By Joshua Yousouph
Members of the Kirikiri Lighter Terminal (KLT) Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) on Monday shut down the Phase 2 terminal operated by Africa Global Logistics (AGL) at Kirikiri, Lagos, over prolonged delays in the transfer of containers from Tin Can Island, a development they say has led to mounting demurrage charges and significant financial losses.
The protesting freight forwarders and customs agents picketed the terminal and locked its operational office, alleging that nearly 300 containers requested for transfer from Tin Can Island Container Terminal (TICT) to KLT have remained stranded for almost three weeks due to the unavailability of barges.
Speaking during the protest, Chairman of ANLCA KLT Chapter, Chief Ahmed Olajide Bello, said the delays were causing severe hardship for agents and importers, many of whom are being forced to pay huge sums in storage and demurrage charges while their containers remain inaccessible.
According to Bello, freight forwarders are increasingly losing customers because they are unable to deliver cargoes within agreed timelines, despite having completed all necessary documentation and procedures.
He explained that the containers in question were transferred on a transire basis, which is initiated at the request of importers and their agents. However, while importers expect their consignments to arrive at KLT within days, the prolonged delays have stretched delivery periods to between three weeks and one month.
“We are losing customers and paying demurrage. Some agents are paying as much as N90,000 daily because of a problem that is not of our making. This is their internal issue, yet agents and importers are the ones bearing the consequences,” Bello said.
The ANLCA chairman accused the terminal operator of failing to appreciate the efforts of freight forwarders who bring business to the facility and described the situation as an indirect form of extortion.
He outlined three demands of the protesters, including the deployment of sufficient barges to move all outstanding containers within 48 hours, a complete waiver of terminal charges on the affected cargoes and intervention with shipping companies to secure relief on accumulated demurrage and related charges.
“Without these three requests, we will not open the terminal. We are here peacefully, but our members can no longer continue to absorb losses caused by operational failures beyond their control,” he declared.
Also speaking, Secretary of ANLCA KLT Chapter, Adetola Adesanya, said the association had commenced a full-scale picketing of the terminal and would continue the action until its demands were met.
He disclosed that approximately 300 containers remain trapped in the system due to inadequate barge operations and warned that the protest could escalate if urgent steps are not taken to resolve the situation.
“The directive is that we will continue until enough barges are brought to move the containers. We are also demanding a waiver of terminal charges and some form of relief from shipping companies because many agents are already sinking into debt,” Adesanya said.
He further alleged that AGL had failed to communicate effectively with stakeholders despite repeated verbal engagements and assurances.
According to him, the protest was initially scheduled to commence last week but was suspended following appeals and promises by terminal officials that additional barges would be deployed.
“We held on based on those assurances, but nothing changed. The containers are still trapped and the charges continue to accumulate,” he added.
Some affected freight forwarders also shared their frustrations during the protest.
One of them, Mr. Abel Egoh, said seven of his containers had remained trapped for more than three months despite repeated visits to the terminal operator’s office and several assurances that the cargoes would soon arrive.
“I still have seven containers outstanding. Every time we go there, they tell us to come back tomorrow. We have waited long enough and we are not ready to reopen this place until our containers arrive,” he said.
Another freight forwarder and member of the chapter’s task force, Kehinde Ogunowo, said he had more than 10 containers affected by the delays.
He lamented that despite the continuous accumulation of demurrage, terminal officials had failed to provide clear explanations regarding the whereabouts of the containers or timelines for their delivery.
“Nobody is coming out to address the issue. Every week there is a different story while the demurrage continues to rise. They need to tell us exactly what is happening to our containers,” Ogunowo said.
The protesters vowed to sustain the shutdown until the outstanding containers are transferred to KLT and adequate relief measures are provided to affected agents and importers.
As of the time of filing this report, officials of Africa Global Logistics had yet to respond to the allegations raised by the protesting freight forwarders.
