue economy.

    He said the agency will do everything possible to promote blue economy and generate employment for Nigerians.

    Some of the discussants were the Managing Director of This Day Mr Eniola Bello and former Editor of The Guardian, Mr Jewell Dafinone.

    Over 200 maritime reporters attended the event.

     

  • Exporters hail govt on exportation from Ikorodu terminal 

    The Federal Government has been given the tumbs up for exporting agricultural produce through the Ikorodu Lighter Terminal.

    Over 30 export laden containers were moved by barges from the terminal to Lagos sea port as part of measures to decongest the ports and boost the economy.

    The gesture, exporters said, would enable Nigerians to maximise the facilities at the moribund terminal.

    Speaking during the flag-off of using barges to ferry over 31 containers laden with agricultural produce from Ikorodu to Apapa port,  NPA’s Managing Director, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman, said her agency has the mandate to ensure effective utilisation of the Ikorodu terminal for export.

    President Muhammadu Buhari administration, she said, is committed to encouraging export promotion through the terminal while NPA would ensure adherence to occupational health and safety as panacea to efficient port services in line with international best practices.

    She urged Nigerians to come forward and avail themselves of the emerging opportunities in the agricultural export market to boost foreign exchange earnings and  strategically position the country on the global business community

    They said they were happy that a major infrastructure at Ikorodu, which was idle for decades, came alive again under the initiative of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala Usman.

    An exporter, Mr Ken Adeyanju,  said  the rejection of Nigerian commodity and produce at the international market would soon be a thing of the past.

     

  • Terminal operators get two weeks to clear N40b debts

    Terminal operators get two weeks to clear N40b debts

    Terminal operators indebted to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) have two weeks  to pay up or be sanctioned.

    At a stakeholders’ forum held in Lagos, NPA Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala Usman threatened to sanction any operator who fails to clear its debt or provide holding bays for empty containers.

    Sources at the Federal Ministry of Finance (FMoF) told The Nation that the operators are owing about N40 billion.

    A source said NPA would double its revenue next year if operators kept their agreement with the authority.

    Usman also warned the operators against violating the terms of the concession under which the terminals were handed over to them.

    She cautioned shipping companies against engaging in shoddy business at the ports.

    “All terminal operators that owe NPA must be ready to pay up their debt. They must pay in the next two weeks or face serious sanctions,” she said.

    Ms Usman was furious when she learnt that an operator and a shipping company were violating the concession agreement.

    The National Public Relations Officer of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA,), Dr Kayode Farinto, alleged that the shipping company was charging importers additional N75,000 on each container.

    Farinto said the shipping firms and operators were making billions of naira yearly from some of the unilateral charges.

    Other stakeholders were unhappy that the operators were delaying clearing, resulting in increased port charges.

    Ms. Usman ordered an investiga-tion into the allegations of excessive charges amongst shipping firms and operators.

    NPA’s accounts section, she said, would recover all outstanding debts to boost the nation’s revenue profile.

    The NPA boss assured stakeholders that agreements signed with  operators and others would be reviewed in April, stressing that her administration had plugged loopholes to ensure transparency and accountability.

    She said a competitive tariff and pricing regime had been introduced at the ports, adding that NPA would ensure that operators complied with their agreements with the government.

    Some of the challenges stakeholders said were militating against revenue generation, include: provision of  a modern signal/control tower; an efficient signal station to monitor ship and other activities in the ports; provision of pilotage services by NPA; fostering Information Communication Technology (ICT) to improve service delivery through automation, hardware and speedy network and provision of marine craft and operational vehicles to boost efficiency at the ports.

    The stakeholders urged NPA to resolve the issues surrounding trailer parks and Apapa traffic gridlock.

  • Importers abandon 150 containers, 100 vehicles at Tin Can

    Over 150 containers and 100 vehicles worth over N1 billion have been abandoned at Tin-Can Island Port and other bonded terminals in Lagos because  of  bad roads.

    Source said the importers were also finding it difficult to get loans to fund their business.

    The devaluation of the naira and the bad roads are said to be affecting their operations.

    A source said the Federal Government is not helping matters

     by not getting terminal operators and shipping firms to reduce their charges.

