Post by Trade facilitator on Jan 23, 2022 4:00:24 GMT 1
In the last two years, Nigeria has experienced low cargo importation into its seaports as Togo’s Lomé port has become a preferred destination for foreign shipowners operating Very Large Container Carrier (VLCC) vessels.
Shallow draught, high vessel turnaround time, and decaying, archaic port infrastructure, among others have forced foreign shipping companies to abandon Nigerian seaports for Lomé Port.
Data from the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD’s) Review of Maritime Transport 2020 indicated that Nigeria lost over 196,750 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) or 30 per cent, of its container traffic to Lome Port due to lingering congestion and the poor quality of its services.
Togo, a tiny West-African country with a population of 8.38 million as of January 2021, wrestled hub status from Nigeria, a country with a population of over 200 million, a huge market for cargoes coming from around the world to Africa.
The Port of Lomé, which has a depth of 16.60 metres, is the only deep-water port on the West African coast that can accommodate third generation ships. The port is well-connected and goods can be delivered to several West and Central African countries in a single day.
Maritime stakeholders, however, identified reforms implemented at the Port of Lomé as reasons they attract such bigger vessels while Nigerian ports are still struggling to achieve efficiency.
They contend that the nation’s loss had proven to be Togo’s gain as their reform and investment plans have transformed the port into a pivotal transit hub in the Gulf of Guinea.
However, the major reforms and policies that transformed the port of Lomé to hub status in the West and Central African sub-regions were missing in the Nigerian port system.
For instance, a single window is elusive while hinterland connectivity is still very poor though, Nigerian government is currently investing in railway construction.
As result of these challenges, Lome Port in Togo is now the region’s busiest port, and cargo destined for Nigeria is increasingly offloaded or shipped via smaller vessels.
It was, however, gathered that the result of the reforms had led to Togo port recording increase in cargo throughput year on year.
In 2019, Nigeria recorded 1,484,000 TEUs while Togo recorded 1,500,611.
Togo recorded 1,725,520 TEUs cargo throughput in 2020 while Nigeria recorded 1,528, 520 TUEs in the same year, according United Nation’s report.
This report indicated that Nigerian Ports were still synonymous with congestion, gridlock, low draught, and ship turnaround is still relatively inefficient with the port of Lome is more efficient in terms of cargo turnaround, and with over 16 metres draught that can accommodate larger vessels while none of Nigerian seaports draught can go beyond 13 metres after dredging.
“Nigeria is definitely behind the curve. What is happening in Lagos, I can’t recall seeing anything like it anywhere in the world,” said senior analyst at Dynamar, Darron Wadey.
A former director of operations at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Captain Warredi Enisuoh, said the reforms in Togo included but not limited to redesigning the ports to take into account trans-shipment hub in mind and preparing the ports for future ship designs in terms of size, thereby deepening their channels to accommodate bigger ships.
He said part of the reforms is seamless processes by cutting down and bringing to one platform all the agencies required in the process. The country also improved its hinterland connectivity with neighbours, thereby attracting a lot of transshipment cargoes in addition to investing in professional training
“If you look at this report, you will see that the containers going to Togo were less than Nigeria as of 2010. See the steady rise as it embarked on automation as well. Even though the number of containers was rising for Togo astronomically, the number of container ships calling at Togo in 2018 and 2019 were relatively, less! It only tells me that the ships were relatively bigger.
“In 2020, they had bigger and more container ships calling at Togo than Nigeria. Investors are very confident now that Togo and its improved efficiency is definitely a hub. It will interest you all to know that the daily cost difference in terms of ship operation between a ship carrying 4,500 containers and 20,000 containers is only about $1,000! This is why deep seaports are becoming popular,” he pointed out.
According to him, Togo is literally a deep seaport. And comparing the average number of days a ship spends in port, ships spend four days in Nigeria while they spend 1.4 day in Togo.
Also speaking, the public relations officer, Shippers Association Lagos State (SALS), Kayode Farinto, said Nigeria’s port is battling low draught, trade impediments, poor trade facilitation and archaic clearing process.
Farinto also mentioned that non-predictability in customs taxes, terminal operators and shipping companies excesses are also fuelling cargo diversion to neighbouring countries as well.
He said: “Nigeria ranks poorly on the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and we also don’t have predictability in Customs operations. In fact, Nigeria shippers are just being patriotic to be bringing their cargoes to Nigeria.
“Freight charges, terminal operators and role of Customs in our industry must be deconstructed because the Customs we have is not facilitating trade and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) harped on simplicity of trade facilitation which, it said, will ease documentation in cargo clearance.”
Farinto who is also the national vice-president, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), further stated that Customs duty payment is subject to Internet value, adding that it is another impediment to maritime trade growth in the country.
“No predictability, as shippers, if you bring in goods and make declaration, the declaration is subjected to internet value and it is unfortunate that government has not condemned the Nigeria Customs Service for using internet value when they are aware that we have valuation Act that is domesticated as a local law, and these are the things Nigerian Shippers Council is expected to protect shippers to the highest level. So, shippers must be protected so that they can continue bringing cargo into the country.
“We are losing about 55 per cent of our cargoes to neighbouring countries such as Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana. So, government should wake up and ask why the country is losing cargoes on a daily basis. Customs is not doing well; Nigerian Shippers are complaining after making a declaration. Police will block one’s consignment when they have no right to be in the cargo clearance process,” he stated.
