Port Congestion: Customs Meets Port Operators

The gradual cargo build-up at the Lagos Ports is presently giving major stakeholders in the maritime industry a sleepless night.
Recently, some private terminal operators ,especially Mr. Michael Hansen, the Managing Director of APM Terminal, Apapa, had raised an alarm over the looming congestion at the port.
Disturbed by the possibility of cargo glut and its implications on clearance procedures at the ports, the Customs High Command has convened a meeting of major stakeholders and operators to tackle the emerging threat.
Last Thursday, the Comptroller- General of Customs, Alhaji Ahmed Bello, met with port concessionaires, bonded terminal operators and shipping companies to come up with a lasting solution to the cargo glut at the port.
The meeting, held behind closed doors at the Apapa Command of the Customs service, reviewed the congestion crisis, the e-payment and challenges of clearing procedures.
According to him, it was discovered that while some commands attract heavy cargo traffic which consequently result to congestion, others were virtually empty.
The Customs High Chief therefore directed that cargo should be moved to commands and terminals that are empty irrespective of their points of destination on the manifest.
The measure, it was agreed, would lead to even distribution of cargo among all the terminals and commands which they hoped will ease the problem of congestion.
Alhaji Ahmed stated that since Customs operations is one, all the clearing procedures could be done at a place where cargo are moved ,irrespective of their designated delivery points.
Terminal operators were also directed to ensure equitable distribution of cargo to bonded terminals in a bid to ensure fairness and more importantly, decongest the convectional ports.
This directive by the Customs High Chief came at a backdrop of complaints by some bonded terminal operators who alleged unfair treatment in the allocation of cargo by terminals operators.
Most of them alleged that APM Terminals, which is the major feeder point for the bonded terminals, has concentrated on few favoured bonded facilities, especially the Lilypond terminals, which is incidentally owned and managed by Maeskline shipping company, a sister organization in the AP Moller Group with APM Terminals.