The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) and shipping companies are mulling the removal of demurrage on cargoes due to last week’s disruption. Head of Public Relations of NSC, Mrs. Rakiya Zubairu, said yesterday in Lagos that it was one of the ways to alleviate the hardship of shippers. She said that activities at Apapa, the port city of Lagos, were 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 6a.m. and 8p.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,” she said in a statement. Zubairu noted that several discussions were taking place between the leadership of the council and shipping companies in Nigeria.
She said that 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 that the Executive Secretary of NSC, Mr. Hassan Bello, would also visit some terminals to fine-tune discussions on the waiver and other issues.
