By Francis Ogwo
As a response to the damages caused by the nationwide #EndSARS protests and recent invasion by suspected thugs, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) is making moves towards waiving off demurrage for consignments trapped at the nation’s seaports ports.
In this regards, the NSC in a fallout of discussions with terminal operators and shipping companies have made the move for the demurrage waiver consideration
The Head of Public Relations, Nigerian Shippers Council, Rakiya Zubairu, had notes that the waiver cut would greatly ameliorate the hardships faced by the stakeholders during the crisis.
Zubairu also added that the Chief Executive Officer of NSC, Hassan Bello, is set to visit some of the terminals towards ensuring compliance to the agreed waiver on demurrage.
The statement further added that: “No doubt the activities of the past week caused a lot of disruptions for shippers. Just as it did during the COVID-19 lockdown, Nigerian Shippers Council is working with shipping companies to find ways to ease the hardship occasioned by the disruptions.
“Several discussions are taking place between the leaderships of the Council and shipping companies in Nigeria to find ways to accelerate clearing of cargoes from the terminals and collection of same by shippers who were unable to access the ports.
“Both sides are mulling the removal of demurrage charges on cargoes as one of the ways the hardship of shippers can be alleviated.
“The Executive Secretary of NSC will also visit some terminals to continue discussions on the waiver and other issues.”
In a related development, the President of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents (NCMDLCA), Lucky Amewiro, also noted that it is a global practice that goods subjected to dispute and investigative process are granted waiver by removing the burden of cost related to its delays.
He said, “The legal and global process on goods subject to Dispute Resolution Mechanism (DRM) and investigative process are granted waiver by removing cost associated with the delays, which is one of the major cause of demurrage and rent and the abandonment of Cargo by Importer/Licensed Customs Agents (LCA).”
