ANLCA Sets For Showdown With Shipping Companies, Terminal Operators At Tin Can Port

 
The Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) has raised an alarm that shipping companies and terminal operators were taking advantage of clearing agents by charging them arbitrarily as a result of the bad state of the road leading to Tin Can Port in Lagos. 
The association warned that unless the service providers desist from the act, the association would have no choice than to take a drastic action. 
Speaking with Shipping Position Daily at the Tin Can chapter last week, ANLCA Chairman, Prince Segun Oduntan warned of a looming port congestion, because according to him, importation through Tin Can port has increased in the past eight months due to stability in the exchange rate.
Oduntan however said that there are no good roads for the cargoes to be evacuated from the port. According to him, the terminal operators and shipping companies are now directing agents to pay for two weeks demurrage ahead, whenever they want to process their debit notes. 
Describing the operators as economic saboteurs, he said that they should be ready to share with Nigerians in the pain and challenges that have emerged with the bad roads, rather than exploiting innocent Nigerian businessmen. 
“The only challenge now is the issue of transfer of cargoes. All the terminal owners and shipping companies under Tin Can are ripping people off, containers meant for tranzire are not transferred for two to three weeks because of bad roads, at the end of the day, instead of them to charge at off-dock container after 3 days that the container arrives, they charge people for two weeks” 
“Somebody that you have held his container for three weeks; you are giving him concession of one week, but its because of the bad state of the roads which is a major challenge” 
He said that ANLCA has been dialoguing with the service providers and that is also doing a fresh letter to them. “We are going to do a letter to them and we are going to follow up. People should be allowed to input the very day that they want to load their container and not for shipping company to raise two weeks debit note” 
“If you go to take additional debit note, if you are supposed to take your container today, they would ask you to pay additional two weeks, even when you are loading the following day” he lamented. 
Prince Oduntan said that if the bad port road is affecting every stakeholder inside the port, then they must all share from the pains and share the responsibility.