Cargo Tracking Note: 22,000 ENS Issued At No Cost To Shippers

Contrary to insinuations and fears that the Cargo Tracking Note (CTN) will add to the cost of importation into the country and to the cost of clearing of cargoes in the ports, a senior official of the consultancy firm handling the project; Messrs Transport and Port Management System (TPMS), has disclosed that about 22,000 Entry Summary Declarations (ENS) for Cargo Tracking Notes (CTN) have been issued since November 3, 2015 and that it is at no cost to anyone or firm.
The Manager, Communication, Technical Support of TPMS; Mr Opeyemi Oke stated this last Friday at the 2nd Shippers’ Day Celebration and Exhibition in Lagos.
Harping on the benefits if CTN, Oke also allayed the fears of importers and exporters, adding that they would not pay for the CTN.
He said that, “ CTN is not about the revenue’’.
Oke said that “CTN keeps in view the safety and security of all categories of goods such as Roll On/Roll Off (RORO), containers and bulk cargoes, including hydrocarbons.’’
He said that the security of revenue related to port traffic were ascertained by the CTN.
“The nation’s budget can be sustained by the maritime industry,’’ he said.
Oke recalled that the CTN turned controversial in 2010 when it was first introduced because a lot of things went wrong.
According to him, agents were billed as much as 350 Euros per container.
Oke said that as at December 1, 2015, 27 surcharges were imposed on Nigerian- bound cargoes apart from the basic freight charge.
He said that the components of the freight were also hidden to every shipper.
According to him, through serious negotiation, 17 surcharges had been dropped.
Shipping Position Daily notes that the CTN scheme being promoted by the Nigerian Shippers’ Council is designed to help reduce significantly the stifling bureaucracy at the port terminals and land borders, despite the “huge” investments in infrastructure and ICT.
Experts have said that, going by the last survey sponsored by the World Bank (Doing Business 2016 Data for Nigeria), border compliance for imports into Nigeria takes on the average 12days at a cost of USD1,077, whereas the average for sub-Saharan Africa is 6.5 days at a cost of USD643. For documentary compliance, average time in Nigeria is 7 days at a cost of USD564.
The report also added that, for sub-Saharan Africa, average time for documentary compliance is 5 days at a cost of USD351. These costs are outside the “freight payable” charged by the carrier, which could be between USD3000 and USD5000 per TEU depending on the type of good and from which part of the world the ship is sailing from.