Crisis is brewing at Nigerian ports following a 50 per cent increment in charges by foreign shipping companies.

The leadership of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents has threatened to shut down shipping companies if the new rates are not reversed.

Foreign shipping companies operating at Nigerian ports recently increased their rates by 50 per cent.

This development has drawn the ire of clearing agents, who claimed the companies did not carry them along during the deliberation process.

Speaking with the Nigerian Tribune, the Western Zone Coordinator of ANLCA, Mr. Femi Anifowoshe, warned that the association, in conjunction with sister associations, may start shutting down shipping companies if the rates are not reversed.

The ANLCA Western Zone Coordinator said, “We will be shutting down the shipping companies very soon. We have read the reaction of the African Association of Professional Freight Forwarders and Logistics of Nigeria (APFFLON) on this matter and we are on the same page with them 100 percent.

“As we speak, we are yet to hold any meeting on this 50 percent hike in charges by the shipping companies. These shipping companies increased in October 2023 by over 400 percent. Now they have increased again by 50 percent. We won’t accept this increment. We are shutting down the shipping companies.”

In a related development, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), Dr Pius Akutah, called on the shipping companies to engage the clearing agents on the new tariff hike.

Speaking to journalists in Abeokuta on the sidelines of the Council’s management retreat, Akutah said both the shipping companies and clearing agents must be willing to shift ground to reach a mutually beneficial agreement.

He stressed that discussions between the two parties should be guided by a compromise and mutual understanding.

Dr Akutah said the Council previously turned down requests for an increase in charges for two years, noting that the request was not necessarily aimed at profit-making or increasing profit margins.

He emphasised that sustained engagement among stakeholders remains critical to maintaining stability in the maritime sector and ensuring that operational challenges do not disrupt port activities.

“I think that they need to work together more harmoniously to resolve these issues. We as a regulator, have given the approval. It is left for the shipping companies and the Freight forwarders to come to a harmonious stand where they can implement this,” he added.

“So, there must be a reason for people to move, shift ground it should be a give and take relationship. Whenever there is a stand down and nobody is moving, then there’s a problem. I am not speaking on behalf of the shipping companies, nor am I speaking on behalf of the Freight forwarders but I think they need to work together more harmoniously to resolve these issues.

“We as regulator have given the approval, it is left for the shipping companies and the Freight forwarders to come to a harmonious stand where they can implement this,” the Council boss explained.

He, however, reiterated the call for both parties to return to the roundtable to resolve the issue of tariff increment once and for all.

“We cannot sit and watch this without taking steps. It will get to a point where we can escalate this to the level of the minister if they fail to resolve it.

“Recently, we tried to see how we can wade into this to see how they can resolve this but this has kept going on. We are calling on both sides to go back to the table and see how they can resolve this issue and move on,” he stated.

“It is for the stakeholders in this sector to also understand that ours is also a relationship that needs to continue to roll on each other so that we can all move together.

“If they say there won’t be any hike in charges and at the end of the day, the cost of operation hinders them from carrying out their functions, then we will not have a maritime sector,” he stated.