Market News

By Anozie Egole

The Shipping Association of Nigeria has explained that the high port charges are making Nigerian ports uncompetitive to customers and pushing cargoes to neighbouring countries.

The chairman of SAN, Mrs Boma Alabi, made this known during a press conference held over the weekend at the Lagos Yacht Club in Victoria Island.

She added that the cost of doing business in Nigerian ports is working against the country, as smaller countries are now wresting cargo from Nigeria.

Alabi, who is also the president of the Shipping, Shipping Agencies, Clearing, and Forwarding Employers Association, averred that the ports have become uncompetitive because of the several charges customers are made to pay as compared to neighbouring ports like Cotonou and Lome, which collect relatively low charges.

Citing an example with Terminal 3 at Tema Port, which is a dedicated container terminal that operates three berths and is capable of receiving ships of 366 m LOA and 16 meters draught at Ghana, Alabi said that Tema Port does 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units while Nigeria does 1.2 million TEUs per year, according to a report by NPS Meridian Port Services Limited in 2024.

“Vessel berthing charges at Tema Port are $15,000 but are $150,000 in Nigeria, and considering the 15 per cent increment in the Nigerian Ports Authority charges, it is about $200,000 presently,” Alabi said.

She mentioned that to ship a 20ft container before now costs “N55,000, and a 40ft container costs N100,000, but now, a 20ft container costs N145,000 and a 40ft container costs N290,000 without port charge and logistics fees.”

“Nigeria is losing cargoes to neighbouring countries due to high port charges,” Alabi said.

Speaking on the 15 per cent tariff hike introduced by the NPA, she urged the Federal Government to put on hold the tariff implementation to enable dialogue with operators.

According to her, the group were not informed about the charges before they were implemented and emphasised that the government should try to make the ports competitive and attractive, which can be achieved through a reduction of port charges.

“If port charges are reduced, cargo throughput will increase, then the government will make more revenue, and there will be enough jobs available for the youth,” Alabi said.

Earlier, the Deputy Managing Director of CMA CGM Shipping Company, Mr Ramesh Saraf, pleaded with the government to support them to remain in business.

Saraf said that Meridian Ports Service Ltd., owner of Terminal C in Tema Port in Ghana, recorded 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units that called at the terminal in 2024, while 1.2 million TEUs called at Nigerian ports in 2024.

He said that lower port charges would attract more cargo to Nigerian ports.

He said, “Lekki Deep Sea Port started operation in April 2023 with less than half the capacity of cargo, and now less operation is taking place at the port.

“The cost of operation in Lekki Deep Sea Port is triple the port charges in other ports across the world.”

Meanwhile, a source at the NPA refutes the claims of the high cost of doing business due to the 15 per cent tariff.

The source noted that a lot of factors determine the cost incurred on sizes of containers and cost of berthing vessels, which include “gross tonnage of vessel, a unit of TEUs discharged or loaded, the origin of the cargo, the status of the terminal of operation, length overall of vessel, amongst others.”

The source also averred that many operations do not have exact statistics on these factors, adding that it’s almost impossible to tie all touted values to NPA port charges vis-à-vis the countries listed against Nigeria.

The PUNCH reported that the NPA, earlier this year, announced a 15 per cent increase in port tariffs, the first adjustment in 32 years, citing the need to modernise infrastructure and equipment, effective March 1.