By Steve Agbota
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC), Dr. Pius Akutah, has dismissed recent reports of port congestion and unreturned empty containers, stating that such issues were resolved some time ago.
Speaking to journalists recently, Akutah clarified that the challenges being referenced in the media were “recycled” and do not reflect the current situation at Nigerian ports.
“Recently, we heard reports about shipping companies refusing to take empty containers, and that the ports are becoming choked up and clogged, and it’s affecting clearance processes,” he said.
“The minister immediately drew my attention to it because he was attending the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) meeting outside the country at the time and was worried. So we began our investigation into the matter, and we realised that this was something that happened some time ago and had already been dealt with.”
He acknowledged that there had been issues in the past, often stemming from miscommunication or disputes between shippers and shipping lines. However, he maintained that the recent headlines do not reflect current realities.
“It is not a deliberate thing that shipping companies will refuse to take empty containers. If they are under a contractual obligation, they have no reason whatsoever not to take those containers,” he said.
“Why would they sail back empty when they have financial obligations to cover?”
Akutah explained that when contractual disputes arise, containers may be temporarily stranded, but such situations are routinely addressed by the Shippers’ Council in its role as the port economic regulator.
He also highlighted the Council’s efforts in saving the Nigerian economy approximately N6 billion in 2024 through timely conflict resolution within the industry.
Currently, he affirmed, “ports across the country are not congested, and there is no significant backlog of unreturned containers as portrayed by some recent reports.”
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