The Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has urged the shipping companies and clearing agents in the seaports to resolve the tariff row amicably.
The Executive Secretary of the Council, Dr. Pius Akutah, said on Thursday that the stakeholders involved should be guided by a spirit of compromise and mutual understanding.
He explained in Abeokuta on the sideline of the NSC management retreat that the council would not sit without taking steps, warning that if they failed to resolve it, the issue could get to a point where it would escalate to the minister’s level.
Also, Akutah stressed the need for viable mutual understanding between shipping companies and clearing agents before tariff is increased.
According to him, both the shipping companies and clearing agents must be willing to shift ground to reach a mutually beneficial agreement, adding that the council had previously turned down requests for an increase in charges for two years.
He stressed, however, that the request was not necessarily aimed at profit-making or increasing profit margins.
Akutah emphasised that sustained engagement between stakeholders remains critical to maintaining stability in the maritime sector, adding that operational challenges do not disrupt port activities.
He explained: “If they say there won’t be any hike in charges and at the end of the day, the cost of operation has hindered them from carrying out their functions, then we will not have a maritime sector.
“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.
“So, there must be a reason for people to move and shift ground; it should be a give-and-take relationship. Whenever there is a standstill and nobody is moving, then there will be 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.
“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.
“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.”
