The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Lagos ports

  • 20 ships laden with wheat, others berth at Lagos ports

    More than 20 ships laden with steel, wheat, fertiliser petrol and other products have berthed at Lagos Port Complex (LPC) between last week and today, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), said.

    Findings revealed that five of the vessels, Tai Splendor, Thor Monadic, Ru Chang Hai, Desert Spring and Night Hawk vessels were laden with wheat, while Skyros, Rainbold Harmony and Diamond Canakkale carried bulk fertiliser.

    It was gathered that some of the vessels such as African Robin, Wine Trader, Desert Oasis, Night Hawk and Carolina Star were laden with 12550Mt of steel, 5700Mt of bulk sugar, 49140Mt of CPO, 47800Mt of bulk wheat and 10720Mt of general cargo.

    It was also gathered that four ships are also waiting to berth with Premium Motor Spirit (PMS)petrol, while the remaining ones would berth with aviation fuel, diesel and fertiliser.

    Investigation also showed that additional 20 ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected in Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports between this week and next week.

    The ships being expected are bringing bulk wheat, containers, steel, frozen fish, empty containers, base oil, butane gas, bulk fertilizer, general cargo and petrol.

     

  • ‘Empty containers occupy over 40% of Lagos ports’

    ‘Empty containers occupy over 40% of Lagos ports’

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala Usman has ordered terminal operators at the Lagos ports to declare the number of empty containers there. Over 40 per cent of the space at the ports is believed to be occupied by empty containers.

    The NPA, the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Shippers Council  and the Nigeria Customs Service, it was alleged, do not have a record of the number of empty containers in most of the terminals across the country.

    Speaking with The Nation in Lagos, a senior official of the Federal Ministry of Transport (FMoT), who  pleaded not to be named, urged the government to stop operators from using the terminals as storage facilities.

    Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi and the NPA, the  official said, must direct the operators to  publish weekly the number of cargo, laden and empty containers at the ports.

    Most of the operators, the official alleged, are conniving with some unscrupulous NPA officials and shipping companies to keep the containers at their terminals to create the impression that the ports are busy.

    An importer, Chief Onasanya Ladejobi, expressed concern over the Apapa gridlock, which hinders access to the ports.

    Chief Ladejobi said the bad roads were hampering trade and affecting delivery of cargoes.

    He said the empty containers must be moved to their ports of origin and  ports infrastructure be revamped to revive the economy.

    The business community,  according to him, was not happy that measures adopted have not  yielded result to free the roads leading to Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin-Can Island Port.

    The business community and port users, he said, are waiting for what he called “positive action” from Amaechi soon, adding that the quick rehabilitation of the road must be one of the minister’s major priorities in salvaging the economy.

    The Federal Government, states and stakeholders, he said, should work together to find lasting solution to the problem.

    Ladejobi called for the promotion of exportation of agro-allied products to free the ports and boost the economy, noting that he was not happy that about 90 per cent of container traffic left the ports empty.

    The importer urged the public and private sectors to support government’s efforts at diversifying the economy.

    X-raying the ports’ last quarter operations, he said  there was an urgent need to complement the NPA’s efforts at massive investments in infrastructural renewal and automation of port operations by generating enough export cargo to move empty containers out of the ports.

    The NPA, he said, must collaborate with the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) and Abuja Commodities & Exchange Commission in the promotion of solid minerals and agro-allied products to boost the economy.

    The Federal Ministry of Solid Minerals Development and Nigerian Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACIMA), he said, must also work with the NPA in tandem with the Federal Government policy on export promotion.

     

  • Lagos ports: Importers lament poor access roads

    The Association of Motor Vehicle Importers has lamented persistent congestion on the ports’ access roads, saying it is taking a toll on its members.

    The group said some of its members and other businessmen had been forced to close shop in Apapa, Lagos because of lack of access to their businesses.

    The Chairman of  the group,  Olabisi Akinloye, said the congestion and long queue of vehicles were also creating problems for the export group. Containers, he said, were sometimes turned back, while most of the time, they miss appointment with their ships, leading to huge losses.

    He lamented that some of the concessionaires do not have enough capacity for containers, which is impacting negatively and resulting to the gridlock experienced in the transportation of the containers.

    Akinloye  called on the Federal Government to address delays suffered by importers and exporters, saying priority should be given to the containers going out and coming into the ountry, as against empty containers that go into the ports.

    Another member of the group, Mr Raphael Onbanjo, also called for greater efficiency of the port concessionaires, complaining that most of them do not have enough cargo capacity for export and empty containers.

