Despite congestion, shipping firms reaffirm readiness to call at Lagos ports

[Edoman]

Despite congestion, shipping firms reaffirm readiness to call at Lagos ports

12 February 2020   | 


Lagos ports . Photo: STEARSNG
As the lingering cargo congestion bites harder, the world’s largest container carrier, Maersk, and its sister company, Safmarine, have restated their commitment to continue to call at the Lagos seaports.
 
The two firms, in a separate Customer Advisory issued last week, denied reports of dumping Lagos ports, emphasizing that calls to the ports continue across their global network despite the challenges inhibiting operations at the ports in Lagos.  
 
Maersk’s Advisory reads: “The West Africa market continues to be dynamic and market demand fluctuates significantly from quarter to quarter. Currently we are experiencing severe delays in Lagos due to highly utilized terminal yards, crane break-downs, and long trucking queues. We continue to work proactively with all our terminal partners across West Africa and specifically with Nigerian Ports Authority to assist where possible to mitigate the congestion currently being experienced in Lagos. 


   
“As was communicated in early January, we would like to reiterate some adjustments made to various services across our Far East to West Africa network to deliver a stable and reliable product to our customers. Please find below the service rotations within West Africa before returning to the Far East:  
   
“FEW1 will serve Cotonou, Abidjan, Tincan, and Lome

“FEW2 will serve Walvis Bay, Apapa, Tema, Apapa, and Pointe Noire
“FEW3 will serve Tema, Lome, Cotonou, Onne and Walvis Bay.” 

Maersk said the changes to its service rotation was to ensure “we can continue to call at all West African ports that we have in the past whilst ensuring we limit the impact of the delays on your cargo”.  
   
“Additional to the above mentioned, we will continue to call in Lagos with our Middle East product (MESAWA), and our Europe service (WAF6),” Maersk stated further. 
   
The world‘s largest shipping line said it would continue to monitor the situation and will communicate any future changes to its vessel schedules, “as is the norm across our global network.”

   
Safmarine, in its own Customer Advisory, also said its service rotations within West Africa before returning to the Far East include FEW1 serving Cotonou, Abidjan, Tincan and Lome; FEW2 serving Walvis Bay, Apapa, Tema, Apapa and Pointe Noire; and FEW3 serving Tema, Lome, Cotonou, Onne, and Walvis Bay.  
   
Maersk is the world’s largest container shipping company by both fleet size and cargo capacity, serving 116 countries. It has more than 31,000 employees. Maersk operates over 786 vessels and has a capacity of 4.1 million.

Safmarine is present in more than 85 countries and has more than 1200 sailors selling its services.

[Edoman]

Declare state of emergency on Lagos ports, clearing agents urge government

12 February 2020   |

The Federal Government has been urged to declare a state of emergency on Lagos ports including Apapa and TinCan, to enhance efficiency in import and export activities.
   
Lagos ports have continued to suffer setbacks due to issues around cargo congestion, poor access roads, lack of cargo scanners, among others. These factors have forced importers to divert a large number of cargoes to the ports of neigbouring countries.
   
President, National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amiwero, in a petition to President Muhammadu Buhari, urged him to declare a state of emergency in Lagos ports, and utilize the available empty terminals in Lagos, such as the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal.  

   
Amiwero said: “Lagos ports congestion is as a result of a backlog of cargoes, which are held up as a result of accessing Apapa and Tincan Island ports, and other logistic issues that constitute the long stay of cargo and ships in the ports.
   
“The state of emergency is to wave the complexity of the lease agreement with the empty terminal owners at Kirikiri Lighter Port, and the cargo traffic elements on the concession agreement with concessioners,
   
“This is to enable the faster movement of more containers from the wet ports within Lagos by barges to the Kirikiri Lighter Port, which will eventually prevent international and local litigation on the diversion of cargoes to other ports, which is not the port of destination in the contract of carriage,” he stated.  


 
In a letter, entitled: “Avoiding ship diversion to other ports by decongesting Lagos ports through utilizing the empty space at  Kirikiri Lighter Port,” he said, the Kiririri Lighter Port has four empty terminals that can accommodate 15,000 full loaded containers, which will ease the congestion in Lagos, and shift some of the pressure from Apapa Tincan to Kirikiri Port area.
   
This, according to him, would eliminate possible litigation that will be generated from the international community and import-trading community for diverting Lagos bound cargoes to other ports, which have serious legal and financial implication, in terms of the restricted diversion clause in the contract of carriage (Bill of Lading).


   
He listed the empty terminals that are currently laying idle, which were used in 2001 Port decongestion to include: Brawl Phase I, with the capacity to take 2000 containers; Baco Liner (4000 containers); Kirikiri Phase II (3000 containers); and Kirikiri Phase III (2000 containers).
   
He said these terminals could still be utilized to clear the cargo backlog in Lagos ports and save the trading community from litigation, clearance and logistic complexities that are associated with the planned diversion.
   
Most of the empty spaces that were converted to terminals in the Kirikiri Lighter Port area, were identified during the Port decongestion by the Special Committee on Action Plan for Clearing Cargo Back Log, which eventually assisted in decongesting Lagos ports in 2001.