    The President, Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Prince Olayiwola Shittu,  gave five reasons why importers abandoned their goods:

    • the ports are the most expensive in West Africa;
    • bad roads;
    • high exchange rate;
    • non-availability of trailer parks and holding bays for empty containers and
    • poor mechanism in controlling trucks and tankers that are coming to the ports and its environ

    Banks, an importer, Mr Festus Owolabi said, has stopped lending to importers because of the fall of the naira and the increase in the prices of goods.

    “There is no doubt that activities at the ports have reduced because of the exchange rate. The terminal operators and the shipping companies are also not helping matters. Our port is the most expensive in the sub-region. Most importers are not making profit and that is why they have decided to abandon their goods at the ports.

    ‘’The roads are bad. Many goods are trapped at the port; there is bound to be congestion, most of the importers borrowed money from the banks; before they collect their Bill of Lading, they must make the payment, but what is happening now is that, with the exchange rate, they are finding it difficult to get the balance and pay back to collect the papers and clear their cargoes.

    “Many importers with Bill of Lading are also finding it difficult to pay Customs duties because of the value of the naira and that is why goods worth billion of naira are trapped at the ports.

    “As the situation of the road is now, there is no cargo that does not go into demurrage in Nigeria because the shipping companies start collecting money immediately the cargo arrives at the port.” he said.

    He said importers pay N360 to N370 as official rate to a dollar for Customs’ transactions.

    A Customs officer, who pleaded anonymity, said many goods were trapped at the ports because of the bad roads, the exchange rate and the inability of the government to find solution to the traffic on the roads

    He said: “We are aware that many importers are finding it difficult to pay their duties, but there is nothing we can do because that is the revenue we are asked to collect by the government. Once an importer brings an item into our port, he must pay the necessary duty unless he or she was given waiver before the importation commences.

    “Except he pays the amount required by law, the only alternative opened to him is to abandon the goods. And that is why we are having so many containers, trucks and vehicles in the ports that have not been cleared by the importers. But my advice to them is to look for money, pay the duty and move their vehicles out of the ports before they become over-time cargo and confiscated by the government’’.

  • Operator seeks palletisation policy review

    The General Manager, SIFAX Shipping Company Limited, Mr Henry Ajoh, has urged the Federal Government to reconsider its position on the implementation of the cargo palletisation policy.

    The policy, an initiative of the Presidential Ccommittee on Ease of Doing Business, is part of the new import and export guidelines of the government, which stipulates that all containerised cargoes coming into the country must be palletised.

    It is designed to assist officers of the Nigeria Customs Service and some other agencies to provide an easy and faster way to physically examine cargoes being brought into the country.

    But, Ajoh argued that the government did not adequately engaged necessary stakeholders  before coming up with the policy, hence, the stiff opposition that it has generated.

    While it might appear that the government could be solving the problem of cargo examination with this policy, the SIFAX Shipping boss argued that it would adversely affect the economy as importers would transfer the extra cost to consumers.

    He said: “The implementation of the cargo palletisation policy will lead to an increase in the cost of shipment and importation charges. These extra charges will be passed to the end users, who buy the imported goods. The manufacturers who also need to pay more for his imported raw materials as a result of the policy will also pass this to the consumers. Ultimately, this policy will lead to an increase in the prices of goods and you know the implication of this for an economy just exiting recession.”

    Ajoh further noted that the palletisation policy would not adequately address the challenge of faster cargo clearing as all imported cargoes, whether palletised or  not, would still need to be physically examined by the Customs officers.

     

  • Customs gets ‘strike force’

    The Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) Col. Hameed Ali, has set up a strike force to combat smuggling.

    The force, it was learnt, has been posted to the Customs four zonal offices in Lagos, Kaduna, Bauchi and Port Harcourt.

    Part of the force’s mandate, according to Customs National Public Relations Officer, Mr Joseph Attah, is to check officers’ activities.

    He told The Nation that the force was set up to fight smuggling.

    “The team is empowered to enter any command system on suspicion of fraudulent activities taking place or about to take place with a view to blocking all revenue leakages from the system.

    “The team is allowed to partake in the examination of any suspected container generated by the ICT,” he explained.

