- Seeks Refund of Charges on Cargoes Transferred to off dock Terminals
By Deinde Adefarakan
Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) has said that it considers as unethical and unwholesome the imposition of arbitrary levy of container demurrage , storage and transfer charges on consignees for transportation of cargoes to off dock terminals, by shipping companies/ agencies, seaports terminal operators and off dock terminals.
The Council, in a Statement by its Head of Public Relations, Rakiya Zubairu , made available to the Marine and economy Online yesterday, disclosed that it condemned the act, for the fact that it was always unilaterally initiated by terminals without the consignees’ consent.
It thus directed the immediate refund of all transfer charges collected from consignees of cargoes transferred from seaport terminals to off-dock terminals, from 1st June 2020 to date, at the instance of the shipping companies/agencies, seaport terminal operators or off-dock terminal operators, without the consignees requesting for such transfer.
The Council has also warned that failure to refund such charges will lead to the Council invoking its regulatory powers on the affected stakeholders , to enforce compliance.
It stated that based on international standard and recognised practice, freight paid at origin covers movement of cargo to final port of delivery at destination, saying it follows that cargoes earmarked for transfer to off-dock terminals, at the request of the shipping company, seaport terminal operator or off-dock terminal, without the consent of the consignees or their authorized representatives, should not attract charge(s) against the consignees.
Consequently, the Council said it has resolved that all service providers must henceforth ensured that import cargoes are delivered to the nominated port of destination as stated in the Bill of Lading;
That, where the operational convenience of the seaport terminals or some other prevailing circumstances necessitate the transfer of cargoes from the seaport terminals to off-dock terminals, the concerned consignees ,or their authorized agents, must be notified in good time, and must not be charged the cost associated with such transfer, including barging cost.
The Council also resolved that storage and demurrage charges on cargoes earmarked for transfer from seaport terminals to off-dock terminals, without the consent of the consignee, should take effect, only after arriving at the designated off-dock terminals.
