Shippers Council, Companies Mull Removal of Demurrage on Cargoes

The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) and shipping companies are mulling on the removal of demurrage on cargoes due to last week’s disruption.
Mrs Rakiya Zubairu, Head of Public Relations, NSC, said on Monday in Lagos that it was one of the ways to alleviate the hardship of shippers.
She said activities at Apapa, the port city of Lagos, was gradually returning to normal after the disruption of the past week.
“The Lagos State Government has also eased the curfew by pronouncing that residents can move freely between the hours of 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. And there is no doubt the activities of the past week caused a lot of disruptions for shippers just as it did during the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Nigerian Shippers Council is working with shipping companies to find ways to ease the hardship occasioned by the disruptions”.
Zubairu noted that several discussions were taking place between the leadership of the council and shipping companies in Nigeria.
She said it was to find ways to accelerate clearing of cargoes from the terminals and collection of the same by shippers who were unable to access the ports.
Zubairu said the Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr Hassan Bello, would also visit some terminals to fine tune discussions on the waiver and other issues.