How Shippers Council, Others Championed Clearing at Ports Under COVID-19

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By Francis Ugwoke
For mankind and indeed the world economy, the past few months have been catastrophic. Everyone has been running for dear lives. Coronavirus pandemic has been ravaging the whole continent beginning with China which is believed to be the source and one of the world leaders in shipping operations. Businesses have remained at comatose even as countries begin to dare the virus by reopening their economies for the sake of survival. The entire world economy has been hit horrendously and the shipping sector has been at the receiving end. Never has it been so bad with the shipping sector. Although countries did not really close their ports, activities have been at very low ebb as everyone tried to take cover from the spread of the virus. In Nigeria, it has not been easy as the situation is getting worse each day despite efforts to curtail the spread. Globally, the shipping sector has been considered as very essential without which mankind would suffer a lot of lack. This was what the federal government considered before ordering the ports to remain open in the face of the lockdown in Lagos. But opening the ports was not enough for the shippers and their freight forwarders. There were logistics issues which became obstacles under the lockdown. This was where the various agencies of the government came in. Apart from donating money and materials to the federal government and the Lagos state government, some of the agencies also provided logistics to the customs agents to be able to go to the ports on daily basis, including weekends and public holidays to clear their goods.
Leading the Way
Apparently recognizing its strategic role as the ports economic regulator and protection of the interest of the shippers, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) threw the first shot by leading the way in terms of how importers and their freight forwarders could take delivery of their goods at the ports. This was by provision of buses to cover the major routes that customs agents would be coming from in Lagos to Apapa and Tin Can Island ports. Apart from providing logistics, the Council had like other agencies donated the sum of N5million to the Lagos state government for the fight against spread of COVID-19 pandemic. To ensure that the agents on the field were protected, the Council had also donated protective gears for port users worth N5m to be distributed to relevant field and operational staff. Among other agencies that donated to both federal and Lagos state government in the fight against COVID-19 were the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA) and the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria (CRFFN). NIMASA donated the sum of N50million to the federal government and the Lagos state government. The agency also donated 20 ventilators and volunteered its six intervention vessels as transport logistics support in the maritime sector. Similarly, NIWA donated N10 million to the federal government. The CRFFN had in turn donated N6million with N2.5m to the federal government, N1.5m to the Lagos state government and N1m to fund the logistics of the Committee set up to check the spread of the virus at the ports. The Council had also provided security for the buses accompanying the buses made available for the agents.
The Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) while rallying the support of stakeholders to check the spread of COVID-19 also donated 130-bed facility at Agura Hotels, Abuja where it has majority shareholding as isolation centre for COVID-19.
Checking Demurrage, Truck Charges
One big concern among shippers and their freight forwarders was the demurrage/storage charges in view of the cost implication on clearing. They had called on both the NPA and the NSC as the ports economic regulator to intervene which they did. It was the NPA management that first issued directive to the terminal operators to give a rent free days for 21 days. That was before the lockdown. This was later extended just as the President extended the lockdown by 14 days. In a statement by NPA’s General Manager, Corporate and Strategic Communications, Engr. Adams Jatto, the measure was to ease the pains of doing business as well as ameliorate the situation of stakeholders. The NSC followed next by directing shipping companies to suspend demurrage charges on goods at the ports in view of the difficulties which importers and their customs agents encountered in clearing them with the COVID-19 lockdown. The suspension of the demurrage took effect from 30th March 2020, and was strictly applicable to cargo that was discharged at the terminals from the 30th of March. One of the terminals, PTML and its shipping arm offered importers a waiver of 60 days storage rent on vehicles inside the terminal.
The Council had in a statement by the Head of Public Relations, Mrs Rakiya Zubairu also said that demurrage charges during this period should be refunded to the consignee or his authorized agent. She further explained that the suspension of demurrage during this period was an incentive for owners of cargo to accelerate the process of taking delivery of their cargo.
The ports economic regulator also warned that the suspension of demurrage charges should not be used as an excuse to delay or abandon cargo at the ports. According to the Council, it has been monitoring activities to ensure that the seaports run efficiently and smoothly within the present circumstances in line with the presidential directive that port operations are essential services.
The Council equally frowned at the high rates charged by truck owners for movement of goods out of the ports and called a meeting of truck owners where they agreed to reduce rates by 30 percent. It was one thing that gladdened importers and their customs agents who had been at pains over the cost of haulage.
The Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, had at a meeting with the executive of the Council of Maritime Truck Union and Association (COMTUA) said such reduction should be seen as their own sacrifice to sustain Nigeria’s economy at such critical time of the ravaging pandemic.