    Attah added that the team would ensure that all unutilised Pre-Arrival Assessment Report (PAAR) bill of lading, as well as air way bills was accounted for.

    “They are to monitor the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS) in order to checkmate capital flight and PAAR merchandise.

    “This is what they are expected to do, their operation is fashioned this way to be in line with the demand of the executive order on the Ease of Doing Business,’’ Attah said.

    He noted that the strike force would erect checkpoints rather than roam the highways except on credible information by the surveillance operatives of the Service.

    “The strike force will treat the information and return to base. It is the desire of the CGC to sanitise the system for optimum performance.

    “This particular strategy will enhance free flow of goods on our high ways.

    “No hither land or highway patrol by the team, the surveillance team will work for 24 hours and their work is not intended to impede free flow of goods,’’ he added.

    According to him, the team will be under the co-ordination of a Deputy Comptroller assisted by four Assistant Comptrollers of Customs.

  • Workers: bad roads threaten $10b investments

    Workers: bad roads threaten $10b investments

    How can Apapa roads be restored? Hand them over to the  Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), say Maritime Workers Union of Nigeria (MWUN), terminal operators, residents truck drivers and others.

    They said the bridges leading to the ports from Western Avenue, were under threat because of the huge number of trucks parked on them daily.

    Over $10 billion investments at the Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, they said, are threatened by bad roads.

    The roads, according to them, needed urgent attention to protect the bridges, save lives and reduce revenue losses at the ports.

    MWUN President General Comrade Adewale Adeyanju lamented that a large number of dockwor-kers were facing redundancy because vessels no longer  found the ports attractive for business.

    He said if the situation continued, the union would withdraw its services from the ports.

    “We have given an ultimatum, but it is not about ultimatum anymore, it is about total show down. If you go inside the port now, you can hardly see two vessels there, at ENL where we normally have up to six vessels, it is only one that is there, so there is diversion of vessels to other countries close to us and this is affecting our members, it is equally affecting the revenue drive of the terminal operators and the NPA

    “When the ships are not coming, the management may think otherwise, and to stop this, we have decided to come out and cry to the whole world that enough is enough

    “If the rain should start any moment from now, you will not see any vessel again in the port,” he warned.

    A senior Customs officer who pleaded not to be named, said it was difficult to evacuate cargoes from the ports, adding that this is reflecting on the revenue of many agencies like NPA.

    A senior official of a terminal, said: “Your paper reported last week that terminal operators owed the Nigerian Ports Authority several billions of naira, but you have forgotten that our own investments, which are over $10 billion, are in danger because of the perennial gridlock on Apapa roads.

    “Part of the agreement we had with the Federal Government before the ports were concessioned to us was that the government would fix the infrastructure and we shall invest in the port by bringing in modern equipment, which we have done but the government is yet to fulfil its own part and that is affecting our business and our returns to the government.

    “As sensitive and people-oriented government, there is need for President Buhari and the Federal Executive Council to direct the Minister of Works, Power and Housing Mr Babatunde  Fashola to hand over the roads  to NPA and end cargo divert to ports of neighbouring countries because of the gridlock on the road,” he said.

    He said many operators had abandoned Apapa, Mile 2 and Ijora roads, going to the ports via water.

    “But that has increased the vehicular traffic on the Third Mainland Bridge because we would first drive to CMS before taking boats to Apapa.

    “The implication of that to the economy of Lagos State is high because many truck drivers have abandoned the Oshodi/Apapa Express road and are now using the Western Avenue and the bridges along this corridor are suffering and if we allow one of them to collapse, the cost of re-fixing it would be huge for the government and higher than the cost of fixing the roads currently’’.

    Investigation showed that, the gridlock on the road has become endemic because of pot holes.

    Adeyanju said the state of the roads was affecting cargo dwell time and ports revenue.

    The National Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), Dr Kayode Farinto, said ships’ waiting and turnaround time and cargo dwelling time were affected by the deplorable roads.

    “Fashola must be directed to hand over the roads to NPA. By the time that is done, our groanings and the hardship we are facing on these roads would be over. This is a government of the people and we have no doubt that it will listen to our hopes and aspirations. At the moment, NPA is handicapped because the roads fall within the purview of the Federal Ministry of Works, but I am sure that the government is a listening government.”