Source: leadership.ng/port-congestion-nigeria-losing-30-container-traffic-to-togo/
Shallow draught, high vessel turnaround time, and decaying, archaic port infrastructure, among others have forced foreign shipping companies to abandon Nigerian seaports for Lomé Port.
Data from the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development’s (UNCTAD’s) Review of Maritime Transport 2020 indicated that Nigeria lost over 196,750 Twenty Foot Equivalent Units (TEUs) or 30 per cent, of its container traffic to Lome Port due to lingering congestion and the poor quality of its services.
Togo, a tiny West-African country with a population of 8.38 million as of January 2021, wrestled hub status from Nigeria, a country with a population of over 200 million, a huge market for cargoes coming from around the world to Africa.
The Port of Lomé, which has a depth of 16.60 metres, is the only deep-water port on the West African coast that can accommodate third generation ships. The port is well-connected and goods can be delivered to several West and Central African countries in a single day.
Maritime stakeholders, however, identified reforms implemented at the Port of Lomé as reasons they attract such bigger vessels while Nigerian ports are still struggling to achieve efficiency.
They contend that the nation’s loss had proven to be Togo’s gain as their reform and investment plans have transformed the port into a pivotal transit hub in the Gulf of Guinea.
However, the major reforms and policies that transformed the port of Lomé to hub status in the West and Central African sub-regions were missing in the Nigerian port system.
For instance, a single window is elusive while hinterland connectivity is still very poor though, Nigerian government is currently investing in railway construction.
As result of these challenges, Lome Port in Togo is now the region’s busiest port, and cargo destined for Nigeria is increasingly offloaded or shipped via smaller vessels.
It was, however, gathered that the result of the reforms had led to Togo port recording increase in cargo throughput year on year.
In 2019, Nigeria recorded 1,484,000 TEUs while Togo recorded 1,500,611.
Togo recorded 1,725,520 TEUs cargo throughput in 2020 while Nigeria recorded 1,528, 520 TUEs in the same year, according United Nation’s report.
This report indicated that Nigerian Ports were still synonymous with congestion, gridlock, low draught, and ship turnaround is still relatively inefficient with the port of Lome is more efficient in terms of cargo turnaround, and with over 16 metres draught that can accommodate larger vessels while none of Nigerian seaports draught can go beyond 13 metres after dredging.
“Nigeria is definitely behind the curve. What is happening in Lagos, I can’t recall seeing anything like it anywhere in the world,” said senior analyst at Dynamar, Darron Wadey.
A former director of operations at the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Captain Warredi Enisuoh, said the reforms in Togo included but not limited to redesigning the ports to take into account trans-shipment hub in mind and preparing the ports for future ship designs in terms of size, thereby deepening their channels to accommodate bigger ships.
He said part of the reforms is seamless processes by cutting down and bringing to one platform all the agencies required in the process. The country also improved its hinterland connectivity with neighbours, thereby attracting a lot of transshipment cargoes in addition to investing in professional training
“If you look at this report, you will see that the containers going to Togo were less than Nigeria as of 2010. See the steady rise as it embarked on automation as well. Even though the number of containers was rising for Togo astronomically, the number of container ships calling at Togo in 2018 and 2019 were relatively, less! It only tells me that the ships were relatively bigger.
“In 2020, they had bigger and more container ships calling at Togo than Nigeria. Investors are very confident now that Togo and its improved efficiency is definitely a hub. It will interest you all to know that the daily cost difference in terms of ship operation between a ship carrying 4,500 containers and 20,000 containers is only about $1,000! This is why deep seaports are becoming popular,” he pointed out.
According to him, Togo is literally a deep seaport. And comparing the average number of days a ship spends in port, ships spend four days in Nigeria while they spend 1.4 day in Togo.
Also speaking, the public relations officer, Shippers Association Lagos State (SALS), Kayode Farinto, said Nigeria’s port is battling low draught, trade impediments, poor trade facilitation and archaic clearing process.
Farinto also mentioned that non-predictability in customs taxes, terminal operators and shipping companies excesses are also fuelling cargo diversion to neighbouring countries as well.
He said: “Nigeria ranks poorly on the Logistics Performance Index (LPI) and we also don’t have predictability in Customs operations. In fact, Nigeria shippers are just being patriotic to be bringing their cargoes to Nigeria.
“Freight charges, terminal operators and role of Customs in our industry must be deconstructed because the Customs we have is not facilitating trade and the World Customs Organisation (WCO) harped on simplicity of trade facilitation which, it said, will ease documentation in cargo clearance.”
Farinto who is also the national vice-president, Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), further stated that Customs duty payment is subject to Internet value, adding that it is another impediment to maritime trade growth in the country.
“No predictability, as shippers, if you bring in goods and make declaration, the declaration is subjected to internet value and it is unfortunate that government has not condemned the Nigeria Customs Service for using internet value when they are aware that we have valuation Act that is domesticated as a local law, and these are the things Nigerian Shippers Council is expected to protect shippers to the highest level. So, shippers must be protected so that they can continue bringing cargo into the country.
“We are losing about 55 per cent of our cargoes to neighbouring countries such as Togo, Ivory Coast and Ghana. So, government should wake up and ask why the country is losing cargoes on a daily basis. Customs is not doing well; Nigerian Shippers are complaining after making a declaration. Police will block one’s consignment when they have no right to be in the cargo clearance process,” he stated.
Source: leadership.ng/port-congestion-nigeria-losing-30-container-traffic-to-togo/
