A maritime research group operating under the Sea Empowerment and Research Centre has revealed that although several shipping lines maintain fully functional offices in Nigeria, they still initiate cargo release approvals from their overseas headquarters.
The group added that the practice has unnecessarily extended cargo dwell time, increased demurrage costs, and opened up delays vulnerable to extortion.
SEREC disclosed this in a recent position paper signed by its Head of Research, Eugene Nweke, obtained by The PUNCH.
“Despite having fully operational offices in Nigeria, several shipping lines trigger cargo release approvals from overseas headquarters. This practice has artificially prolonged cargo dwell time, escalated demurrage exposure, and created extortion-prone delay windows,” SEREC stated.
SEREC added that each additional day of delay costs Nigerian shippers an estimated N3bn–N5bn system-wide, stressing that global benchmarks state the need for a localised, digitised, time-bound release under International Maritime Organisation maritime single window standards.
The group also accused shipping companies of routinely delaying refunds of container deposits, overcharging for three to four months or longer, and depriving freight forwarders of working capital.
According to SEREC, in several reported cases, refunds belonging to compliant operators were withheld due to alleged infractions by unrelated third parties, stressing that the practice amounts to collective punishment.
“Idle refunds across the industry conservatively tie down tens of billions of naira annually, functioning as interest-free financing for shipping lines. Refund timelines of 7–14 days, with interest penalties for delays,” it added.
It accused shipping lines of imposing two weeks or more of projected demurrage upfront, regardless of actual delay.
“Speculative billing distorts cash flow planning and increases import financing costs by an estimated 5–10 per cent. The global benchmark is that demurrage should be charged strictly on actual delay incurred,” SEREC stressed.
SEREC also accused shipping companies of unauthorised diversion of containers, stressing that they are either diverted or stemmed to ports other than the contractual destination without shipper consent, with transfer and handling costs imposed retroactively.
It highlighted that unplanned diversions impose unbudgeted costs often exceeding N500,000–N1m per container.
SEREC also pointed out that these shipping lines introduce arbitrary charges without cost justification, explaining that these charges are introduced without cost breakdowns, service benchmarks, clear regulatory approval status, and others.
SEREC reiterated that opaque pricing enables price gouging and undermines competition, adding that stakeholders allege that shipping companies engage in regulatory capture and political lobbying.
“Stakeholders consistently allege that some shipping lines engage politically exposed persons and former public office holders within their board or advisory structures. They also deploy lobbying influence to delay, dilute, or neutralise regulatory enforcement and cultivate a perception of being unregulatable or untouchable entities. While this paper does not impute criminal guilt, the pattern of regulatory inertia, selective enforcement, and delayed accountability lends credence to concerns of regulatory capture, a phenomenon well-documented in global governance literature,” it stressed.
SEREC cautioned that once regulators are seen as compromised, compliance breaks down and self-help enforcement increases. It added that Nigeria’s port challenges go beyond infrastructure, being rooted in governance failures, political sensitivities, and significant economic costs.
“Where regulation is weak or compromised, sharp practices thrive; where oversight reports vanish, impunity deepens,” it stated.
It called for a public release of all legislative committee findings on shipping line investigations, “statutory refund timelines with interest penalties, prohibition of speculative demurrage billing, and mandatory local cargo release authority, among others.”
The group warned that Nigeria cannot achieve port efficiency, inflation control, or blue economy growth while sharp practices remain normalised and accountability remains negotiable.
SEREC is a maritime research, policy analysis, and advocacy organisation based in Nigeria. It focuses on examining, critiquing, and recommending reforms for the country’s maritime, port, trade facilitation, and blue economy sectors.