     

  • NPA breaks monopoly in oil and gas cargo 

    NPA breaks monopoly in oil and gas cargo 

    With the arrival of the Egina $3.3 billion Floating Production Storage Offloading (FPSO) vessel in Lagos, the Federal Government has broken the monopoly in that line of business, Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director Ms. Hadiza Bala Usman has said.

    Only one firm handles oil and gas vessel cargo at Onne, Warri and Calabar terminals.

    The giant oil and gas vessel arrived in Lagos, after 90 days voyage from Samsung Shipyard, Goeje in the Republic of South Korea.

    Speaking after the vessel berthed at the LADOL Integrated Free Logistics Zone in Lagos, Ms. Usman said it was a feat achieved by the government, NPA, other terminal operators and importers of oil and gas equipment.

    She said the choice of Lagos for the project, was a confirmation of the reason behind the government’s policy to liberalise oil and gas logistics operations to ensure competitiveness, efficiency and boost revenue.

    The Federal Government, she said, had fulfilled part of the subsisting contract it signed with the terminal operators through NPA and the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).

    The FPSO Egina, she said, had a length over aii ( LIA) OF 330 METERS, width of 63 METERS and a Gross Tonagd ( GT) of 219,800 tonnes and it is the first time the NPA and the country would be handling vessel of the size.

    The berthing of the giant vessel by the NPA, she said, was an attestation to the infrastructural and operational preparation of the NPA.

    NPA, she said, has put to rest the protest by some terminal operators over the purported designation of a terminal operator as the exclusive handler of oil and gas cargoes, which, she said, was against the port reforms carried out by the Federal Government in 2006.

    “The successful berthing of this huge vessel testifies to our capacity to provide improved services to the oil and gas industry.

    “We recognise that the magnitude of this project presented the NPA with the opportunity to, once again, showcase our unrelenting efforts at building capacity to meet the needs of customers across board, we are grateful for this unique partnership and look forward  to more of such.

    “This project put a demand on the NPA to facilitate the berthing of the FPSO Egina for the completion of its construction at Lagos Harbour. It also further the Federal Government’s local content policy with multiple effects evident in employment opportunities, capacity building, technological transfer, cost saving, reduction in capital flight as well as the attraction of oil and gas hub to Nigeria for the sub-region,” Ms.Usman said

    She said, the Federal Government,  will continue to ensure that all ports operations are modeled in line with global best practices which recognise only three classes – bulk, container and multipurpose cargo, saying this is the practice globally.

    Ms. Usman gave kudos to President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Government for initiating an impressive policy that empowered the authority to return to the three classes as it is done across the globe.

    She assured prospective local and foreign investors, operators, importers, shipping companies, clearing agents and other port users that the misnomer in the oil and gas designation which has been corrected by the Federal Government through the NPA to enthrone competitiveness and end the unwarranted monopoly would not be allowed to resurface again  in the country.

    “Our plan is to ensure a regulatory environment that promotes the maritime industry. We are looking at ensuring that there is competition; we know the problems confronting most of the terminals at the various ports, we feel the need for the government to ensure that local content for example is adhered to.

    “Businesses are coming into the country, we are doing our best to encourage them to ensure that the utilisations of their operations are domiciled in Nigeria, we also encourage operators to ensure that they have Nigerians within their ranks, employment for Nigerians is very important. We also believe that wherever enabling environment is required we will provide.

    “We believe in stakeholder’s consultation, we will continue to bring everyone to the table for us to seat down and ensure that there is need for us to work together. As an authority, we are going to lead and ensure that local content is provided. We will step beyond the things that we historically used to do so that whatever is required for the operators to work together for Nigeria to have the maximum benefit that it can attract for itself within this environment.

    “We are looking at making Nigeria the hub for West Africa; working to ensure that there is operational efficiencies and make effort to improve the ease of doing business and the competitiveness of our port operations; we will work with the operators and look at areas where there is overlapping among the operators and agencies within the Ministry of Transportation and ensure that we work together to ensure that there is synergy,” she said.

