Freight Forwarders lament of Payment of N100, 000 to Drop Empty Containers at Holding Bay

By ZION Olalekan |

Freight forwarders operating at Nigerian ports have raised a fresh alarm that they are now being extorted in tune of N100, 000 by holding bays scattered around Lagos before they could be allowed to drop their empty containers.

The freight forwarders also alleged that most of the empty container holding bay provided by the shipping lines are filled to the brim and can no longer accommodate more containers.

Secretary General of a new freight forwarding group; All Ports Unified Freight Forwarding Practitioners Association, Mr. Sunday Sylvester who raised the alarm said that the ports in Lagos; Tin Can Island port and Apapa port are already congested with empty containers.

Mr. Sylvester lamented that when empty containers are dropped at holding bay; there was no way for them to be conveyed back to the port for onward transfer by the vessels.

The freight forwarder noted that the problem at the port was further compounded because ships calling at Nigerian ports do not leave with equivalent units of containers they came with.

He noted however that his association is already taking steps by advising the federal government on what to do about the challenge.

He accused existing freight forwarding associations of adopting a “seat down look” stance over the challenges impeding smooth and profitable operation of freight forwarders.

He said “Some of the bonded terminals where we drop empty containers, they end up collecting up to N100,000 from us which is very wrong, even with your dropping authority, you are not supposed to pay a dime, but unfortunately the system is forcing us into this”.

He noted that the association which was set up recently is ready to take up the alleged extortion and other forms of challenges confronting freight forwarders at the port.

“If we stand back and fold our hands watching all these things, it would run the industry down completely.

“If you are creating holding bays and already dropped containers have not been moved to the port, we would end up remaining the same.

“When ships come to Nigerian ports, they don’t go back with empty containers, they only go back with few exports, if you go to APMT or TICT, you would see a lot of empty containers stacked for more than one year, if these containers are not returned, how do we drop new ones?” he queried.