According to him, “We can’t continue to have price differentials at the whims and caprices of the owners. There must be some guidelines on freight rate just like we are doing with shipping companies, terminal operators and consolidators”. It was few hours later that the truck owners announced a 30 percent reduction in rate.

Personal Touch as Gimmick
Although the ports were classified as part of essential services exempted from the lockdown, it was not easy to get both providers and consumers of shipping services to operate under the environment. There as a lot of gimmicks. There was the fear of the spread of the virus and every service provider, including the shipping companies and terminal operators appeared not ready for services. This was the same for some customs agents who feared for their dear lives. This situation was even aggravated with the misunderstanding of the security agencies which initially did not allow freight forwarders who went to the ports with their own vehicles for clearing until they were educated. To ensure that there was smooth operations at the ports in line with the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, the management of the NSC had to move from one terminal to another, including shipping companies to sensitize them on the directive of the federal government on keeping the ports open for business. The Executive Secretary of the NSC, Mr Hassan Bello led some of his directors on such visits and this worked wonders. Bello later made personal moves to get the shipping companies refund demurrage charges during this period to the consignee or his authorized agent. It would be recalled that it was not really easy at the beginning as service providers – namely shipping companies and terminal operators and banks did not provide protective measures or conducive atmosphere for services. In these companies, sanitizers, water for washing hands were not provided. Physical distancing was also not observed. This was what infuriated the leadership Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) and its counterpart, National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF) who described their experience as horrible.
President of ANLCA, Iju Tony Nwabunike and NAGAFF President, Chief Increase Uche had lamented that the situation in which agents cleared goods at the ports was very chaotic and one in which the ravaging coronavirus was not taken into consideration.

The two blamed shipping companies, terminal operators and banks for failing to make provisions for social distancing, adding that the agents were cramped either in a room or outside without observation of social distancing.
They had also expressed concerns that the biggest problems facing the agents was that none of the service providers and the banks was providing full services, adding that agents who came to the ports struggled among themselves to be attended to during which the need for social distancing was abused.
Soon after this report, the NSC management team intervened threatening to sanction some shipping companies for failing to provide conducive operating environment for the agents to clear their goods. The shipping companies soon responded and changed. The Council also reached out to many of the banks to improve on their services at the ports till date. The situation will even be better with directive by the Central Bank to commercial banks to reopen for full banking services.
Applause for Ports Economic Regulator
Apparently excited about the role of the ports economic regulator in ensuring that goods were cleared despite the difficult operating environment occasioned by the coronarivus pandemic, customs agents have been full of commendations. Presidents of ANLCA and NAGAFF, Iju Tony Nwabunike and Chief Uche Increase respectively while applauding the management team of the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), said the shipping companies, terminal operators and banks appeared not ready to offer any port services until the NSC went round the industry to meet some of them one on one to express the need to open for business as directed by the federal government.
Uche said that if not for the Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr Hassan Bello and his management team who were on the field to talk to the service providers, clearing at the ports would not have been possible.
He said that following the problems experienced on the first few days of clearing when the lockdown started, stakeholders in the industry, including agencies of government set up COVID-19 Task Team on the instance of the NSC which went round to be able to address issues on hand.
Uche said, “Hassan Bello has been with us since the lockdown started rallying round to ensure that those who have essential goods to clear at the ports do so. He was talking to the banks, shipping companies and terminal operators and other agencies so that clearing at the ports went on smoothly.
“NSC has been wonderful. The entire team has been wonderful. The Council led by Bello visited most of the terminals. It was Bello who came up with the idea on how we can follow the Presidential Directive on COVID-19 and clear goods. If he had not provided buses and moved round the ports to talk to the shipping companies and terminal operators, including appealing to banks, we would not have done anything at all. But I must say that I expected this from Bello because he is an industry person and he knows what is involved. He has been so proactive to ensure that everything worked well at the ports.
“He threatened to sanction some of the shipping companies when he observed the way the freight forwarders were being treated. In these shipping companies, they failed to provide conducive places for agents to stay. These shipping companies later adjusted and provided conducive environment for the freight forwarders”.
Similarly, Nwabunike also commended the NSC CEO and his team on the effort so far.
“Honestly, I must confess to you that the NSC has done well. Bello has worked himself out. He has tried to encourage us to continue. He is always in touch monitoring the situation. His Council provided enough vehicles. If not for him and his team, clearing at such a critical time would have been a total failure”.
Also commenting on the efforts of the NSC, the former President of ANLCA, Chief Ernest Elochukwu, said the Council has proven itself as the ports economic regulator.