    Importers said the dominance of the nation’s oil and gas logistics business at the ports has ended with the arrival of the FPSO vessel in Lagos.

    One of the importers, Mr Kenneth Anderson, gave kudos o the Federal Government and the NPA for guaranteeing the right of importers to choose terminals or ports of their choice for the discharge of their cargo.

  • NSC to importers, exporters: don’t breach palletisation policy

    NSC to importers, exporters: don’t breach palletisation policy

    The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Hassan Bello, has urged importers to obey the cargo palletisation policy of the Federal Government or face sanctions. The policy, Bello said, has come to stay.

    Speaking at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos on the need for seamless operations at the Inland Dry Ports, he warned any importer against violating the order.

    The NSC helmsman said: “The palletisation issue is already on, there is no going back on it and the concerns of the critical stakeholders would always be noted and we will ensure that some of the issues are addressed,” Bello said.

    He urged stakeholders in the export and import trade value chains to be  acquainted with the export and import guidelines to avoid sanction.

    The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, had said the palletisation of cargoes coming into the country would aid manual examination of consignment, while the country awaits the acquisition and installation of functional scanners at the seaports and land borders.

    She gave January 1, 2018 as the take-off date for the new policy.

    ”In order to ensure quick clearance of import at the Nigerian ports and borders, the additional responsibilities assigned to the relevant government agencies would be carried out in a well-coordinated and collaborated manner, while the sanctions specified for non-compliance with the provisions of the guidelines would be strictly and impartially applied across board,” Mrs Adeosun said.

    Bello urged stakeholders to work together for effective operations of the Kaduna Inland Dry Port (KIDP).

    He said that such synergy would complement the Federal Government’s efforts on the Ease of Doing Business.

    According to Bello, “if we do not work together, there is no how we can achieve the benefits of the IDP.

    “Over 10 years ago, we have been on the issue of the dry ports, including railways.

    “All efforts actually come to reality with the support of President Muhammadu Buhari who told the private sector to synergise to achieve effective dry port in the country.

    “We have been working with operators and the idea is to establish modern inland dry ports and the ease of doing business must be instituted in the ports,’’ he said.

    Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of the Kaduna Inland Day Port; Mr. Tope Borishade, pleaded for stakeholders’ cooperation for him to achieve his mandate as a dry port operator.

    Borishade said that the KIDP would not compete with sea ports, but will collaborate to improve the ease of doing business.

    He said that Nigeria was already losing cargo to neighbouring countries and promised that KIDP would improve government’s revenue by attracting more cargo into the country.

    “Over the past decades, there have been ICNL, Kaduna State government, the Nigerian Shippers Council and the stakeholders have been working in developing this dry port. We can only take it forward with our support and cooperation. So after this, I believe we are going to have feedback from stakeholders so that we can make this work for everybody. We are not in competition with the seaports”, he said.

    The ICNL Port Manager, Mr Rotimi Rahimi, urged  the Customs to secure the recognition of dry ports by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through inclusion in the list of ports of origin and destination on the Form ‘M’ e-platform.

    “The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) should develop invoice rating models for seaports and terminals as well as shipping companies that would encourage use of dry ports.

    “NPA should also engage seaport concessionaires to provide separate access for both inward and outward movement of dry port cargo.

    “Shipping companies should operate through Bill of Lading from ports of Origin to ports of Destination to process shipping documents for import and export release at the dry ports.

    “Shipping companies must have their presence in Kaduna to provide shipping services to shippers, while the terminal operators should allow shipping companies to move cargo from the ports without hindrance.

    “The concessionaires should allow 30-day rent passage for dry port cargo and should also grant priority terminal access for trucks hauling dry port cargo,” Rahimi said.

    The Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), Mr Freeborn Okhiria, said that all efforts must be geared toward improving cargo delivery.

    Okhiria urged importers and exporters to make adequate use of the dry port to boost economy.

    He expressed the commitment of the NRC to ensure 24-hour cargo delivery service at the dry port

    Okhiria said that the corporation would purchase about 10 container wagons before June to facilitate the smooth operations of the IDP, adding that the NRC would ensure that “importer and exporters enjoy the services they pay for’’.