     

     

     

  • Port operators groan over Apapa gridlock

    Port operators groan over Apapa gridlock

    Shippers (importers and exporters) are groaning over delays in business transactions at the Lagos port due to the harrowing gridlock they are going through with a large volume of cargo trapped at the ports.

    The gridlock has degenerated to increasing rate of cargo diversion to ports in neighbouring countries and the attendant huge revenue loss suffered by the Federal Government.

    The shippers lamented the breakdown of infrastructure at the ports coupled with the gridlock caused by the bad state of access roads leading to the two major ports in Lagos.

    Shedding more light on the problem, Mr Jonathan Nicol, President, Shippers’ Association Lagos State ( SALS ) said that the country lost an estimate of N1 trillion annually to ports in neighbouring countries due to bad access roads to Lagos ports and the gridlock

    “There is massive diversion of Nigerian-bound cargo to neighbouring ports.

    “There are also queues of vessels within the Lome waters awaiting call-up for berthing in Lagos ports.

    “This will attract port congestion levy on Nigeria-bound cargo, which is no fault of the shippers.

    “Demurrage on containers is increasing with no control from the respective maritime agencies. Importers and exporters are suffering,’’ Nicol explained.

    Read also: Nine ships arrive Lagos ports with petroleum products

    The shipper said that apart from the revenue loss, demurrage, terminal charges and storage fees incurred by shippers galloped into billions of naira daily.

    Nicol suggested that the contractor handling the rehabilitation of the Apapa Port road should expedite action to alleviate the problems encountered by shippers and truck owners.

    “Industrialists with their raw materials consignments are incurring huge expenses on haulage due to lack of access roads and they are counting more losses daily,’’ the shipper said.

    “There must be a minimal haulage fees control and ceiling. The Nigerian Shippers’ Council should please help.

    “No entry into the ports and no access out of the ports after loading, ‘’ Nicol said.

    The shipper added that truck drivers remained on queues for several days.

    Nicol said that the export initiative of the Federal Government was also under threat as export goods spent several days before getting to the ports.

    A report recently released by a Maritime Consulting firm, Ships & Ports Ltd.  revealed that more than half of the container trucks visiting Apapa, Lagos, daily had no immediate business to transact at the ports.

    The report issued by Mr Bolaji Akinola, the Chief Executive Officer of Ships & Ports Ltd., emanated from an independent study conducted by the firm and a don of the Lagos Business School, Dr Frank Ojadi.

    The report explained that truckers who genuinely had business to do in Apapa Port spent an average Turn Around Time of two days.

    According to the report, a total of 5,515 trucks were surveyed at both observation points – the start of Creek Road at the tip of Liverpool Bridge and the start of Wharf Road near Area B Police Command- over a period of two weeks.

    The report also found that there was no presence of a traffic management system to coordinate the affairs of the multiple government agencies responsible for traffic control in Apapa.

    It also explained that various stakeholders interviewed in the course of the study believed that the solution to the Apapa gridlock would be to compel shipping lines to receive all empties at their empty depots.

    “The collapse of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway, which is the major entry and exit point for trucks accessing the Tin Can Island Port, the Apapa Port and several tank farms in the area, has led to an increase in the number of trucks accessing these facilities through the narrow Apapa-Wharf road.

    “This compounded the congestion on this stretch of road, ‘’ the report said.

    NAN

     

  • 28 ships arrive Lagos with petroleum products

    28 ships arrive Lagos with petroleum products

    Twenty-eight ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are expected to arrive at Apapa and Tin Can Island ports in Lagos from Tuesday to Jan. 4, 2018.

    The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) stated this in its publication, “Shipping Position’’, a copy of which was made available to newsmen on Tuesday.

    It said that the ships contained buck wheat, steel products, empty containers, frozen fish, bulk gas and bulk gypsum.

    Read Also: Petrol hawkers back on Lagos streets

    Other items in the consignment, according to the NPA, are bulk gas, bulk fertiliser, aviation fuel, ethanol, diesel, petrol and containers laden with goods.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that six ships with bulk fertiliser, aviation fuel and petrol consignment were currently at the Lagos ports, waiting to berth

  • Strike cripples Lagos ports

    Strike cripples Lagos ports

    • Customs loses over N3b

    Business activities at the Lagos Port Complex (LPC) and the Tin-Can Island  port  in Lagos were again, brought to a halt yesterday, as clearing agents and the truck drivers continued with their strike over the deplorable state of the roads leading to the ports.

