Shipping association, agents clash over empty containers return

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There seems to be a growing controversy between shipping lines under the Shipping Association of Nigeria and licensed customs agents operating in the nation’s maritime industry over the return of empty containers by shipping companies.

While the agents accused shipping companies of deliberately abandoning the empty containers upon arrival here in Nigeria, SAN has said that importers prefer to pay a container deposit rather than go through the stress of returning their empty containers for onward shipment back to the country of origin.

In an exclusive chat with The PUNCH on Sunday, a chieftain of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, Riwan Amuni, accused truck owners of taking advantage of the previous chaotic traffic situation at the port axis roads.

He added that the situation is gradually affecting the cost of transport on the axis, adding that shipping companies have failed to take back their empty containers.

“We don’t even know what is happening; congestion is looming because of shipping companies not taking back their empty containers. If a ship comes and discharges 200 containers, for example, and takes back 150, it is better. We have to look inwards too for conspiracy.

“When there was congestion at the port access roads, some truck owners and some security agencies became millionaires overnight, and recently, when congestion was cleared, they became too broke. We have been saying that the relevant government agencies should compel these ships bringing in loaded containers to take back equal numbers of empty containers so as to avoid congestion, but they are not enforcing it; instead, they let the ships go empty to do export businesses in other African ports, making huge money. Please, our shipping and terminal committees, who have been very proactive, should help us swing into action. Recently in Apapa, I paid 1.4m to lift two containers to Ijora,” Amuni said.

Also speaking, the Apapa Chapter Chairman of the National Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents, Abayomi Duyile, said, “Yes, that has been happening for a very long time now. Shipping companies deliberately abandon empty containers, waiting to use them for export, and it has been causing congestion.”

Recall that in June, The PUNCH reported that a maritime research group under the auspices of the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre stated that Nigerian importers are losing $500m annually to inconsistent exchange rates and other importation challenges related to over 100,000 empty containers littering the nation’s ports.

The Head of Research at SEREC, Mr Eugene Nweke, who disclosed this in a statement, said that an estimated 65,000 to 100,000 twenty-foot equivalent units of rickety empty containers are currently dumped and littering Nigerian ports, adding that these containers pose health risks and environmental pollution to the country.

Nweke, who is also a former National President of the National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders, explained that the cost of freighting empty containers back to origin ports is substantial, “with estimates ranging from $2,000 to $4,000 for a 20-foot container and $3,500 to $6,000 for a 40-foot container, depending on the route and market fluctuations.”

However, in her response, the Chairman of SAN, Boma Alabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, said that some importers deliberately abandon the empty containers by the roadside.

“The empty containers are supposed to be returned by the importers, but the reality in some cases is that the cost of returning the containers can be far more than the container deposit of approximately N100,000, so they abandon the containers by the roadside and forego the deposits.

“It is cheaper to abandon the deposit than pay the transportation cost of returning the container. Depending on which part of the country you are bringing the container from, it can cost up to N500,000 to transport the container. So, why spend N500,000 to get a refund of N100,000?” she said.

Anozie is a Chief Correspondent with PUNCH. He has over 13 years experience covering entertainment, maritime and transport sectors

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