Determined to streamline all questionable charges being collected by shipping lines operating at the nation’s seaports, the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC)said that it is working on a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the shipping lines.
The Director Legal Services at the council, Mr. Samuel Vongtau, who said this recently in chat with Shipping Position Daily in Lagos also said that the issue of extra charges on Nigerian port users and also making Nigerian ports more attractive have been of very big concern to the council.
Vongtau also disclosed that plans are at a high level to take the issues up to global shippers forum, adding that the council has started speaking with the Africa’s Shippers’ forum.
“We are taking the issues to the global shippers’ forum. And we have also started speaking with the Union of African’s Shippers Councils on this issue. My Chief Executive has always been talking about this issue, he has been speaking with the shipping companies, and he has been talking with all these bodies”
“We have already scheduled a meeting where the representative of the global shipper’s forum is going to attend and I am sure the Executive Secretary (of Nigerian Shippers Council) will bring that issue there.”
We are talking with the shipping companies on several other issues and this is one of them, we are trying to reach a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) where all these extra charges will be streamlined by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council”
The director however announced that the council now has a robust electronic system of reporting fraud in the nation’s seaports.
“We have a very robust electronic system of reporting fraud or mal-functioning at the port and we call it a Ports Services Support Portal (PSSP) this is where you can report any corrupt practices to the service”, he concluded.
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