    The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS), it was learnt, has already lost over N3billion at Lagos port to the two-day strike. Also, terminal operators, shipping companies and other government agencies at all the ports, would also lose billions should the strike extend beyond tomorrow.

    A senior Customs officer who craved anonymity told The Nation that Apapa and Tin-Can Customs generate, respectively, over N1 billion daily from the ports. He said this excludes what Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), NIMASA, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Shippers Council and other agencies make.

    The leadership of the striking workers refused to call their members to order,  despite the assurance given to them on Monday, by NPA Managing Director, Ms Hadiza Bala Usman and the Executive Secretary Nigerian Shippers’Council, Mr Hassan Bello because of the fact at their disposal.

    The National President, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) Prince Olayiola Shittu said the strike would not be called off  until the Minister of Transport, RotimiAmaechi visits the port.

    ANALCA and importers, Shittu said, had few months ago, urged the Minister of Power,Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, to come up with a master plan to address the intractable Apapa, Lagos, gridlock before they embarked on the strike.

    The gridlock caused by the deplorable condition of the road,  according to Shittu, has bocome a common feature of the area with its toll on trucks, cars and other vehicles which often break down.

    The Federal Government, Shittu said, makes billions of naira from the ports daily.

     

  • Six ships arrive Lagos ports with petrol, other commodities

    Three ships laden with petrol  are waiting to berth in Lagos ports, the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) shipping position report said on Wednesday.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) quoted the report as saying that  three other ships would berth with crude palmolein, diesel and bulk fertiliser.

    Twenty three ships laden with petroleum products, food items and other goods are, however, expected to arrive Apapa and Tin-Can Island ports in Lagos from March 29 to April 22.

    NPA said that the expected ships are laden with  buck wheat, containers, base oil, bulk corn, bulk sugar, general cargoes, bulk fertiliser, soya bean, crude palmolein diesel and petrol.

    NAN reports that 20 other ships are at the ports discharging bulk fertilisers, buck wheat, empty containers, soya bean, bag rice, bulk sugar, base oil and diesel.

  • Truck owners, drivers, decry extortion at Lagos ports

    Some truck drivers operating at the Lagos ports on Friday in Lagos expressed concern over extortion by the government agencies at the ports.

    The drivers, in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), said the extortion was responsible for the unending vehicular traffic in the ports’ vicinity.

    A driver, Mr Sadiq Alade, told NAN that, the situation had made loading of cargoes at the Tin-Can Island’s first and second gates a nightmare for both drivers and transport agents.

    “The mere mentioning of loading of cargoes in any of these points sends fear into the drivers.

    “There are various operatives collecting illegal levies at the gates,’’ Alade said.

    A truck driver, Mr Emeka Okoroafor, said extortion usually generate argument between drivers and collectors of the illegal levies.

    “The amount collected ranged from N200 to N500 and in some cases, the amount goes to N5, 000; depending on the time and the size of the cargo,’’ he said.

    According to him, such levies are making transactions at the ports very difficult and expensive.

    The drivers appealed to the ports authority to harmonise the levies to facilitate loading of cargoes at the ports without stress.
    A transport contractor at Sapid Bonded Terminal, Mr Jacob Itado, lamented the high level of extortion at ports.

    Itado expressed regret that in spite of constant disagreement between the parties, the menace (extortion) had come to be a tradition that drivers had to contend with at the ports.

    “It is only when such illegal levy collectors are out of the scene that free flow of vehicular traffic will be enjoyed,’’ he told NAN.

    The Chairman, Association of Maritime Truck Owners (AMATO) Chief Remi Ogungbemi, said that extortion had become a norm at the ports.

    Ogungbemi said the rates collected in the night tagged “peak period’’, were usually higher than in day time.

    He said the association was helpless in this situation.

  • Manufacturers’ cargoes trapped at Lagos ports

    Manufacturers’ cargoes trapped at Lagos ports

    Some manufacturing firms are finding it tough at the Lagos ports.

    Their goods have been trapped because of the traffic gridlock on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and the delay in moving their trucks to the ports, The Nation has learnt.

    A clearing agent close to the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) Mr Rasak Balogun said goods worth millions of naira belonging to five companies are trapped at the Tin Can Island and Apapa ports.

    The delay, he said, has “serious implication” for the firms’ production, if the government fails to address the issue.

    The delay has led to the payment of huge demurrage to shipping companies and rent to terminal operators.

    It is also affecting their targets for this quarter (July – September).

    The firms’agents are shuttling from office to office, in and outside the ports, to speed up clearing.

