Decongestion At RORO Port Affects Our Business!

Off-dock vehicle terminal operator; Clarion Bonded terminal has expressed worries over the present situation of the Roll On Roll Off (RORO) terminal at Tin Can Island Port , saying that lack of congestion has affected the business of vehicles transfer to its facility.

Owners of the terminal, located at Alajika in Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos state has not been fed with significant units of imported vehicles in the last couple of weeks, surprisingly, this has been attributed to unhindered clearance and flow of imported vehicles out of the terminal of Five Star Logistics Limited at Tin Can Island port in Lagos.

Auto Port Weekly which visited the complex last week observed that there were few used and new vehicles in the complex unlike what it used to be in time past when the vast facility is usually filled up.

Before now the terminal which has two complexes usually attracts vehicles in hundreds and thousands, last week, our correspondent saw that the place was only occupied by few rickety trucks and caterpillars.

The General Manager of the off-dock terminal; Chief Frank Okocha who attributed the cause to lack of congestion at the RORO port, reiterated that the concession of the ports has not been in favour of off-dock terminals.

Okocha pointed out that off-dock terminals were established to assist congested terminals at the port, but, lamented that the purpose has been defeated because according to him, most of the terminals have been able to address issues of congestions at the terminals.

"Naturally, cargoes are not supposed to stay long at the ports because the ports are not for storage facilities and that is why the off-docks terminals were set up, but because there is no congestion at the ports presently, that is what is affecting our business."

"Though the business of transfer of vehicles from the Tin Can Island port to this place is unstable because sometime we handle more vehicles as expected, while sometime we don't , but nonetheless since there is no congestion currently, it is difficult for us to handle vehicles".

"Before a vessel will berth at the port, you will find out that agents are done with the customs and shipping formalities, therefore making sure that as some the vehicles are discharged from the vessel, they will just move the vehicles from the terminal and that made the port to be free from congestion". He however expressed optimism that the terminal will soon bounce back to business.

The General Manager of the terminal also lamented that the government has not been able to encourage entrepreneurship in anyway and it has made small businesses to suffer.

"Looking at our area of operation, you find out that we have about 30 bonded terminals, but the truth is that how many of those terminals are operational", he asked.

“I want to believe that it is only five terminals out of this figure that are operational and we expected the government to make sure that some certain percentage of cargoes that goes into the ports are moved to the off-dock terminals which would have created unimaginable number of employment, both directly and indirectly "