Following last week crises that rocked the Ports and Terminal Multiservice Limited(PTML) at the Tin Can Island port in Lagos, freight forwarders and their principals at the off-dock terminal in Mile 2, Lagos have advised the mother company; Grimildi Shipping not to compel agents and importers to pay demurrage charge.
Based on the break operational activities from Monday to Thursday last week, there indications that vehicles awaiting clearance at Tin Can and Mile 2 may pay additional charges occasioned by the delay at the terminal.
Following last week crises that rocked the Ports and Terminal Multiservice Limited(PTML) at the Tin Can Island port in Lagos, freight forwarders and their principals at the off-dock terminal in Mile 2, Lagos have advised the mother company; Grimildi Shipping not to compel agents and importers to pay demurrage charge.
Based on the break operational activities from Monday to Thursday last week, there indications that vehicles awaiting clearance at Tin Can and Mile 2 may pay additional charges occasioned by the delay at the terminal.
Auto Port Weekly gathered that importers and agents at the Mile 2/ PTML terminal foresaw the possibility of extra charges by the terminal operator.
An importer of used vehicles; Mathew Efosa told our correspondent that the breakdown of operations at the PTML last week may bring about misunderstanding between freight forwarders and the terminal operator.
According to him, the customs agents are not to be held responsible for all that occurred, thus there should be no extra cost to be incurred in the process of vehicle clearance from Tin Can port and the off-dock terminal at Mile 2.
Efosa said that if the terminal operator should add extra charges before imported vehicles can exit the terminal, it will lead to another round of face-off, because nobody is ready to pay extra cost.
He noted that for more than three days at the Mile 2 terminal, the process of clearing imported vehicles were placed on a stand still as a result of the crisis at the Tin Can Island terminal of PTML and there is the need for the concessionaire to understand that it is not the fault of the agents.
The importer who was supposed to receive his vehicle from his agent last Tuesday added that, "I don't expect to pay extra charges for the vehicles and I want to advice the concessionaire that they should be fair to us as businessmen.
However ,Chairman, PTML Chapter ,National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarder (NAGAFF),Mr. Cosmos Ndimkora explained that the terminal operator has equally agreed that there will be no demurrage charges even as he added that what led to the breakdown of operational activities has been addressed.
He also said that the releasing area which had initially led to the protest last week has been fixed."We were also assured that there will not be any demurrage", he explained.
But, agents at Mile 2 still appealed to the concessionaires to ensure that extra charges are not incurred on vehicles awaiting clearance at the off dock terminal.
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