    Importers and clearing agents are also in the same boat, it was learnt.

    Besides, banks are on their necks to service their loans.

    Sources close to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) said it takes ships on the Lagos waters between eight and 10 days to berth at the ports.

    The importers, manufacturers and agents are urging the Minister of Finance and Co-ordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to “exercise her powers under Section 152 of CEMA” to waive all demurrage and other charges on the affected goods.

    An importer, who pleaded for anonymity, said he took a loan to import rice, adding that the ship arrived at the port between June 26 and 28, but could not discharge its goods until July 7.

    He said his bank has been pursuing him for part-payment, which was due last month,  adding that the demurrage is huge.

    “Rice business is a big business. The majority of those of us in the business take loans from the banks to remain in the trade. Once there is a delay in offloading the rice from the ship or in moving the rice out of the terminals, we pay a lot of money to the shipping company, the terminal operators and the truck drivers.

    “The delay we are facing was caused by the neglect of improving port facilities by the Federal Government. The major responsibility of the government is to make access in and out of the ports easy for users.

    “But when a journey of less than 15 minutes from Mile 2 to Apapa ports now takes almost eight hours for truck drivers, who can withstand the rigour, and you need about 10 trucks to enter the terminal to carry your goods where others are also struggling to move out their own on time to avoid demurrage, the problem is better imagined than observed,” he said.

    On the challenges of servicing the loans, Balogun said: “The increase in ship and cargo dwell time has slowed down activities in cargo clearance and this has caused build-ups and tension at the ports. The delay has resulted in the payment of huge demurrage to shipping companies and rent to terminal operators by importers and clearing agents. Before, we take delivery of between 10 and 20 containers at the ports daily. Right now, we can hardly take delivery of two containers because of the delays. Once your goods are at the port, you are in trouble because you cannot use the raw materials or produce and the bank will not allow you to sleep.’’

  • Lagos ports can now take big vessels

    Lagos ports can now take big vessels

    There is good news for those in the shipping business. The Lagos ports can now accommodate big vessel carrying between 4,500 and 5,000 containers following its dredging to widen its depth.

    Before the exercise, the port could only take small vessels carrying between 1,000 and 2,000 containers because of its shallow waters.

    With its depth widened to between 13 and 13.5 metres from its former seven and nine metres, following the dredging it can take big vessels, thereby enhancing its status.

    The Lagos Channels Management (LCM) said the exercise became necessary to ensure that the ports served their purpose and maximised their potentials.

    Besides, the company has removed 29 of 31 shipwrecks identified along the channel on which it is operating.

    LCM Limited is a venture with the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), which owns 60 per cent of the equity.

    The company is responsible for the dredging and removal of certain shipwrecks along the Fairway Buoys. It also operates a marine operation centre (MOC) where data is processed for port operation.

    Its Head of Human Resources, Mr Falade Oyekan, said: “Until November 2012, we have removed 27 shipwrecks and currently working on two other wrecks that we identified as those that pose risk to the channel. The statutory duty to remove wrecks is with the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) but based on the agreement between NPA and the agency, we are meant to remove wrecks on our contracted channels as recommended by the NPA.”

    According to him, the Fairway Buoy covers the region beginning from entry point from the Atlantic ocean into the Lagos ports, Tin Can Port and Badagry.

    “When we took over in 2005, the highest depth along the buoy was between seven and nine metres, but now what we have is a minimum of 13.5 metres. In some areas, the channel is deeper than that, except around the Key Wall, which is very a sensitive area to dredge. We are very careful when dredging around the Key Wall because if you exceed the limit, the wall can collapse. This makes it less than 13 metres, for instance around APMT Terminal.

    “At the Tin Can Port, we have berths that are nine and 14 metres. From the construction, we know the depth and its limitations so we dredge to 13 or 13.5,” Oyekan explained.

    On the company’s capacity to discharge its responsibility, he said LCM has 14 dredgers and vessels used to remove wrecks including special dredgers that can do the Key Walls.

    On controversies surrounding the award of the Calabar Port dredging contracts to his company by NPA last year, Oyekan said the contract was advertised and LCM bided for it and won the contract.

    “We have an independent body for the contracts. We bid like others but the advantage we have is that we have been in the system and so, people can see what we are doing. We bided for a lot of contracts which we didn’t win. Even the Calabar dredging contract that is having problems now, we won at initial stage, but NPA was criticised for awarding the contract to a company in which it had interest and contract was given to another company. Today, we all know what happened next,” Oyekan said.