Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC) has said that it has recovered over N80 million between January and June 2018 from illegal demurrages and charges by shipping companies.
Making this declaration during a one-day seminar organised for journalists in Lagos, Deputy Director, Monitoring and Compliance, Chief Cajethan Agu disclosed also that $23, 000 million was recovered from COSCO Shipping alone.
Agu informed that the said money which was recovered from demurrages, storage charges, excessive charges and other illegal collections had since been returned to their owners.
“Between January and now, we’ve gotten up to N80 million. If you translate the $23,000 million that COSCO paid, it’s up to N10 million and don’t forget, we carried enforcement at GAC. There was a refund because almost 30 containers which were held captive were released. It’s only the company’s CEO that will give you the breakdown but I know that between January and June, we got a refund amounting to more than N80 million.
“It is not only from demurrages, even storage charges. Some were recovered from excessive charges that were imposed on the consignees.
“They were given back to the owners. In the case of COSCO, they sent the cheque to us and we handed over the cheques to them” he said.
He, however, advised the operators to always play by the rule adding that there were guidelines and regulations which he said were meant to be obeyed.
Earlier, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Barrister Hassan Bello had said that the one-day training for maritime journalists was put together in order to bring journalists together so as to offer them a platform to interact with the council which would in turn enable them to understand the council better.
According to him, the media is a very critical stakeholder in the maritime industry and can bring the industry to its knees.
Bellow how as represented by the Director, Special Duties of the council, Mr. Ignatius Nweke appreciated the journalists for keeping the council and indeed the Nigerian maritime industry on their toes even as he described the media as critical stakeholder in the industry adding that the industry cannot do without the media.