By Godfrey Bivbere
The Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA, and some stakeholders are in disagreement over the directive by the former that shipping companies provide holding bays for their empty containers.
While the NPA insisted that most shipping companies have holding bays, stakeholders say they do not have enough holding bays adding that as a result, trucks are made to pay N100,000 before they are allowed to drop empty containers.
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Speaking at a peace meeting called by the minister of transportation following freight forwarders threat of service withdrawal over extortion by the shipping companies, representative of the General Manager, Operations at the NPA, Stella Oladeran, accused truckers of refusing to drop their empty containers at the holding bays, preferring to keep them on their trucks until they get another shipper who wants to get their cargo out of the port.
Oladeran further disclosed that the shipping companies have provided the needed facility because NPA has made it part of the requirement for renewal of their registration.
The position of the NPA sparked a reaction from Customs agents, freight forwarders, truckers and truck owners who insisted that these multi-national companies do not care and therefore do not boarder about the directive of NPA.
But president of the Association of Maritime Truck Owners, AMATO, Remi Ogungbemi, said that truck drivers are forced to stay on the road with the empty containers on their trucks for several weeks because they are asked to pay un-receipted N100,000 toll.
He added that they have decided to send all bills incurred in dropping empty containers at the various holding bays to the shipping companies responsible for it.
Also a truck owner, Peace Afaheaeme, said there were several cases where truckers are denied access to holding bays to drop their empties.
Afahaeme noted that there had been instances in the past where truckers do not have the money to pay the toll to drop their empty containers and had to dump it anywhere to free the truck to continue working.
The Secretary of the 100% Complaint Team of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, NAGAFF, Clement Ewegbonam, also called on the NPA to ensure appropriate sanction for any shipping company that does not have holding bay as directed by it.
Following the reaction of stakeholders to her earlier position, Oladeran said that NPA had issued a directive to all shipping companies to provide holding bays, noting that it was believed that the shipping companies have actually complied.
She therefore called on the stakeholders to do a letter of complaint addressed to the Managing Director of the Authority, assuring that appropriate action will be taken.
At the end of the meeting, part of the eight-point communique agreed that the payment of un-receipted N100,000 by freight forwarders, importers and transporters before they are allowed to drop their empty containers at the shipping companies’ holding bays should stop with immediate effect.
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