Shippers’ Council rallies other African countries against shipping surchages

Abiola Seun

Apparently baffled by the incessant surcharges slammed on Nigerian shippers and importers by foreign shipping companies, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has rallied shippers Councils in the African sub region to find solution to the myriad of surcharges introduced by foreign shipping lines on Africa bound cargoes.

In a press statement made available yesterday by the council and a copy made available to newsmen, the Council said the conference is for African countries to present a common front against surcharges introduced by foreign shipping lines at next month’s Global Shipping forum in London.

The statement reads, “The Nigerian Shippers’ Council will be hosting a Sub-Regional Summit on, ‘’High Shipping Surcharges and Charges’’, a sub-regional Workshop on Status of Convention on Facilitation of International Maritime Traffic (FAL Convention) in UASC Member States and a Joint Standing Committee Meeting of UASC on Monday 26th – Wednesday 28th August, 2019 at Ladi Kwali Hall, Sheraton Hotel, Abuja.

“The events are a collaborative effort involving the Union of African Shippers’ Council (UASC) United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the Global Shippers’ Forum (GSF).

The council said in the statement that the forum is an avenue for UASC member countries to challenge surcharge slammed on African cargoes.

“To provide an avenue for the UASC member countries to strategise and articulate common positions on how to checkmate the multinational shipping service providers/carriers with a view to adopting a collective position for presentation at the Annual General Meeting of the Global Shippers’ Forum scheduled for September in London.

“To create more awareness and provide insights to the relevance of the FAL Convention to member Countries for domestication and effective implementation.”

According to the statement, the expected participants include UASC Member States, relevant Government Agencies, Ministries, Multilateral and Sub-regional organisations in the trade and transport sectors, Public and Private Sector Stakeholders in infrastructure development, ancillary services as well as donor agencies