EndSARS Protest: Shippers’ Council Requests Waivers For Disruptions

In a bid to curb fiscal losses to Nigerian shippers and their freight forwarders, Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) is working with shipping companies to provide waivers on demurrages and storage charges.

NSC revealed this via a press release signed by the Head of Public Relations, Rakiya Zubairu today.

The Council noted that activities at Apapa, the port city of Lagos are gradually returning to normal as Lagos State government eased the curfew by pronouncing that residents can move freely between the hours of 6am and 8pm.

“There is no doubt that the activities of the past week caused a lot of disruptions for shippers just as it did during the COVID-19 lockdown, several discussions are taking place between the leaderships of the Council and shipping companies in Nigeria to find ways to accelerate clearing of cargoes from the terminals and collection of same by shippers who were unable to access the ports.”

“Both sides are mulling the removal of demurrage charges on cargoes as one of the ways the hardship of shippers can be alleviated. The Executive Secretary of NSC will also visit some terminals to progress discussions on the waiver and other issues,” the Council said in its press statement.

Freight forwarders had earlier expressed concerns on the possibility of additional demurrage and storage charges for the week curfew as a result of the protests.