APM Terminals has assured the Nigeria Shippers Council, that Maersk shipping line will evacuate 1,900 of the 4,817 trapped containers from the Lagos ports, by Wednesday.
The Government Relations Manager of APM Terminals, Kayode Daniel, gave the assurance, when the Executive Secretary/CEO of the Shippers Council, Pius Akutah, paid a working visit to the Terminals, on Sunday.
Kayode Daniel, told the Shippers Council boss that some of the containers that were allowed did not get clearance from Customs to be loaded onboard vessels for export.
He said, “Despite following all the laid down processes, we still end with situation where we have containers staying in the port longer than expected.”
The Shippers Council boss had earlier decried the time wasted at the port by export cargoes, especially at a time when the federal government is looking at diversifying the economy.
Akutah further explained that the time such cargoes spend at the port affects both the exporter in particular and the nation’s economy in general; warning that such wastage would not be tolerated.
The Deputy Director, Consumers Services, NSC, Celestine Akunjobi, wondered why the shipping lines are waiting for the APM Terminal’s intervention before agreeing to come and pick up the empty cargoes, stressing whether the delay was a deliberate action on the part on the shipping lines.
In his words, “You just told us now that Maersk shipping will be shipping about 2,000 of these containers in the next couple of days, it means that the problem is not with the shippers but the shipping lines because once they move 1,900 containers out of that number what is left will be insignificant.”
In response, the General Manager, Legal of APM Terminals, Chinenye Deinde, said it will be wrong to pass the blame on the shipping lines since they were not present, noting that right by right to hear from the shipping lines where the there delay is coming to pick up export boxes from the terminal.
Also, the Terminal Manager of APM Terminals, Steen Knudsen said, “everyone’s involved in the process- government agencies, shipping lines, shippers, agents must join forces together to find an improvement process for the export cargoes.”